ASU spring game lacks scoring

[Blacknbengal]

April 11, 2006

ASU spring game lacks scoring

By Josh Moon
Montgomery Advertiser




Alabama State quarterback Jason Bruce looks for a way around the Gold team's Jerrod Kerrison during Saturday's Black and Gold game at Cramton Bowl.
-- Karen S. Doerr


Alabama State's annual Black and Gold spring game wasn't exactly a crowd pleaser.

The couple of hundred fans who made it to Cramton Bowl on Saturday afternoon were treated to just one offensive touchdown, very little offense in general and quite a few mistakes and miscues.

The Black team scored on its second possession of the game, got a defensive score on a fumble return on the first play of the second half and that was all.

Black beat the Gold, 14-0.

"I know the fans like to see a bunch of points put up there," Alabama State head coach Charlie Coe said. "But we had some things we, as coaches, needed to take a look at.

"We purposely divided the teams up and limited the offense and defense so we could see how some players responded in certain situations. It wasn't a good game for (the fans), but it will help us to evaluate this football team. That was the most important thing."

The coaches limited what both the offense and defense could do in the game. The offense had to stay in simple formations -- no four-wide receiver sets -- and couldn't send players in motion.

The defense couldn't blitz or line up in anything other than base formations.

"We just wanted these young guys to go out there and play and not have to worry about a whole lot of formations and things," Coe said. "I think we saw some good things out of some players, and we'll be able to tell from the film a lot more about some of these players."

It shouldn't take them long to break down the offensive statistics.

The leading rusher Saturday was the Black team's Jay Peck, who carried five times for 18 yards. ASU's five other running backs combined to rush 14 times for 20 yards.

The passing game wasn't much better.

T'Chelpio Woods, in combined play with both teams, threw for 103 yards. Jason Bruce threw for 92 and Alex Engram, who went out with a shoulder injury early on, completed 3-of-4 passes for 47 yards. While their yardage wasn't bad, Woods and Bruce completed just 15 of their combined 40 pass attempts.

Of those passes, there were only a handful of deep balls, none of which were completed, and the longest run of the day was an 11-yarder from running back Jerry Severe.

The game's only offensive score came when Engram capped off an 11-play, 60-yard drive with a one-yard TD run.

"We've got a lot of work to do between now and next fall," said wide receiver Brandon Horace, who led all wideouts with four catches for 60 yards. "We've got to step it up as a team, work hard and get things right. Today wasn't a good indication of how good this team is. But we should've done better out here."

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[Blacknbengal]

Southern wraps spring football

Southern wraps spring football

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
Advocate sports writer
Published: Apr 9, 2006


Advocate staff photo by MARK SALTZ
Southern starting quarterback J.C. Lewis fires a pass during the team’s spring scrimmage Saturday at Mumford Stadium. Lewis, who started as a sophomore, finished 14-of-20 for 206 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.


Here’s what you need to know about Southern University’s final scrimmage of spring practice Saturday.


Quarterback J.C. Lewis is sharp, maybe sharper than ever.
The offensive line is getting better, showing continuity after a season of mixing and matching.
The Jaguars showed signs of a running game that was absent much of last season.
And the defense, thin at linebacker and on the line and still young in the secondary, did a credible — but certainly not overwhelming — job.
Reading any more into the tea leaves from A.W. Mumford Stadium is risky, at best.

Two tight ends and an offensive guard were out with injuries. Three linebackers, including starter Maurice Runnels (knee) and Johnathan Malveaux (groin), also did not play. And two running backs, Devin Herbert and Bobby Rose, were out, as they have been all spring.

“We went into it with the plan as far as trying to intertwine the groups, because we were thin at so many spots,” coach Pete Richardson said. “Just give them so many plays instead of going ones against twos.

“We were mixing them in, trying to keep them fresh, because any time you start getting fatigued, you’re going to find you’re going to have some injuries.”

The 103-play workout — with the offense working (until it either scored or reached a fourth down) from various spots, starting at its 20-yard line and ending with goal-line work — featured so many mixes of personnel that the practice didn’t have much of a sense of continuity.

“The effort was there, but we have a long way to go as far as the technical part of the game,” Richardson said. “We’ve got a lot of young individuals trying to learn the system.”

The offense scored 10 touchdowns. However, six of the TDs came in the final 15 plays and eight of the scores in the last 29 plays.

In that stretch, two of the TDs came with the offense starting at the defense’s 30-yard line, four TDs with starts at the 10 and the other two on both of the starts from the 3.

In contrast, in the first 74 plays, the offense scored just twice, on two long Lewis passes (of 29 yards to tight end Brian Washington and then 52 yards to wide receiver Gerard Landry, running free down the left hash marks, on what defensive coordinator Terrence Graves called a miscommunication between the safety and the cornerback).

“The depth is really hurting us,” Richardson said. “It was a learning experience for some of them, especially having to go so many plays.”

Lewis, who started as a sophomore, showed the polish expected of him. He finished 14-for-20 for 206 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, on his first pass.

“He’s experienced. He understands the offense. He’s getting the confidence of the team,” Richardson said.

Lewis spread the ball around and all over the field, hitting five different players, including a tight end and a running back, for the scores.

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