'Digger gridders open fall drills

By Bill Foley of The Montana Standard - 08/16/2004

With some fingers crossed and an optimistic

eye, the Montana Tech football team started

practicing for the 2004 season Sunday.

Tech, which opens the season Sept. 4 at

home against Jamestown College, begins

two-a-day workouts Monday.

Frontier Conference coaches picked the

Orediggers to finish third in the league

behind two-time defending NAIA national

champion Carroll College and the University

of Montana-Western.

"We'll just be more of a

surprise," sophomore quarterback Aaron

Johnson said with a smile Sunday.

Last season, the Orediggers

finished a disappointing 3-5 in

conference and 3-8 overall.

But the only thing missing from last year's

squad was a lucky rabbit's foot. The 2003

Orediggers were hit with a ration of

injuries like never before.

In the 2003 season opener — the only time a

completely healthy Oredigger team took the

field — Tech gave Carroll all it could

handle.

The Orediggers came within a botched extra

point from winning in a 19-16

double-overtime loss at Alumni Coliseum.

No other team even came close to beating

the undefeated Saints the rest of the way.

However, the Montana Tech injury parade

began — starting when Jay Deal broke his

ankle right after halftime of the opener.

The season took a serious turn for the

worse when Johnson shattered his left arm

and was lost for the year on the second

possession of the second game.

Tech coach Bob Green said Johnson's X-ray

was so bad it looked like a road map of

Arkansas.

Johnson, who was a highly-touted passer at

Hardin, received a medical redshirt so he

still has a sophomore's eligibility.

"I think that was just a coincidence last

year with all the injuries happening like

that," Johnson said. "Most teams don't get

five broken bones, or whatever we got."

"That was a totally fluke deal," said

junior linebacker Tucker Edmundson, one of

the three Edmundson brothers from Harrison

(Travis and Corey are the others). "I guess

we'll have to go to Sunday Mass and pray a

little bit."

Edmundson played most of last season with a

broken hand that needed surgery after the

season.

"The hand's good, 100 percent," Edmundson

said. "Dr. (Nick) DiGiovine does good

work."

The Orediggers have plenty of reason for

optimism in 2004.

In year-two of a revamped offense, the

Orediggers are deep in the skill

possessions, led by Frenchtown sophomore

Josh Johnson, who led the Frontier in

rushing despite tearing the anterior

cruciate ligament in his knee in the

second-to-last game of the season.

Green said Johnson has made one of the

quickest recoveries from

See 'DIGGERS, Page B2

an ACL injury than he's ever seen.

"We just have to come back strong, be

prepared and don't worry about getting hurt

again," said Johnson, who averaged 5.8

yards per carry and 106.4 yards per game

during his 958-yard campaign. "Everyone is

back and we know what we did last year.

We're excited to see what we can do this

year."

Defensively, the Orediggers biggest concern

is the inexperienced but talented in the

secondary.

Junior Adam Cotton, who led the Frontier in

rushing in 2002, switched from running back

to safety to help shore up that group.

"The defense this spring was excellent,"

Edmundson said. "I thought we looked really

sharp.

"Offensively, we're going to ask a lot from

the O-line. That's all there is too it.

They've got to come to play."

Edmundson said he is sick of thinking about

the past and and focused on the 2004

season.

"We're here and we've got to forget it," he

said.

However, some Oredigger eyes light up when

the season-opening near miss with the

national champs is brought up.

"I think about it some times, thinking

about how good we're going to be," Josh

Johnson said of the classic with Carroll.

"That's about it. Other than that you just

let it go."

By the way, the Saints come to town Oct. 9.