The University of New Mexico football team
concluded its'
2008 spring practice schedule with the Cherry-Silver game held this
season at
Ivan Head Stadium in Santa Fe. About 1,000 fans turned out for
the
traditional spring game on a warm, sunny afternoon in the City
Different.
The scrimmage was a hard hitting, gritty affair with several
quarterback sacks
and jarring tackles. There were fireworks from both sides of the
ball
with long touchdown passes to Jermaine McQueen and Bryant Willams as
well as a
few great stops and turnovers created by the always tough Lobo
defense.
The Cherry team was made up of the starters on offense and defense for
the
first half of the game while the Silver squad was comprised of 2nd
team players and backups. During the second half starters and
backups
were mixed to fill the two squads. In the end the Cherry team
dominated
the silver squad by a final score of 35-7.
Bubba Forrest knocks one out of WR hands
Both the Cherry and Silver defenses controlled the opening
quarter of action. The Cherry offense was able to manage a few
nice gains
including a 13 yard completion from Donovan Porterie to Chris Hernandez
and
some tough inside runs by Rodney Ferguson. Jermaine McQueen made
a
difficult first down catch on the sideline and Roland Bruno had a
diving grab
over the middle in other first quarter action. So. CB Jerome Jenkins
(Silver) was instrumental in thwarting the initial drives of the Cherry
offense
and had multiple pass breakups and blew up a screen pass intended for
McQueen
in impressive fashion for a 6 yard loss.
The Silver offense was also not able to produce much by way
of yardage in the early going against the seasoned Cherry defensive
unit.
Jr. lobo Clint McPeek and Sr. DE Kevin Balogun were very active
throughout the
day. McPeek stopped the run effectively and came free on a blitz
to sack
Silver QB Brad Gruner. Kevin Balogun and the Cherry defensive
line were
able to largely keep talented Fr. RB James Wright
bottled up as well during the opening period.
The initial Cherry drive of the second quarter
brought the
first touchdown of the day on a short Rodney Ferguson run. The
scoring
play was set up by solid gains by the Sr. on the direct snap play and
an 11
yard off tackle run during which he shed several would be
tacklers. K
James Aho added the extra point for a 7-0 Cherry lead.
A quick three and out by the Silver offense returned control
of the ball to Donovan Porterie and the Cherry offense. Jr.
Roland Bruno
made a catch for a 13 yard gain that was followed by a reverse to
McQueen that
resulted in a pickup of 16 yards. Porterie targeted McQueen once
more on
the drive for a gain of 15 that brought the Cherry within striking
distance. After a Paul Baker run brought the offense inside the 1
yard
line, Porterie found TE Mitch Straub in the back of the endzone to put
the
Cherry up 14-0. Straub showed just how dangerous and frequently
targeted
the tight ends are in Coach Dave Baldwin's offense in goal line
situations. Expect to see many TD receptions by the Jr. and
fellow TE
Chris Mark this season.
Mitch
Straub
Following the Straub TD the Cherry defense continued its
stranglehold on the Silver offense as S Mica Williams successfully
stripped RB
KJ Corley of the ball on 2nd down. The fumble was
recovered by
S Frankie Soloman and returned for a nice gain to the Silver 10 yard
line. The Cherry offense had no trouble punching the ball in with
such
great field position as Paul Baker broke the plane of the endzone for a
TD to
make the Cherry lead 21-0 at halftime.
The second half saw some mixing of the two squads to restore
balance to the Cherry and Silver teams. Redshirt freshman QB Brad
Gruner,
playing for the Cherry in the second half, made some impressive throws
including one for a 22 yd gain to McQueen and another for an amazing TD
grab by
fellow redshirt freshman Michael Scarlett. Scarlett, a Sandia HS
product,
made a great leaping catch in the corner of the endzone for the score
to push
the Cherry lead to 28 unanswered points.
Tate
Smith surveys the field!
And who does he find...
WR Bryant Williams
Also impressive at the
QB position for the Silver were Jr.
Victor James and So. Tate Smith (cousin of Lobo great Stoney Case). James
looked very dangerous scrambling outside the pocket and running the QB
draw
from the shotgun formation. Odessa Permain HS product Smith
connected
beautifully on a deep slant to So. WR Bryant Williams that resulted in
a 77 yd.
touchdown to put the Silver team on the board and make the score 28-7
Cherry.
The final Cherry drive of the day included a second great
Gruner-Scarlett connection and a Chris Hernandez TD reception from
Gruner to
make the final score Cherry 35 - Silver 7. Though the Cherry
squad
dominated the score today there were impressive blows traded by both
the
offense and defense. In an intra-squad scrimmage that indicates
balance
and should be the sign of a solid football team heading into fall
camp.
It is expected that several of the interesting position battles such as
the
competition at OL and WR will continue into fall camp. After
today's
action and great performances there is little doubt about the talent
level that
exists at these positions. Coach Baldwin will simply need to find
the
right mix and chemistry for the season opener Aug. 30 vs. TCU.
Notes:
McQueen
finished the game with 6
catches for 138 yards and a touchdown.
Donovan Porterie finished 10-18 for 96 yards and
one
touchdown with no interceptions. Sr. Rodney Ferguson had 58 yards
on the
ground and a touchdown.
The Cherry defensive line was impressive with
tackles for
loss by Jr. Phillip Harrison and Sr. Kevin Balogun as well as some
impressive
stops by redshirt freshman Jaymar Latchison. Also
active were
MLB Zach Arnett and lobo Clint McPeek each recording 6 tackles.