Thompson no guarantee to go

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tflagstad@journalnet.com

POCATELLO -- When the Idaho State football team plays at No. 4 Cal Poly on Saturday, it's uncertain whether the Bengals will have their star wide receiver on the field.

Senior Eddie Thompson left last week's 36-13 loss at Portland State in the third quarter after suffering an ankle injury. Coach John Zamberlin said at his weekly news conference Monday that Thompson is by no means a guarantee to play against the Mustangs as the Bengals try to snap their 12-game losing streak, which is the second-longest in the Championship Subdivision.

"Eddie is sore. It's his ankle," the coach said. "I saw him up there earlier, and he said it's kind of iffy. We'll have to see on that."

Thompson -- Idaho State's all-time career receptions leader -- has caught a team-high 55 passes this season for 550 yards and a touchdown. Junior Jaron Taylor leads the team with 621 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

Earlier this season, a knee injury forced Thompson to sit out the Bengals' 45-31 loss at Eastern Washington.

The status of senior running back Ken Cornist also remains in doubt for this week.

Cornist, the Bengals' leading rusher with 384 yards, didn't make the trip to Portland because of an ankle injury.

Zamberlin said Monday he hadn't heard any updates on Cornist's condition.

If Cornist can't go Saturday, junior Clint Knickrehm should get the bulk of the carries as he did against the Vikings, when he ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts.

Good timing

Senior cornerback D.J. Clark intercepted two passes at Portland State to give him three on the season and 13 for his career.

Dating back to the 2007 campaign, Clark's last five interceptions have come in the end zone to kill opponents' scoring chances.

"D.J. played a great game," Zamberlin said. "He had two interceptions for us and knocked another big one down in the end zone. I'm glad to see D.J. go out and play a good football game."

Huge test

After facing Portland State's run-and-shoot attack last week, things won't get any easier for Clark and his secondary mates.

Cal Poly features 6-foot-6 wide receiver Ramses Barden who has 883 receiving yards -- fourth-best in the FCS -- and 10 touchdowns in only six games this season. He's also averaging 21 yards per catch.

Barden is one of 16 candidates listed on the Sport Network's Walter Payton Award watch list. The honor annually goes to the top offensive player in the FCS. He was also a finalist for the award in 2007 and received a first-place vote while finishing 15th overall.

Bengals fans got a first-hand look at Barden last season when he torched Idaho State's secondary for 268 yards and three touchdowns on 10 catches in the Mustangs' 48-28 win at Holt Arena.

"It wasn't just D.J. last year. That guy took his share of beating more than just one person," Zamberlin said. "As a player, I would be champing at the bit to have a second opportunity to play somebody. As a competitor, (Clark) will be excited about the opportunity to play that fine of a player again."

As for who will take Barden's place on Idaho State's scout team, well, Zamberlin isn't sure.

"I don't know. Who's gonna be our tallest guy?" the coach said. "Maybe Kelvin Krosch? He's tall like that, so he could be the guy."

The redshirt freshman from Mackay is listed at 6 feet, 6 inches.

By Tim Flagstad

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