FIRST TEAM OFFENSE KNOCKS OFF FIRST TEAM DEFENSE 17-14 IN ANNUAL UT MARTIN BLUE AND WHITE SPRING GAME
4/13/2019 4:31:00 PM | Football
MARTIN, Tenn. – While the forecast was less than ideal, there was still work to be done for the University of Tennessee at Martin football team as the program held its annual Blue and White Spring Game along with Junior Day at Hardy M. Graham Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Skyhawks competed their 11th practice of the spring season by holding its annual marque offseason event as fans, staff and players alike braved the elements on Saturday afternoon. With a constant drizzle coming over the newly carpeted turf of Graham Stadium it was the first team offense and second team defense which outmatched the first team defense and second team offense by a final score of 17-14.
"We needed to get in game situations, coaches on the sideline, 1s-on-1s, 2s-on-2s, we even spread some kicks in there today," UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. "A lot of good came out of today. Was it as clean as we want it to be, no, but we are at a place through 11 practices that we needed this type of work. The good thing is we have four practices left, we will make some corrections tomorrow and have three left to take the next step."
Senior Joe Hudson took the majority of the first team snaps, completing 12-of-22 passes (54.5 percent) for 128 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the contest. Redshirt-freshman John Bachus III led the second team by completing 19-of-29 passes (65.5 percent) for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior Peyton Logan led the team with 11 carries for 31 yards in the run attack while converted running back Lamarcus Young tallied eight carries for 29 yards. The trio of Jarious Johnson, Deashun Fields and Hudson also tallied four carries each.
Wide receivers Jaylon Moore and Jeremy Horton paced the core with five receptions each with 69 and 70 yards, respectively. Meanwhile, the Williams trio of Terry, Donnell and Rod each recorded four receptions and one touchdown. Colton Dowell, Young and Johnson also garnered multi-reception outings with two catches each.
On the defensive side of the ball, newcomer Jaquez Akins led all players with eight tackles along with a quarterback hurry. Sophomore Wanya Moton ranked second with seven tackles on the day while Devan Hollins, TJ Jefferson, Bryan Adkins, Loren Young and John Ford each tallied five tackles as well.
Three players forced turnovers with Ford returning an interception for a touchdown while Devin Sims and Cam Ordway also garnered interceptions on the afternoon.
Four different specialists saw action as Ryan Courtright was 1-of-1 on field goal attempts, making a 22-yard field goal while converting his lone point after attempt. Ryan Clark missed his lone field goal attempt from 44 yards while making a pair of PATs. In the punt game, Zane Cox registered four punts totaling 113 yards while freshman Joe Foley booted one punt for 22 yards.
The game went back and forth throughout the four 12-minute quarters with the offense jumping out to an early lead on a 22-yard field goal by Ryan Courtright for the lone points of the first quarter. Both teams tallied touchdowns in the second as Bachus found Donnell Williams for an 11-yard touchdown completion on the opening drive of the period. Not to be outdone, Hudson answered on the following possession with a 32-yard touchdown completion to Terry Williams to retake the lead.
The third quarter's only score came on a one-yard strike from Bachus to Rodney Williams to give the first team defense a 14-10 advantage. The game would remain at the same margin until late in the contest when Ford returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown to seal a 17-14 victory for the first team offense and second team defense.
The Skyhawks competed their 11th practice of the spring season by holding its annual marque offseason event as fans, staff and players alike braved the elements on Saturday afternoon. With a constant drizzle coming over the newly carpeted turf of Graham Stadium it was the first team offense and second team defense which outmatched the first team defense and second team offense by a final score of 17-14.
"We needed to get in game situations, coaches on the sideline, 1s-on-1s, 2s-on-2s, we even spread some kicks in there today," UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. "A lot of good came out of today. Was it as clean as we want it to be, no, but we are at a place through 11 practices that we needed this type of work. The good thing is we have four practices left, we will make some corrections tomorrow and have three left to take the next step."
Senior Joe Hudson took the majority of the first team snaps, completing 12-of-22 passes (54.5 percent) for 128 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the contest. Redshirt-freshman John Bachus III led the second team by completing 19-of-29 passes (65.5 percent) for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior Peyton Logan led the team with 11 carries for 31 yards in the run attack while converted running back Lamarcus Young tallied eight carries for 29 yards. The trio of Jarious Johnson, Deashun Fields and Hudson also tallied four carries each.
Wide receivers Jaylon Moore and Jeremy Horton paced the core with five receptions each with 69 and 70 yards, respectively. Meanwhile, the Williams trio of Terry, Donnell and Rod each recorded four receptions and one touchdown. Colton Dowell, Young and Johnson also garnered multi-reception outings with two catches each.
On the defensive side of the ball, newcomer Jaquez Akins led all players with eight tackles along with a quarterback hurry. Sophomore Wanya Moton ranked second with seven tackles on the day while Devan Hollins, TJ Jefferson, Bryan Adkins, Loren Young and John Ford each tallied five tackles as well.
Three players forced turnovers with Ford returning an interception for a touchdown while Devin Sims and Cam Ordway also garnered interceptions on the afternoon.
Four different specialists saw action as Ryan Courtright was 1-of-1 on field goal attempts, making a 22-yard field goal while converting his lone point after attempt. Ryan Clark missed his lone field goal attempt from 44 yards while making a pair of PATs. In the punt game, Zane Cox registered four punts totaling 113 yards while freshman Joe Foley booted one punt for 22 yards.
The game went back and forth throughout the four 12-minute quarters with the offense jumping out to an early lead on a 22-yard field goal by Ryan Courtright for the lone points of the first quarter. Both teams tallied touchdowns in the second as Bachus found Donnell Williams for an 11-yard touchdown completion on the opening drive of the period. Not to be outdone, Hudson answered on the following possession with a 32-yard touchdown completion to Terry Williams to retake the lead.
The third quarter's only score came on a one-yard strike from Bachus to Rodney Williams to give the first team defense a 14-10 advantage. The game would remain at the same margin until late in the contest when Ford returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown to seal a 17-14 victory for the first team offense and second team defense.
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