WHITE TEAM PULLS OUT 14-3 VICTORY OVER BLUE SQUAD IN SPRING GAME
4/23/2022 10:40:00 PM | Football
MARTIN, Tenn. – The defending Ohio Valley Conference champion University of Tennessee at Martin football team put the finishing touches on its spring camp with the program's annual Blue and White Spring Game at Hardy M. Graham Stadium this afternoon. With Blue Team (first team) paired against the White Team (second team), the White squad came away with a 14-3 victory.
Following a successful spring camp which has focused on development and integration, UT Martin capped off its 15-practice slate with its first Blue and White Spring game since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the altered official spring schedule of 2021.
Players and coaches were supported by a strong contingent at Graham Stadium as approximately 500 fans filled the stands along with prospective athletes and their families in conjunction with Junior Day for the Skyhawk program. All in attendance were graced with a beautiful spring afternoon sitting in the mid-80s while a strong breeze pushed across the gridiron with the sunny forecast.
Gallery: (4-23-2022) Blue and White Spring Game
"It was good competition, the best thing is we got out of it in one piece without any injuries," reigning OVC Coach of the Year Jason Simpson said. "There are a lot of battles for key positions going on and we have a good situation. Now we kind of know the improvements we made, here are the things we got to work on and we will get ourselves a plan for the summer. It was a good job of playing defense – I even limited some of the things they could do today – so I am pretty proud of them for holding both offenses in check. Now we will self-assess and get ourselves a plan to move forward."
With a standard game format featuring four 12 minutes quarters, the White Team was the first to break through in the scoring column as Jermaine Cooley stripped a fumble which Oshae Baker returned 37 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Following the scoop and score, the Blue team responded with a seven play drive which resulted with a 44-yard field goal by Tyler Larco to make the contest 7-3 heading into halftime.
Neither team found the endzone in the third quarter, but the third-team offense would set up a scoring drive in the final minutes. With the White squad sitting just outside of the redzone as the quarter switched to the fourth, the team quickly punctuated their scoring drive two plays later on a three-yard connection from quarterback Josh Lundy to receiver Deray Lawrence to put the team up 14-3.
The Blue squad would have two final drives to mount their comeback attempt but a missed 40-yard field goal proved costly late before seeing the game end on a 38-yard reception by Colton Dowell as time expired down at the two yard line.
Scoring Summary
Offensive Leaders
Quarterback Dresser Winn led the Blue Team and was effective in the pocket by completing 21-of-31 pass attempts for 196 yards. Newcomer Cornelious Brown completed 11-of-19 pass attempts for 85 yards while throwing one interception. The lone touchdown pass came from freshman Josh Lundy who went 4-for-7 on the day with 37 yards and one touchdown while fellow freshman William Mitchell was 4-for-4 on the final drive for 47 yards.
Two-time All-OVC receiver Colton Dowell ranked amongst team leaders with his six catches while pacing the team with 109 yards. The team's top receiver in terms of receptions was Arius Trice with eight (41 yards) while newcomer AJ Smith hauled in seven catches (37 yards). Other top contributors were DeVonte Tanksley with five catches for 58 yards while Lawrence hauled in the team's lone touchdown reception while tallying 21 yards through the air.
The running back group saw Sam Franklin lead the team with seven carries while Terayon Sweet ranked as the day's top rusher with four carries for 20 yards.
Defensive Leaders
Numerous players posted impressive afternoons on the defensive side of the ball with the Darkside tallying 19 tackles for loss – including six sacks – along with an interception, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and several hurries.
Jarid Johnson ranked as the team's top tackler with eight stops on the day while wreaking havoc in the backfield with 3.5 tackles for loss. Cooley also made things difficult in the backfield with two half sacks and another tackle for loss which resulted in a forced fumble to set up the defensive touchdown. Others on the front line of note were Jamarius Landers and Daylan Dotson who each played a role in a pair of sacks.
As a whole, the Skyhawks had 10 players tally at least five stops on the day – led by Johnson's eight. Chris Hunter and Antonio Jackson ranked second on the team with six stops while Isaiah Abdullah, Christian Dowell, Robert Hicks, Jack Lucas, Tevin Shipp, Tyson Strickland and Aaron Webb rounded out the squad with five each.
Special Teams
Larco tallied five punts totaling 229 yards for an average of 45.8 yards per punt while booting a game-long 74 yarder in the first quarter. On field goal tries, Larco made 1-of-4 attempts on the windy afternoon – including a 44 yard attempt.
Up Next
UT Martin will shift its focus to upcoming finals to close out the academic year before progressing into offseason workouts this summer and the 2022 season opener against Western Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 1.
Following a successful spring camp which has focused on development and integration, UT Martin capped off its 15-practice slate with its first Blue and White Spring game since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the altered official spring schedule of 2021.
Players and coaches were supported by a strong contingent at Graham Stadium as approximately 500 fans filled the stands along with prospective athletes and their families in conjunction with Junior Day for the Skyhawk program. All in attendance were graced with a beautiful spring afternoon sitting in the mid-80s while a strong breeze pushed across the gridiron with the sunny forecast.
"It was good competition, the best thing is we got out of it in one piece without any injuries," reigning OVC Coach of the Year Jason Simpson said. "There are a lot of battles for key positions going on and we have a good situation. Now we kind of know the improvements we made, here are the things we got to work on and we will get ourselves a plan for the summer. It was a good job of playing defense – I even limited some of the things they could do today – so I am pretty proud of them for holding both offenses in check. Now we will self-assess and get ourselves a plan to move forward."
With a standard game format featuring four 12 minutes quarters, the White Team was the first to break through in the scoring column as Jermaine Cooley stripped a fumble which Oshae Baker returned 37 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Following the scoop and score, the Blue team responded with a seven play drive which resulted with a 44-yard field goal by Tyler Larco to make the contest 7-3 heading into halftime.
Neither team found the endzone in the third quarter, but the third-team offense would set up a scoring drive in the final minutes. With the White squad sitting just outside of the redzone as the quarter switched to the fourth, the team quickly punctuated their scoring drive two plays later on a three-yard connection from quarterback Josh Lundy to receiver Deray Lawrence to put the team up 14-3.
The Blue squad would have two final drives to mount their comeback attempt but a missed 40-yard field goal proved costly late before seeing the game end on a 38-yard reception by Colton Dowell as time expired down at the two yard line.
Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Scoring Play | W-B |
| 2nd | WHITE – 37-yard fumble recovery by Oshae Baker | 7-0 |
| 2nd | BLUE – 44-yard field goal by Tyler Larco | 7-3 |
| 4th | WHITE – 3-yard touchdown pass from Josh Lundy to Deray Lawrence | 14-3 |
Offensive Leaders
Quarterback Dresser Winn led the Blue Team and was effective in the pocket by completing 21-of-31 pass attempts for 196 yards. Newcomer Cornelious Brown completed 11-of-19 pass attempts for 85 yards while throwing one interception. The lone touchdown pass came from freshman Josh Lundy who went 4-for-7 on the day with 37 yards and one touchdown while fellow freshman William Mitchell was 4-for-4 on the final drive for 47 yards.
Two-time All-OVC receiver Colton Dowell ranked amongst team leaders with his six catches while pacing the team with 109 yards. The team's top receiver in terms of receptions was Arius Trice with eight (41 yards) while newcomer AJ Smith hauled in seven catches (37 yards). Other top contributors were DeVonte Tanksley with five catches for 58 yards while Lawrence hauled in the team's lone touchdown reception while tallying 21 yards through the air.
The running back group saw Sam Franklin lead the team with seven carries while Terayon Sweet ranked as the day's top rusher with four carries for 20 yards.
Defensive Leaders
Numerous players posted impressive afternoons on the defensive side of the ball with the Darkside tallying 19 tackles for loss – including six sacks – along with an interception, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and several hurries.
Jarid Johnson ranked as the team's top tackler with eight stops on the day while wreaking havoc in the backfield with 3.5 tackles for loss. Cooley also made things difficult in the backfield with two half sacks and another tackle for loss which resulted in a forced fumble to set up the defensive touchdown. Others on the front line of note were Jamarius Landers and Daylan Dotson who each played a role in a pair of sacks.
As a whole, the Skyhawks had 10 players tally at least five stops on the day – led by Johnson's eight. Chris Hunter and Antonio Jackson ranked second on the team with six stops while Isaiah Abdullah, Christian Dowell, Robert Hicks, Jack Lucas, Tevin Shipp, Tyson Strickland and Aaron Webb rounded out the squad with five each.
Special Teams
Larco tallied five punts totaling 229 yards for an average of 45.8 yards per punt while booting a game-long 74 yarder in the first quarter. On field goal tries, Larco made 1-of-4 attempts on the windy afternoon – including a 44 yard attempt.
Up Next
UT Martin will shift its focus to upcoming finals to close out the academic year before progressing into offseason workouts this summer and the 2022 season opener against Western Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 1.
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