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Defense Rallies to Beat Offense in Spring Game

Courtesy: Akron Media Relations

Release: 04/04/2009

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Two-time All-MAC defensive lineman Almondo Sewell had three TFL, including two sacks, in the annual Blue-Gold spring game.

Courtesy: Jeff Harwell-Zips Sports Photography

Two-time All-MAC defensive lineman Almondo Sewell had three TFL, including two sacks, in the annual Blue-Gold spring game.

AKRON – A unique scoring system rewarded the defense for making stops, specifically getting three points for forcing a three-and-out. Down 17-12 at the break, the defense forced four three-and-outs and stopped the offense three other times for one point to get a 28-24 victory in the annual Blue-Gold Spring game, held Saturday afternoon at the Stile Athletics Field House.

The game was just one of the highlights as part of the Spring Festival, presented by Chick-fil-A on Howe Avenue. From 11-2 pm, fans were allowed to take a tour of InfoCision Stadium, the Zips’ new on-campus facility that opens Sept. 12, 2009 when Akron hosts Morgan State. There was also a street festival and the UA softball team hosted Eastern Michigan at 2 pm.

In the scrimmage, the offense scored in their usual ways, touchdowns and field goals. The defense was awarded three points for a turnover, three points for forcing a three-and-out and one point for getting a stop without allowing a score.

“As much as I liked last year’s format, splitting the team and playing the game, this year was probably better,” said UA head coach J.D. Brookhart. “This year was very competitive, but I dislike the fact that 20-plus guys were on the sideline with injuries. I thought our offense came out with nice intent and purpose after having the defense getting the better of them most of the spring. The defense made some nice adjustments at halftime and showed in the second half why we are excited about that side of the ball this fall.”

The offense, under the direction of Chris Jacquemain, moved the ball effectively early. In fact, Jacquemain was 10-of-13 in the first half for 139 yards and a TD. He finished the day completing 16-of-27 for 189 yards. While the offense had its struggles in the second half, Matt Rodgers had some success. After a 1-for-7 start, he finished completing 10-of-22 for 115 yards with an interception and a TD.

The first drive featured a 35-yard swing pass to Nate Burney, but a 34-yard field goal missed to the right for one point to the defense. The second defense rode the momentum by forcing a three-and-out and a 4-0 lead.

Jacquemain once again moved his unit on the last drive of the first quarter. He hit Nadir Brown on a 25-yard pass and later connected with Dashan Miller on a bubble screen, which resulted in a 25-yard TD. Branko Rogovic added the extra point for a 7-4 lead for the offense. Rodgers tried to get his second unit going with a nice run, but the defense would get a stop and a point.

Jacquemain’s third series started slow with Manley Waller making a big ht on a short completion. However, A swing pass to Burney and a long completion to Brown got the offense back on track. Burney and Jacquemain each contributed nice runs and, ultimately, Jacquemain would score on a two-yard QB keeper making the score 14-5.

The defense scored seven points on the next three drives, forcing a three-and-out, having the offense miss a field goal and getting an interception. On the drive with the missed field goal, a 50 yard attempt, Rodgers put the offense in position with a 23-yard completion to Miller. On the following possession, Rodgers was picked by Kevin Davis, bringing the defense two within two, 14-12.

Rogovic put the offense up five, 17-12, as time expired in the first half with a 46-yard field goal.

The second half belonged to the defense. The unit forced a three-and-out, saw Norman Shuford block a field goal and saw a missed 50-yard field goal on the three drives of the third quarter.

In the fourth, the defense had three three-and-outs with one other stop, going up 27-17. Late in the fourth, DeVoe Torrence reeled off an impressive long run followed by a 38-yard Rodgers-to-Brown strike for a TD. Rogovic connected on the PAT to make the score 27-24 in the defense’s favor. With the TD catch, Brown ended the day with five receptions for 98 yards.

With 2:45 left in the game, the offense had one last chance to tie or get the win. After getting one first down, Waller gave the defense the four-point win (28-24) with a final pass break-up.

Rushing

Nate Burney 11-36; DeVoe Torrence 3-32; Chris Jacquemain 7-25; Matt Rodgers 5-22; Thomas Miller 8-21; Jeremy Bruce 3-9; LeVon Morefield 1-3; Nathan Cope 2-0.