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People's Choice: Red Carpet
RedHawks' offense sour in scrimmage
Saturday, April 21, 2007
OXFORD — Senior quarterback Mike Kokal, always the straight shooter, decided not to look back at Miami University's annual spring game though a pair of rose-colored glasses Friday night.
"We only put three points on the board," he said. "We could have done a lot more. I think we just got outplayed on the offensive side of the ball. The defense came out looking to prove themselves and they did."
Extras
It wasn't even close. Miami's White team (comprised mainly of the first-string defense and second-string offense) soared past the Red (first-string offense, second-string defense) 27-3 in the final spring scrimmage.
"The first-team offense struggled, and the first-team defense played pretty well," said Miami head coach Shane Montgomery, who noted that "I think we can have a talented football team. But we've got a long way to go."
Miami's season opener is a little more than four months away, Aug. 30 at Ball State.
The good
A Yager Stadium crowd of nearly 1,000 watched the White squad take a 10-0 halftime lead, thanks mainly to a defense that came through in the clutch. Senior cornerback Jerrid Gaines from Springfield South intercepted a Kokal pass, which was tipped by wide receiver Armand Robinson on the fourth play by scrimmage, and junior Nathan Parseghian made it count by blasting a 51-yard field goal.
Later in the half, sophomore linebacker Caleb Bostic forced a fumble by the Red team, and junior running back Jimmy Calhoun of Middletown reached the end zone on a 1-yard carry.
On the ensuing drive, Kokal guided the Red team to the White 37-yard line, but back-to-back big plays by the defense — a batted pass by junior end Joe Coniglio and a sack by senior end Craig Mester — stopped the Red in their tracks.
"Offensively, we had been playing pretty well this spring," Montgomery said, "so I thought the defense stepped it up."
The bad
The stats looked ominously similar to those of last season's games. Miami's first-string offense ran for only 45 yards on 23 carries. Seniors Brandon Murphy and Cory Jones each picked up 9 yards on five carries.
"We've got to be able to run the ball better in order to take some of the pressure off our passing game," Montgomery said.
And the ugly
The first-team offense lost one fumble, the second-team offense lost none.
The first-team offense converted only 1-of-3 red-zone chances, the second-team offense converted 2-of-2.
Quarterbacks Kokal and Daniel Raudabaugh, while he played for the Red team in the second half, were sacked a total of seven times for minus-40 yards.
