Word on Plant QB Phillip Ely coming Wednesday

Plant will find out Wednesday whether ailing starting quarterback Phillip Ely will be able to play in Friday's regular season opener against Tampa Bay Tech.

Ely, who missed Friday's kickoff classic against Manatee with lingering lower back pain, will see a specialist Wednesday and will go over the MRI taken last week.

"He's been bothers by it all summer, but it's been a muscular thing," Plant coach Robert Weiner said. "We didn't it was anything more than that. The first week, unfortunately, was the first week it really really started to bother him so that's when we went to get it checked out."

If he can't go, sophomore James Few will start in his place. Few threw for 188 yards, ran for one touchdown and threw for another in Plant's 49-33 preseason loss to Manatee.

"Injuries don't wait for us," Weiner said. "(Ely) came in and prepared like he does every week, and on the field he’s not taking the snap but he’s doing everything else. He directs every lineman. He directs every play. That’s the way we’ve tried to prepare so far."

-- EDUARDO A. ENCINA