 |  |
|
(UWIRE) NORMAL, Ill. -- Ray Sankey recorded three sacks for the defense, and Tom Nelson returned an interception for a touchdown to seal it as the Red defense team won 55-46 in the spring Illinois State Red-White football scrimmage on Saturday.
With the scent of football in the air, it felt more like fall at Hancock Stadium. Crowds gathered at Hancock Stadium on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to see the Redbirds face off on opposite sides of the ball for the annual scrimmage.
In a non-traditional scoring system, the Redbird defense, wearing red, took on the offense in white in a two-half, 45-minute running-clock scrimmage. The defense, which was ranked 100-plus in most categories last season, managed to control most of the game and ended it with an impressive 55-46 win over the Redbird offense.
"The scoring system we have for this game kind of illustrates some things," said head coach Denver Johnson. "If you don't make first downs, you are going to get beat. If you have a lot of penalties that prevent you from making first downs, you are going to get beat. If you have a lot of turnovers, you are going to get beat."
The offense jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on three-straight first-down runs by junior running back Geno Blow. The defense took its first lead in the game, 8-6, with its second of three straight three-and-outs (3 points each) and they were able to maintain their lead going into halftime with an eight-point advantage, 22-14.
In the second half, the ISU offense came out firing on all cylinders in their first drive. Behind the arm of Drew Kiel and the powerful legs of Parrish Fisher, the White team compiled five-straight first downs and capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Eyad Salem regaining the lead, 26-22.
"I was much more pleased with the offense in the second half," said Johnson. "I thought we cut out some penalties and became more efficient."
The offense extended the lead to 30-24, but red-shirt freshman Ray Sankey recorded his second of three sacks to bring the deficit to within four. The Redbird defense grabbed the lead back, 34-31, after Wesley Williams and Tony Trujillo combined on a tackle-for-loss resulting in another three-and-out.
Late in the second half, the offense was able to reach within a point, but Brandon Wilson's tackle-for-loss and Sankey's third sack of the day extended the lead to 38-33.
"Sankey had a good spring," said Johnson. "He has great quickness and speed. We talked about looking at him at linebacker, like we did with (Brandon) Wilson. He has that kind of athletic ability, although he has never played back there. Sankey was one of the young guys coming out of red-shirt that we hoped would add something to us in the fall."
The defense took control the rest of the game. Senior safety Tom Nelson sealed the victory with a 13-point play, after he was awarded six points for an interception of a Kevin Brockway pass and another seven points after returning it 18 yards for a touchdown. Kiel added a one-yard run on a quarterback sneak with time expiring for the final deficit, 55-46.
The scrimmage concludes the spring season for the ISU football team as they get ready to compete in the Gateway Conference this fall.
(C) 2008 The Daily Vidette via U-WIRE