White Team Edges Blue Squad, 20-17

PROVO -- In the team's 15th and final practice of the 2004 spring season, the White squad, made up of members of the first-team defensive unit and second-team offensive unit, nailed down a 20-17 victory in Saturday's annual Blue-White Game at Edwards Stadium.

"I saw some things out there I liked," head coach Gary Crowton said. "I saw some good things out there with Todd Watkins. Some of those deep balls will help us along with some quick throws. I feel like we're still a ways away, but, we're moving in the right direction.

Despite junior receiver Todd Watkins' team leading five receptions for 103 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown reception from John Beck, and a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Quinn Gooch, the Blue squad came up just shy. Travis Epperson booted a barefoot 42-yard field goal late in the scrimmage to give the White team a 20-17 victory.

Despite the loss, Watkins' long-distance receptions and near-misses were the talk of the scrimmage.

"He's a really good receiver," quarterback John Beck said after the game. "You can throw him the deep ball and he'll run out. The wide-out position is just like the quarterback because it will be whoever works hard. Some guys have the talent but don't put in the work. But Todd's an awesome worker. BYU fans have a lot to look forward to."

During the scrimmage, Watkins was credited with receptions of 49 and 50 yards. The 6-3, 185-pound junior college transfer from Grossmont JC also had his hands on a 43-yards pass from Matt Berry, but it was ruled incomplete.

"I definitely had my hands under that one," Watkins said. "We'll have to review the film on that one. There was another one late in the scrimmage; the ball wasn't tipped. I just had a lapse of concentration. I'm glad that was in the spring game and not against USC. Overall I'm just looking forward to the summer and getting the new guys in here and get going from there.

"We've been working on the timing all week. We've been working on some plays just to make the defense hesitate for a second. When that worked, it allowed us to get open down the field."

The White team got on the board first, scoring on a 45-yard field goal from Trent Williams. Senior quarterback Todd Mortensen led the drive, completing four-of-five attempts for 34 yards. Eric Watterson racked up eight yards rushing and 17 yards receiving to set up the scoring opportunity. The eight-play drive covered 42 yards.

The Blue team tied the score at 3-3 after Matt Payne connected on a 21-yard field goal, capping a nine-play, 55-yard drive. On the second play of the drive, John Beck hooked up with Watkins for a 49-yard reception to put the Blue squad in scoring position. Three plays later Beck completed a 10-yard pass to Curtis Brown to give the Blue team a first-and-10 at the White's 11-yard line. Brown picked up a four-yard carry, followed by a three-yard run from Fahu Tahi to get down to the 4-yard line. However, an incompletion on third-and-three forced the Blue team to attempt the 21-yard field goal.

The White team took a hefty lead after Jason Beck found Dennis Pitta for a five-yard touchdown reception, capping an eight-play 75-yard drive. Earlier in the drive, Jason Beck had a 28-yard reception to tight end Jeremy Gillespie and a 26-yard reception to fullback Moa Peaua who turned a screen play in to big yards.

The White squad scored again on its next possession, capped by Mortensen's three-yard quarterback keeper. The drive, which started on the 50-yard line, didn't look like it would amount to much after Mortensen threw back-to-back incompletions. On third down, Mortensen found Zac Collie for a 20-yard gain. On the next play, Mortensen went to the air again, hooking up with Matt Smith for a 17-yard gain. Nathan Meikle added a three-yard run and Breyon Jones was credited with a seven-yard reception before Mortensen called his own number for the touchdown.

On the next series, John Beck needed one play to answer the White team's 14-unanswered points. Beck went up top to find Watkins sprinting down the sideline for the 50-yard touchdown reception.

"That's when everything was working perfectly," Watkins said. "The line was blocking perfectly, the quarterback made the right read, and the receiver makes the catch."

The Blue team tied things up at 17-17 when defensive back Quinn Gooch stepped in front of a Jason Beck pass and returned it 40 yards for the touchdown, marking the only defensive score of the day.

In his final series of the day, Mortensen led the White team on a five-play drive that covered 26 yards and resulted in the game-winning field goal. Mortensen completed a 22-yard pass to Smith on first down, and completed a three-yard screen pass to Jones to get the squad in scoring position. Epperson, a barefooted kicker from Cottonwood, Ariz. split the uprights for the game-winning, 42-yard field goal.

On the day, John Beck led all quarterbacks with 10-of-18 for 171 yards and a touchdown. Mortensen was 9-for-14 for 103 yards, while Jason Beck as 7-of-13 for 89 yards and one touchdown. Berry completed 6-of-12 attempts with one interceptions, while Jackson Brown saw significant playing time, racking up 5-of-15 receptions for 45 yards.

"I still have to look at the film," Crowton said of the quarterback derby. "I saw some good things. John (Beck) hit a deep one. Matt hit one at the end (to Todd Watkins), but it was dropped. Jason Beck looked good early in his drives. I think the quarterbacks are progressing. Todd Mortensen had a good drive in there as well. We'll have to look at the film and make a decision from there. We don't have to make that decision until Fall Camp."

Besides a few big plays from the offense, defenses from both the Blue and White teams held their own. On the Blue squad, Aaron Wagner, a transfer from Washington State, racked up a team-leading seven tackles, including two solos and five assisted takedowns. Wagner was also credited with three pass deflections. The Blue team defense was credited with two interceptions, including Gooch's 40-yarder for a touchdown.

The White squad saw strong performances from Spencer White, who posted a team-best seven tackles, including six assisted takedowns. He was also credited with a Matt Berry interception early in the scrimmage. Micah Alba, who had the chore of guarding Watkins throughout most of the afternoon, racked up six tackles, along with Aaron Francisco, who was credited with five stops on the afternoon. All totaled, the White defense, otherwise known as the first-team defense, posted 10 tackles for a loss, including eight sacks. Sophomore defensive lineman Michael Marquardt racked up a game-high three sacks on the afternoon, including back-to-back sacks to end the scrimmage.

"Our defense is great," Berry said. "They're usually always ahead of the offense. You have to give it to Coach Mendenhall and all the guys from top to bottom. They really played well today."

ADDITIONAL POST-GAME COMMENTS

Coach Crowton on the Running Backs:

"Curtis (Brown) has been hurt the past couple weeks, so we haven't been using him. Fahu has been getting most of the reps, but then he got hurt today, so we're playing a lot of walk-on running backs since Marcus (Whalen) isn't here."

Coach Crowton on the Offensive Line:

"The offensive line got a little beat up today. We lost our center (Lance Reynolds, Jr.) on the first play of the scrimmage. Then Hanale (Vincent) got a little tired at the end. Last year we had to start three freshman and now they're all sophomores. They're still not juniors or seniors, but we're going to make some strides there. We've got some depth behind those guys, and that depth has some experience as well. Hopefully we'll be a good two-deep and possibly three-deep on the O-line."

Coach Crowton on Calling the Plays:

"I'm a lot less nervous, and I can get into it a little more and have more control. Spring is Spring, and you're not game planning against your own team, so you're just coming out and running plays. I think we're a little bit better than we were last year and where we were the year before. But we're not quite where we were in 2001. We have a chance to continue to grow, and get closer to that."

Todd Watkins on His Overall Thoughts on the Team:

"As you can see, things are coming together. We did a lot of good things. We were moving the ball well at times. Once we can do that consistently, we're going to have a really good season."

Matt Berry on the Receivers:

"They're very impressive, aren't they. You probably saw what they can do. They're still learning the offense and they're just going to get better mentally and physically."

Matt Berry on the Progress of the Team:

"There's definitely a different atmosphere. There's a sense of urgency. Some of the guys are upset about how last season went. There's urgency to get out here. It was a long, long off-season and we're anxious to get back to our winning ways."

John Beck on His Thoughts on Saturday's Scrimmage:

"I thought today was a good day. We were completing some good passes. As the first team, we saw a lot of things we can get better on. Coach Crowton told us at the end of the scrimmage that he saw a lot of thing we could work on. None of us are going to dwell on the good things, we're just going to look forward to the things we can work on and get better."

John Beck on the Competition at Quarterback:

"I knew it was going to happen. I was a young freshman going into last season. I got a break when Matt (Berry) broke his hand and that's how I got in. It's always nice o get some experience. We knew it was going to be a dogfight, not just between two of us, but three of four of us are trying to get the job. It makes you better, you know. It makes you a competitor.

John Beck on the Offensive Line:

For this Spring game, a lot of guys were injured. Some played, but a lot of them had nicks and bruises. You saw there were more sacks at the end, so you could tell the line was tired. But those guys work with a lot of heart. I think you're going to see a good offensive line this year. First off, they have some experience coming back from last year, and second, they work so hard.

OFFICIAL BLUE-WHITE GAME STATS
                                       BLUE     WHITE
First Dows                              10        7
  Rushing                                1        0
  Passing                                9        7
  Penalty                                0        0
Rushing Attempts                        22       15
  Yards Gained Rushing                  41       47
  Yards Lost Rushing                    78       12
  Net Yards Rushing                    -37       35
Net Yards Passing                      297      237
Passes Attempted                        30       44
Passes Completed                        16       21
Had Intercepted                          1        2
Total Offensive Plays                   53       61
Total Net Yards                        260      272
Average Gain Per Play                  4.9      4.5
Fumbles: Number--Lost                  1-0      0-0
Penalties: Number--Yards              3-25      1-5
Interception Returns: Number--Yards   2-47      1-0
Fumble Returns: Number--Yards          0-0      0-0
Sacks By: Number--Yards                  1        8
 
BLUE TEAM INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING	     Att   Gain   Lost   Net   TD   Long
Berry	      5      0     35    -35    0    0
Tahi	      8     19      4     15    0    3
C. Brown      4     17      0     17    0    6
Morris        1      0     12    -12    0    0
J. Beck       4      5     27    -22    0    5
TOTALS       22     41     78    -37    0    6
PASSING   Att-Com-Int   Yds   TD   Lng   
Berry        12-6-1      26    0    14	
Jo. Beck     18-10-0    171    1    50	
TOTALS       30-16-1    297    1    50
PASS RECEIVING   No.   Yds   TD   Long	
C. Brown          2     23    0    13
Aiono             2     16    0    12
Kukahiko          2     16    0     9
Hale              1      4    0     4
Watkins           5    103    1    50
Coats             2     30    0    16
Morris            2      8    0     5
TOTALS           16    297    1    50
DEFENSIVE STATS
PLAYER         UT   AT   TOT   TFL   FR   INT   PBU   SACK
Theler          1    3    4     0     0    0     0     0
R. Beck         0    3    3     0     0    0     1     0
Nelson          0    2    2     0     0    0     0     0
Runyan          0    0    0     0     0    1     0     0
Q. Gooch        1    3    4     0     0    1     0     0
Howell          1    2    3     0     0    0     0     0
Nasciemento     1    1    2     0     0    0     0     0
Bennin          1    0    1     0     0    0     0     0
Couch           2    0    2     0     0    0     1     0
Kleinhenz       1    0    1     0     0    0     0     0
Staffieri       1    2    3     0     0    0     0     0
Nehring         1    1    2     1     0    0     1     1
Anderton        2    2    4     0     0    0     0     0
Wagner          2    5    7     0     0    0     3     0
Van Sweden      0    1    1     0     0    0     0     0
Nua             0    2    2     0     0    0     1     0
Paongo          0    1    1     0     0    0     0     0
WHITE TEAM INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING       Att   Gain   Lost   Net   TD   Long
Ja. Beck       2      4      0     4     0     4
Watterson      4     12      1    11     0     7
Meikle         3      7      0     7     0     3
T. Mortensen   1      3      0     3     1     3
J. Brown       3     21     10    11     0    11
Semanoff       2      0      1    -1     0     0
TOTALS        15     47     12    35     1    11
PASSING        Att-Com-Int   Yds   TD   Lng 
T. Mortensen     14-9-0      103    0    22	
Ja. Beck         13-7-1       89    1    28	
J. Brown         15-5-1       45    0    14	
G. Mortensen      1-0-0        0    0     -	
TOTALS          44-21-2      237    1    28	
PASS RECEIVING    No.  Yds   TD   Long
D. Gooch           3    27    0     9
Gordon             3    25    0    11
Jones              2    10    0     7
M. Smith           3    43    0    22
Webber             1     3    0     3
Semanoff           1     6    0     6
A. Beck            1    14    0    14
Z. Collie          1    20    0    20
Pitta              1     5    1     5
Peaua              1    26    0    26
Gillespie          2    42    0    28
Watterson          2    27    0    12
TOTALS            21   237    1    28
DEFENSIVE STATS
PLAYER         UT   AT   TOT   TFL   FR   INT   PBU   SACK
Soelberg        2    0    2     0     0    0     1      0
Alba            2    4    6     0     0    0     0      0
S. White        1    6    7     0     0    1     0      0
Francisco       3    2    5     0     0    0     2      0
Burbidge        3    1    4     1     0    0     1      1
M. Marquardt    3    0    3     3     0    0     0      3
J. Denney       3    2    5     1     0    0     0      1
Carlson-Maddux  1    0    1     0     0    0     0      0
Jensen          3    2    5     2     0    0     0      1
Atkinson        2    2    4     1     0    0     0      1
Reid            0    3    3     0     0    0     0      0
Walkenhorst     3    0    3     2     0    0     0      1
Williams        0    1    1     0     0    0     0      0