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Creative Director
Day of domination
Alabama A&M's defense shuts down offense in Maroon and White Game
04/28/02
By REGGIE BENSON
Times Sports Staff [email protected]
Robert Mathis was on the sidelines in street clothes. An ankle injury kept Alabama A&M's All-America defensive end out of Saturday's Maroon and White Game.
While Mathis was out, Martiness Shaw was in. That meant trouble for A&M's offense.
Shaw played a lot like Mathis, coming away with six tackles, including four for 26 yards in losses, and three sacks in leading the Maroon team to a 39-17 win over the White before a sparse crowd at Louis Crews Stadium.
''I've been preparing for this day all spring,'' said Shaw, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior from Spokane, Wash. ''I wanted to come out and perform to the best of my ability and let the coaches know when a star player like Mathis goes down, they have a dependable person behind him.''
Defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns said afterward Shaw could be moved to left end to compete with Desmond Hardy in an attempt to put him and Mathis on the field together.
''Shaw played with a lot of energy and did a tremendous job rushing the passer,'' Towns said. ''He looked a lot like Mathis coming from the backside. If we put him on the other side, we could have two defensive ends putting tremendous pressure on the quarter John Burroughs runs for 104 yards to solidify starting job Day Continued from page B1 back.''
But Shaw wasn't the only defensive end to stand out.
Redshirt freshman Lieutenant Dukes had four tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble, while Hardy, a senior, came up with two tackles. Dukes and Hardy are vying to replace Ardante Dawson, a two-time, first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference performer.
''Shaw, Dukes and Hardy have all gotten better this spring,'' Towns said.
A&M's defense, which has been dominant most of the spring, was good again Saturday, coming away with seven sacks, seven turnovers - five interceptions and two fumbles - while holding the offense to 6-of-22 third-down conversions.
Henry Freeman had two interceptions and recovered a fumble. J.J. Garrett recovered the other fumble, while Levernonte Turner, Adrian Williams and Fred Solomon each had one interception.
''We've been growing together as a team and it's time for us to step up and makes plays,'' said Freeman, who starts at left cornerback. ''We've been young in the secondary the past two seasons, but we've gotten older and it's time for us to play up to our ability.''
A&M's offense had some productive drives, but struggled to score points.
Running back Melvin Gideon scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter, while running back Lanier Bush had a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Rashad Cylar kicked a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter.
The quarterback position remained unsettled.
Redshirt freshman Tim Robinson was just 4-for-14 for 43 yards and threw four interceptions. Junior Chris Gunn was 4-of-9 for 36 yards and one interceptions, while Jacob Wilson, who played most of the fourth quarter, was 5-of-15 for 49 yards. The trio combined to complete just 13-of-38 passes for 128 yards.
''I'm not pleased at all with the way I played,'' Robinson said. ''I disappointed myself. I feel I let the team down. I made some bad decisions. The way I played is unacceptable.''
Said Gunn: ''I'm hoping I can move back on top, but coach will grade the tape and make a decision. We moved the ball up and down the field, but made some mistakes that kept us from scoring. We hurt ourselves when we got in the red zone.''
First-year coach Anthony Jones said the race will continue during fall practice.
''The trouble Tim had is due to lack of experience,'' Jones said. ''Young quarterbacks make the kind of mistakes he made today. The thing I like about him is he's trying to get better.
''Chris had the most poise out there today, but that's because he's played the last two years. We had some opportunities on offense, but we didn't take advantage of them. We've just got a lot of work to do offensively.''
The lone bright spot on offense was the play of running back John Burroughs, who solidified his hold on the starting job with 104 yards on just 14 carries, a whopping 7.4 yards per carry. Bryan Thompson and Melvin Gideon also had their moments.
The defense received two points for three-and-out series and three points for turnovers.
Alabama A&M's defense shuts down offense in Maroon and White Game
04/28/02
By REGGIE BENSON
Times Sports Staff [email protected]
Robert Mathis was on the sidelines in street clothes. An ankle injury kept Alabama A&M's All-America defensive end out of Saturday's Maroon and White Game.
While Mathis was out, Martiness Shaw was in. That meant trouble for A&M's offense.
Shaw played a lot like Mathis, coming away with six tackles, including four for 26 yards in losses, and three sacks in leading the Maroon team to a 39-17 win over the White before a sparse crowd at Louis Crews Stadium.
''I've been preparing for this day all spring,'' said Shaw, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior from Spokane, Wash. ''I wanted to come out and perform to the best of my ability and let the coaches know when a star player like Mathis goes down, they have a dependable person behind him.''
Defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns said afterward Shaw could be moved to left end to compete with Desmond Hardy in an attempt to put him and Mathis on the field together.
''Shaw played with a lot of energy and did a tremendous job rushing the passer,'' Towns said. ''He looked a lot like Mathis coming from the backside. If we put him on the other side, we could have two defensive ends putting tremendous pressure on the quarter John Burroughs runs for 104 yards to solidify starting job Day Continued from page B1 back.''
But Shaw wasn't the only defensive end to stand out.
Redshirt freshman Lieutenant Dukes had four tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble, while Hardy, a senior, came up with two tackles. Dukes and Hardy are vying to replace Ardante Dawson, a two-time, first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference performer.
''Shaw, Dukes and Hardy have all gotten better this spring,'' Towns said.
A&M's defense, which has been dominant most of the spring, was good again Saturday, coming away with seven sacks, seven turnovers - five interceptions and two fumbles - while holding the offense to 6-of-22 third-down conversions.
Henry Freeman had two interceptions and recovered a fumble. J.J. Garrett recovered the other fumble, while Levernonte Turner, Adrian Williams and Fred Solomon each had one interception.
''We've been growing together as a team and it's time for us to step up and makes plays,'' said Freeman, who starts at left cornerback. ''We've been young in the secondary the past two seasons, but we've gotten older and it's time for us to play up to our ability.''
A&M's offense had some productive drives, but struggled to score points.
Running back Melvin Gideon scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter, while running back Lanier Bush had a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Rashad Cylar kicked a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter.
The quarterback position remained unsettled.
Redshirt freshman Tim Robinson was just 4-for-14 for 43 yards and threw four interceptions. Junior Chris Gunn was 4-of-9 for 36 yards and one interceptions, while Jacob Wilson, who played most of the fourth quarter, was 5-of-15 for 49 yards. The trio combined to complete just 13-of-38 passes for 128 yards.
''I'm not pleased at all with the way I played,'' Robinson said. ''I disappointed myself. I feel I let the team down. I made some bad decisions. The way I played is unacceptable.''
Said Gunn: ''I'm hoping I can move back on top, but coach will grade the tape and make a decision. We moved the ball up and down the field, but made some mistakes that kept us from scoring. We hurt ourselves when we got in the red zone.''
First-year coach Anthony Jones said the race will continue during fall practice.
''The trouble Tim had is due to lack of experience,'' Jones said. ''Young quarterbacks make the kind of mistakes he made today. The thing I like about him is he's trying to get better.
''Chris had the most poise out there today, but that's because he's played the last two years. We had some opportunities on offense, but we didn't take advantage of them. We've just got a lot of work to do offensively.''
The lone bright spot on offense was the play of running back John Burroughs, who solidified his hold on the starting job with 104 yards on just 14 carries, a whopping 7.4 yards per carry. Bryan Thompson and Melvin Gideon also had their moments.
The defense received two points for three-and-out series and three points for turnovers.
