Michigan Loses Tight End for Season

An easy season-opening victory over Bowling Green didn’t come without a price for No. 3 Michigan.

Wolverine Coach Lloyd Carr said that tight end Shawn Thompson is out for the season because of an injured left knee. Also, defensive end Jake Frysinger will be sidelined indefinitely after injuring his right foot, which he broke last season.

Both were hurt during Michigan’s 42-7 victory over Bowling Green.

“Shawn Thompson will probably have surgery sometime this week,” Carr said in Ann Arbor, Mich. “He’s probably as good a blocking tight end as we’ve had at Michigan since I’ve been here.”

Thompson’s injury comes at one of the Wolverines’ deeper positions. Benny Joppru, who scored two touchdowns on four catches and played in nine games last season, will be the starting tight end.

Carr wouldn’t even speculate on when Frysinger might return to the defensive line, Michigan’s least-experienced area. The senior has played in 34 games during his career and made his first start in last January’s Orange Bowl victory over Alabama.

*

Deontey Kenner threw the go-ahead touchdown pass with 6:11 remaining as Cincinnati broke a six-game Conference USA losing streak with a 23-17 victory over visiting Army in the season opener for both schools.

Kenner connected with Jason Collins-Baker for a 12-yard score, four minutes after Army grabbed a 17-13 lead on Chad Jenkins’ six-yard toss to running back Michael Wallace.

Jonathon Ruffin, who missed five of 12 field goals last season, kicked his third of the game, a 26-yarder in the final minute to seal Cincinnati’s first conference win since November 14, 1998 against Houston.

The loss spoiled the debut of Army Coach Todd Berry, who took over after Bob Sutton was fired after a 3-8 season.

Cincinnati’s Ray Jackson rushed for 108 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Jenkins was 14 for 29 for 123 yards with an interception. Wallace ran for 56 yards in 14 carries.

Cincinnati gained 437 yards in total offense and held Army to 243 yards.

*

Florida State defensive lineman David Warren must appear in court to answer to a misdemeanor charge of simple battery, police said in Tallahassee.

Warren, 22, allegedly pushed his girlfriend, who received minor scrapes when she fell to the ground. The incident occurred late Saturday night at the Pebble Hill Apartments northwest of the Florida State campus, Tallahassee Police Lt. Mark Wheeler said.

Warren, a senior, was not taken to jail because he had no prior arrests, but was served with a notice to appear before a judge Oct. 10, Wheeler said.

Police declined to identify Warren’s girlfriend, citing an ongoing investigation.