First Spring Scrimmage Sees Big Plays, Defensive Victory On Last Snap
The scrimmage, consisting of more than 120 plays, was far from a one-sided affair however. After a kickoff period to begin the day, the offense and defense faced off in open-field drives beginning at the 35 yard line. The first offense managed several first downs on its first possession, but a LaDarius Perkins fumble was recovered by Damein Anderson to end the drive. On its second drive, the #1 offense found the endzone as Dylan Favre hit Jameon Lewis for a six-yard score. Quarterbacks Chris Relf, Tyler Russell and Favre all took snaps with both the first and second offensive units.
After the defense forced a series of three-and-outs by the offense, Relf led the 1s to a score on a possession aided by both a pass interference and a personal foul penalty on the defense. On the next snap, LaDarius Perkins busted a 65-yard run around right end for a touchdown.
The defensive units dominated during a third-down period, but the offense bounced back with three consecutive scoring drives in red-zone work. The offense scored on a Russell touchdown pass to Chris Smith, a nifty 12 yard reverse to Brandon Heavens and a Ballard touchdown rush.
The scrimmage closed with a series of two-point conversion attempts before the ball was placed at the one yard line for a final play to determine the day’s victor.
“There was a lot of inconsistency out there today,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “But we saw some guys make a few plays, and that was encouraging. We’ll go back and watch the film and see what we need to work on this week.”
The Bulldogs will return to the practice fields on Tuesday afternoon before working out again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week. All spring practices are open to the public, with State working toward the Maroon-White Spring Game on April 9, part of Super Bulldog Weekend presented by Regions Bank.