JONESBORO — Defense stole the show in Arkansas State’s spring football game on Saturday as the Red team earned a 13-6 victory.
The game featured eight turnovers - five interceptions and three fumble recoveries - and neither starting quarterback totaled 100 yards passing.
“It went down to the last possession. Defense kind of dominated the deal and that has kind of been typical of the spring practice. There was some nice runs on offense and good throws and catches but nothing that really sustained consecutive drives,” ASU Coach Hugh Freeze said. “Offensively it wasn’t as polished as I would of liked to of see, but I loved the competitive spirit of our kids.”
Junior quarterback Ryan Aplin, who was captain of the Red Team, finished 6 of 12 for 86 yards and an interception. Sophomore Phillip Butterfield, the quarterback of the Black Team, completed 11 of 16 passes for 61 yards.
First-year ASU defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said it was great to see the forced turnovers by the defense.
“It was bitter sweet because I was on the losing team right there, but I’ve been excited as to how our defense has gotten better and better each time we’ve come out here,” Wommack said.
Despite a tough day throwing the ball, Aplin was pleased with the progression of the offense, including the running game, which totaled 234 yards.
“Everyone came out and a lot of energy on both sides. A lot of competitiveness today,” Aplin said. “I think coach kind of held them [defense] back for a little bit just so we can get things going but it’s tough. It’s hard to get a read on them but I’m glad they’re on our side this fall. A couple of times I sat the protection the wrong way and they brought some different fronts. I put the O-linemen in a bind. Most of the time it was me but other than that they did a great job today.”
Before Aplin gave his team a 10-3 lead with a rushing touchdown, each team traded field goals in the third quarter when sophomore Brian Davis hit from 37 yards and sophomore Matthew Baltensperger made one from 42 yards after the game was scoreless at halftime.
Junior kicker Brandon Parker kicked a 28-yard field goal with 10:59 remaining for the Red team, but Davis added another field goal, this one from 32 yards away with 3:33 left to give the White team a sevenpoint lead.
Senior running back Jermaine Robertson had 16 carries for a game-high 67 yards, while redshirt freshman Sherodrick Smith gained 55 yards on 14 carries. Sophomore Sirgregory Thornton led the Red team with nine carries for 43 yards, followed by Derek Lawson’s 17 yards on nine rushing attempts.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Qushaun Lee led the Red team with eight tackles while Sterling Young totaled 7. Senior captain Kelcie McCray finished with six tackles and an interception. Cole Lorigan had five tackles and interception. For the Black team, Don Jones had a team-high five tackles and an interception. Linebacker Demario Davis had an interception and Jeremy Gibson had a fumble recovery.
Freeze said he was pleased with the 15 spring practices and spring game, and is excited about the team’s progress.
“The number one thing I think we’ve grown at is the way we think about ourselves and we talk about attitude and effort and attitude being how we talk to ourselves and how we think about ourselves,” Freeze said. “I think out of the 15 practices the way we brought attitude and effort to the field at practice and work. It was really nice and really good and those are the things we want to build upon.”
Sports, Pages 35 on 04/17/2011