Ben Weyer collapsed to the Washington-Grizzly Stadium turf clutching his knee and displaying the dismay of a man who knew he had just suffered a serious injury.
Weyer writhed in pain as the third quarter of Montana’s season-opener came to a close. The fourth quarter began with Weyer jogging off the turf under his own power with his team clinging to a 20-17 lead against Saint Francis. The Grizzlies would explode for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to post a 41-31 win going away. The good news ended there for Montana’s senior center.
For two weeks after Weyer’s injury, Montana head coach Bob Stitt said he was hopeful his fifth-year senior center would return. During Monday’s press conference, Stitt confirmed that Weyer’s season was over.
Montana senior center Ben Weyer runs off the field after suffering an injury against Saint Francis on September 3/ by Jason Bacaj
“Ben Weyer is going to be out,” Stitt said. “Doctors took a look at him and he’s going to be out for the season.”
The Bozeman native battled knee troubles in high school before suffering a torn PCL in his right knee against Wyoming in 2014. He played the remainder of the season. Three days into Stitt’s first fall camp at Montana last August, Weyer suffered a season-ending knee injury that required surgery. During the procedure, doctors repaired Weyer’s ACL and his meniscus while also cleaning up lingering damage from the PCL injury in the same knee.
“Mentally, a big issue people struggle with coming back from ACLs is gaining confidence in your knee,” Weyer said in the press conference the Monday before the Saint Francis game. “The coaches have been very understanding with that. They have slowly let me back into it. They are not going to force me to do anything I’m not comfortable with.
“It’s been too long. You step away from the game for that long, you really realize how much you love it. It’s been close to two years since I played in a football game. It’s been a long time coming. I can’t wait to get out there with my brothers.”
While Stitt did not elaborate on Weyer’s injury, the 6-foot-4, 280-pounder clutched his right knee after the injury suffered against Saint Francis.
Weyer served as a reserve in 2013 then started 12 of 13 games on Montana’s 2014 playoff team. He missed his entire junior year and now will miss all but the first three quarters of the first game of his senior season.
Stitt did confirm that senior defensive tackle Zach Peevey and senior safety Yamen Sanders should be healthy and ready to play in Montana’s Saturday matchup with Cal Poly. Sanders and Peevey each missed the first two games, both wins, for the No. 6 Griz.
Skyline Sports correspondent Jason Bacaj contributed to the reporting for this story.
