Defense prevails in spring game
Brent Foster
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Sports
The normally potent Bulldog offense was kept quiet Saturday as the Black team (second team offense and first team defense) defeated the White team (first team offense and second team defense) 20-10 in the annual spring game at Stokes Stadium.
The game was controlled by the Black defense, and the White offense never seemed to be able to get in sync. Junior Matt Ticich, quarterback of the White team, seemed under pressure all night and never was able to find the rhythm he possessed last season.
"I would like to have seen the first team offense play with more urgency and more up tempo, more of an optimistic approach," head coach Shannon Currier said. "[I'm] a little disappointed that we weren't hustling as well as we needed to. I think we gave up too much pressure on the quarterback. We didn't run the ball as well as we liked to. We basically didn't make very many plays on that side of the ball."
The Black team scored the game's first touchdown early in the second quarter on a 10-yard pass from freshman backup quarterback Phillip Davis to freshman running back Donald Harvey. The White team came back with a one-yard touchdown by freshman Anton Bernard late in the second quarter to take a 10-7 halftime lead.
That was the last time White scored. Black rattled off 13 unanswered points in the second half, including Harvey's second touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter.
Ticich finished 15 of 26 passing for 156 yards without a touchdown. He was under pressure most of the game from the Black defensive line.
Currier said it's hard to assess how well each side plays in a scrimmage because if one side of the ball seems to be playing well, it might be because the other side is not playing as well.
"I thought defensively we played really well," Currier said. "We didn't give up big plays. We definitely defended the run really well. At the same time, on offense I'd like to have seen us run the ball more effectively. ... I'd like to see us protect better."
The game was controlled by the Black defense, and the White offense never seemed to be able to get in sync. Junior Matt Ticich, quarterback of the White team, seemed under pressure all night and never was able to find the rhythm he possessed last season.
"I would like to have seen the first team offense play with more urgency and more up tempo, more of an optimistic approach," head coach Shannon Currier said. "[I'm] a little disappointed that we weren't hustling as well as we needed to. I think we gave up too much pressure on the quarterback. We didn't run the ball as well as we liked to. We basically didn't make very many plays on that side of the ball."
The Black team scored the game's first touchdown early in the second quarter on a 10-yard pass from freshman backup quarterback Phillip Davis to freshman running back Donald Harvey. The White team came back with a one-yard touchdown by freshman Anton Bernard late in the second quarter to take a 10-7 halftime lead.
That was the last time White scored. Black rattled off 13 unanswered points in the second half, including Harvey's second touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter.
Ticich finished 15 of 26 passing for 156 yards without a touchdown. He was under pressure most of the game from the Black defensive line.
Currier said it's hard to assess how well each side plays in a scrimmage because if one side of the ball seems to be playing well, it might be because the other side is not playing as well.
"I thought defensively we played really well," Currier said. "We didn't give up big plays. We definitely defended the run really well. At the same time, on offense I'd like to have seen us run the ball more effectively. ... I'd like to see us protect better."
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