Defense prevails in spring game

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 offensive stars of the game came from the Black team. Davis completed 21 of 34 passes for 161 yards and had two touchdown passes to Harvey.

"Overall I think the offensive line as well as the receiving core [and] running back core contributed a lot to the game," Davis said. "We started off a little slow in the first half. We came back and had a couple good drives. I think it was a team contribution overall."

Currier said Davis seemed poised in the pocket and played well.

"Phil Davis has been very consistent," Currier said. "He has a very strong work ethic. He does all the little things right. He had a good spring game last year. We're really excited about his development, and we're looking forward for him to continue to really focus on accuracy of his throws and consistency of his throws."

Spring football gives coaches a chance to evaluate players. Harvey said he is trying to show the coaches that he can be a very versatile player.

"I just wanted to show that I could play more than one position," Harvey said. "I've been back and forth as a receiver and running back, so I wanted to let Coach know that I could play both positions."

Although the offense and defense were the main focus of the scrimmage, the kicking game seemed to be in good shape. Sophomore kicker Mickey Masucci, who kicked for both teams, finished a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points.

The Bulldogs also were able to get their first look at the new play clock rule installed by the NCAA. This season there will be a 40-second play clock that will begin as soon as the previous play is whistled dead. This is different from the old rule of a 25-second play clock that began when the referee placed the ball in play. On change of possessions the play clock will be 25 seconds. This probably will shorten the lengths of games.

Currier said that between the two teams only 55 plays were completed. He said his staff will continue to research the new rule to see if it will affect the style of the game.

The Bulldogs will begin the regular season Aug. 28 at Stokes Stadium against Missouri University of Science and Technology.