His quest to become a household name
Mules' quarterback wants to build off last week's performance.
Winston Robinson: Muleskinner
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Sports
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The name isn't that hard to say, but it may take a while for fans to pronounce Mules' quarterback Eric Czerniewski's name if they're seeing it for the first time.
Czerniewski may have people tongue-tied, but during this past Thursday's lightning-delayed showdown with Minnesota State-Mankato, he made sure people knew his name by the end of the night.
The junior signal caller completed 21 passes for 319 yards and threw for three touchdowns in the Mules' 29-9 victory. Although he threw one interception, Czerniewski's performance proves why he is first on the team's quarterback depth chart.
"I can't take a day off," Czerniewski said. "I have to come out and perform, and hopefully I had a good enough game. I just have to keep battling to keep my spot."
With the show Czerniewski put on, he may not have much to worry about.
Even if the quarterback does worry during tonight's home game against Arkansas Tech, one of his targets has faith in him.
"He's Eric, and that's just how he is," said Edgar Givens, a senior wide receiver who was not surprised by Czerniewski's night. "He performs well all the time to me."
Givens may be a believer in Czerniewski's talent, but it also helps when he has sophomore tight end DeMarco Crosby, along with Givens, to catch his passes.
Crosby hauled in three catches for 89 yards, but Givens had the most impressive night of the receivers.
Givens caught six passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns in his final home opener as a Mule.
Hoping to make this year a memorable one, Givens played hard, displaying it as he dove past a Maverick defender for the Mules' final touchdown, making sure his team didn't fall like last year in Mankato, Minn.
"This is my last year, and I have to do it for the Mules," Givens said. "We're just trying to start this season off right, not like last year. Everyone kept their heads up, and we just played for each other."
With Czerniewski and his supporting cast setting the tone for the Mules' new-look offense, it was rewarding that the Mules landed as No. 24 on the D2Football.com Top 25 poll this week.
Even with avenging last year's loss to the Mavericks and the new ranking, coach Willie Fritz still sees room for improvement for Czerniewski and the Mules.
"We came out of the box in great shape and looked really good, but we made a lot of first game mistakes," Fritz said. "The best thing about the game is that we won the game, and we're going to be able to correct a lot of things."
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