Notebook: Herzlich's Return as Good as It Gets

It was meant to be. No. 94 played in a football game on 9/4, exactly 612 days since he was last seen in an Eagles uniform. And, understandably, it felt great.

"It was excitement. I thought I might be nervous, but it was all about playing games," said Mark Herzlich, who missed last season as he battled Ewing's Sarcoma. "The emotion didn't stray at all from football, which I was a little surprised about."

That being said, he didn't have a perfect day, either. The 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year played about 20 snaps and finished with four tackles, though he also took some poor angles in the open field and took some time to knock off a year and a half's worth of rust.

"I overran some plays, and I was a little out of position on some checkdowns," Herzlich admitted. "That's to be expected, I guess. I'm not saying I'm settling for that because obviously we are going to get in the film room and work on it. But it's a step in the right direction, and we're going to have to take bigger steps in the right direction as we go on."

This game, though relatively insignificant among this season's slate of opponents, has been circled on Herzlich's calendar since he received his diagnosis in April of 2009. The coaches monitored his snaps, and Herzlich split time on the strong side with Mike Morrissey. But he played through the third quarter, despite a 38-10 BC lead, and seemed to improve with repetition.

"It played out the way it needed to play out," said head coach Frank Spaziani. "He started, he played, and we were obviously trying to watch the number of plays he played. I'm not sure if he was as efficient as his old self, but to be able to go out there and do whatever he did was tremendous."

After beating cancer and recovering in time from a stress fracture in his foot, Herzlich did what most thought impossible: He played on Sept. 4, 2010. So what's the next objective?

"We have a game Saturday, I believe, I think that's Kent State," Herzlich said coyly. "That's the next hurdle."

We're Still Here

All anyone knew about the BC receiving corps was that it no longer had leader Colin Larmond. After a breakout performance, redshirt freshman Johnathan Coleman is hoping that changes.

"Since we lost Colin, no one really knew what we had," Coleman said. "It was nice for us to show that we have good receivers, that we could catch the ball and make plays."

Coleman was at the forefront of the receivers' strong day, hauling in three balls for 98 yards. Quarterback Dave Shinskie rolled to his right and found Coleman near the sideline, hitting him for a 16-yard gain and his first career catch.

It only got better from there for Coleman. He caught the ball with his fingertips on a slant and rumbled for a 38-yard reception, breaking would-be tacklers. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound receiver, who didn't start playing football until his senior year of high school, also burned a Weber State cornerback and caught a 44-yard bomb down the sidelines to set up the Eagles' third touchdown.

Fellow receiver Ifeyani Momah also hauled in a touchdown pass, and tight ends Chris Pantale and Lars Anderson combined for three catches, 39 yards, and a touchdown.

"Hopefully it's not a question mark anymore, because we did what we had to do," Coleman said.

At the very least, people should know a little more about the Eagles receivers.

Odds and Ends

Punter Ryan Quigley didn't have much to do, but he made his limited opportunities count. His second and final punt of the day traveled 71 yards, bouncing and rolling for the final 25, to down Weber State at their own 8-yard line. It was his career long by only two yards. … Montel Harris ran for 115 yards over 19 carries, good for 6.1 yards a carry. It was his 14th career 100-yard rushing game and sixth straight dating back to last year. The last time he didn't eclipse the century mark was at Notre Dame, when he was held to 38 rushing yards. … Shinskie was about as middle of the road as could be expected. He finished a perfect 50 percent from the field (10-of-20 passing), and matched his two touchdown passes with two interceptions. … A 10-year-old who survived Ewing's Sarcoma as an infant sang the National Anthem to open the game.