SPRING SEASON ENDS ON THE OFFENSIVE

From gobulldogs.com:

It was a great day for Bulldog football.

The final spring scrimmage, held in front of nearly 3,000 fans on a picture-perfect day at Bulldog Stadium, was a showcase of what can be expected from the Dogs in 2009.

Head coach Pat Hill ran his team threw nearly 70 plays in the scrimmage, in which the offense completely dominated the defense.

The Dogs scored nine touchdowns and kicked two field goals, including scoring of five of six attempts in the red zone with three touchdowns.

“This week it was the offense and last week it was the defense,” said Hill. “That’s just the way it goes in the spring. We saw some really good things our here. The quarterbacks all looked crisp. I think we have three very good quarterbacks and I know some places wish they had just one. The defense was limited in what it could do. We played a lot of base packages and little blitzing. It was a great day out here and I’m glad our fans came out and showed their support.”

Leading the scoring charge for the Dogs was running back Ryan Mathews, who scored a touchdown on a 6 yard screen pass play and then on a 5 yard run. He had three carries in the scrimmage for six yards and two receptions for 25 yards.

Mathews was one of the nation’s top running backs early in the 2008 season, ranked in the Top 10 in rushing and scoring, before suffering an injury that limited his ability in the second half of the season.

All three quarterbacks showed big play capability in the scrimmage, each accounting for at least two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Ebahn Feathers ran for two scores, including an electrifying 62 yard option run and another on a 6 yard run. In all, he rushed for 126 yards on 12 carries. He completed 2-of-5 passes for 40 yards, with a 19-yard completion to Chastin West and a 21-yard pass to Jamel Hamler.

Ryan Colburn threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Hamler and had a 58-yard completion to Darren Newborn. Colburn rushed the ball nine times for 59 yards, with a 32-yard run and a 15-yard touchdown run. He had a solid day through the air, completing 5-of-11 passes for 109 yards with one touchdown.

Derek Carr threw three touchdowns in the scrimmage, including a 19-yard pass ot West on the final play of the scrimmage. In all, he threw for 144 yards, completing 11-of-13 passes.

Offensive highlights:

None of the quarterback threw an interception
Eight different players scored touchdowns
Only one turnover (a fumble) in over 70 plays
Three touchdowns and two field goals in six attempts inside the compete zone
Newborn had three catches and had 83 receiving yards to lead all receivers. West had three catches for 53 yards and Hamler finished with three receptions for 40 yards. Seyi Ajirotutu, last season’s top pass catcher, had three receptions for 33 yards. Receiver J.J. Stallworth had a 40-yard reception from Carr.

Jamal Rashaad led all running backs with 55 yards on five carries, while Lonyae Miller had two carries for 29 yards, all of those yards coming on one play. Redshirt freshman A.J. Ellis had 24 yards on six attempts, including a 3-yard touchdown run. Fellow freshman Michael Harris had seven carries for 22 yards.

“It was nice to see the offense come out and make some plays and put it all together,” said junior center Joe Bernardi. “We have not been that consistent this spring, but we were able to put it together today. What can you say about those three quarterbacks? I think our fans are really going to enjoy watching No. 3, No. 4 and No. 15 play on the football field next fall.”

Bernardi was also quick to note that more work needs to be done in the off season.

“We are by no means a finished product,” he said. “Coach Hill hit it on the head. We have more work left. We have to get stronger and faster and in better shape coming into fall camp. We have a lot of work left to improve our fundamentals. But today was a good day. It was a fun day to see the offense deliver what we know it can.”

Hill implemented a new and unique scoring system for the scrimmage, which the offense easily won 86-31.

The Bulldogs held 10 offensive drives over the field and six drives in the Compete Zone (25-yard line) conducted similar to college football overtime rules.

Prior to the compete zone portion of the scrimmage, the offense built a 57-17 lead in the scoring system. The offense outscored the defense 29-14 in the compete zone.

Scrimmage Scoring System
Offense:
Touchdown: 6 points
Extra Point (all kicked from the 25 yard line): 1 point
First Down: 1 point
Field goal: 3 points

Defense:
Turnover: 7 points
Offense Makes a field goal under 40 yards: 4 points
Offense misses a field goal over 40 yards: 1 point
Offense Misses a field goal under 40 yards: 7 points
Holds offense to a three-and-out to start a drive: 2 points
Force a punt on a regular drive: 1 point
Missed extra point: 1 point

Bulldog defense got one turnover and only forced on punt, which Robert Malone hit for 42 yards. The offense did force five quarterback sacks, one by Kyle Knox who also recovered a fumble. Others getting sacks were Chase McEntee, Chris Lewis, Logan Harrell and Moses Harris. Harris led the defense with seven tackles. Shawn Plummer had six tackles and broke up one pass attempt.

Redshirt end Matt Akers continued to have an impressive spring session, adding five tackles in the scrimmage. Senior cornerback A.J. Jefferson, who is one of the nation’s most exciting return specialists, had five tackles and a pass deflection.

“We played slow on defense and we made a couple of mental errors,” said Harris. “We did some snow balling. There were no blitzes and we only played about five pressures. We played a generic defense and didn’t want to show all at once or give too much away. Overall I’m really happy with how we’ve progressed.”

The two Bulldog kickers got their fair share of time on the field, as sophomore Kevin Goessling made a 47-yard field goal and two of his three long PAT attempts. He missed a 57-yard field goal attempt. Andrew Shapiro made three PATs and connected on a 35-yard field goal while missing another field goal attempt.

This scrimmage concluded Fresno State’s spring session and was the 15th and final practice.

All in all, Hill was pleased with the progress of the team during spring ball.

“Heck yes I’m pleased,” he said. “We saw a lot of improvement in a lot of areas. I think we are getting better fundamentally and we have seen that we have more team speed. I’m also happy that we got through spring drills with no serious injuries. That’s always a good thing. I’m very happy with the commitment of the team and our chemistry right now and really looking forward to the fall when we can get them back and start preparing for Sept. 5 and UC Davis.”

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