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The University of Utah Athletics
Defense Steps it Up in Football Scrimmage
4/10/2010 12:00 AM | Football
April 10, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY -
While the Ute offense continued to move the chains in the second scrimmage of the spring, the defense got most of the raves by forcing four turnovers.
The final "work" scrimmage of the spring left head coach Kyle Whittingham satisfied. Just one week remains in spring camp, which will conclude on Saturday, April 17 with the annual Red-White Game.
"Eleven practices into it, we are in pretty good shape," said Whittingham. "Our defense played much better than a week ago and really flew around. The catch 22 is that when one side of the ball plays really well, that means the other side had some problems."
On this day, Whittingham fingered penalties and turnovers as the offense's biggest stumbling blocks. "The offense did some good things, especially in the red zone, but we had too many drive-killing penalties and didn't take good enough care of the ball."
Despite the penalties, quarterbacks Jordan Wynn and backup Terrance Cain put up some good numbers. Playing with the first unit, Wynn completed 15-of-28 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown in red zone drills. Cain was even sharper, completing 18-of-23 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. His first scoring drive culminated with a 59-yard pass to freshman tight end Westlee Tonga. Cain and Tonga also teamed up for a touchdown in red zone drills.
Tonga finished the day with three catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman receiver Fatu Moala, who has moved into the two deep, caught four balls for 74 yards, while Jereme Brooks finished with three catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Third-string QB Griff Robles led all rushers with eight carries for 63 yards, including a 48-long scramble. Sausan Shakerin had seven carries for 35 yards, while Shawn Asiata (younger brother of senior RB Matt Asiata) rushed six times for 31 yards and a TD.
Defensively, freshman defensive end Trevor Reilly continues to turn heads in camp. Reilly broke up three passes. Others with big plays included a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker J.J. Williams and two fumble recoveries by new freshman Damian Payne.
Utah's kickers fared well, other than a 29-yard attempt by Joe Philllips that was blocked by Justin Taplin-Ross. Phillips made his other two attempts, including a long of 45 yards, while backup Nick Marsh was 3-for-4 with a long of 29.
Scoring Summary
Tonga 59 pass from Cain (Marsh kick)Williams 32 interception returnBrooks 25 pass from Wynn* (Phillips kick)Tonga 15 pass from Cain* (Mash kick)S. Asiata 6 run* (Marsh kick)Clifford 12 pass from Cain (Marsh good)
*during red zone competition
Rushing Leaders
Robles 8-63-0; Shakerin 7-35-0; Wynn 4-30-0; S. Asiata 6-21-1.
Passing
Wynn 15-28-1-182-1; Cain 18-23-1-290-3.
Receiving Leaders
Tonga 3-80-2; Moala 4-74-0; Brooks 3-61-1; Matthews 3-58-0; Wade 5-54-0; Clifford 4-47-1.
Defensive Leaders
INT: Williams 1-32-1, Bird 1; FR: Payne 2; FF: Fagergren 1, Black 1; PBU: Reilly 3.
Players Mentioned
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