Buffs Go Through Hour Scrimmage

BOULDER - The University of Colorado football team conducted a 71-play scrimmage Wednesday afternoon, the last major contact session the Buffs will hold before playing in the annual Spring Game (Folsom Field, 1 p.m.) this Saturday.

As most of the action focused around the second string units, CU battled for about one hour during the day, with the intent on developing the younger positions on the team. As it has been over the past weeks, the Buffs' defense dominated early on, with their raw scoring unit eventually breaking through to provide some firepower from time to time.

Leading the charge for the veteran CU defense was safety Medford Moorer. Though the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder failed to rack up any tackles in his limited playing time, the senior provided one of the day's biggest plays when he intercepted a James Cox pass, and returned it for a 55-yard touchdown.

Safety Tyrone Henderson added nine tackles during the session, as he led the team in total stuffs, while fellow sophomore linebacker Chris Hollis finished with five stops, including one sack.

Sophomore defensive end James Garee had two-and-a-half of the Buffs' six sacks, as the CU D-line continued its assault on a young and inexperienced offensive line.

"The arrow is pointing up and we are making progress," head coach Gary Barnett stated about the offensive line's growth. "We are doing some good things; we are getting there, but it is slow."

However, while the Buffs' offense may be slowed by the development of its trenchmen, the CU scorers still found a way to provide some big plays during the day.

Highlighted by the redshirt freshmen connection of Cox and tight end Joe Klopfenstein, the Buffs' offense managed to reach the endzone four times, with two of the scores coming on big plays through the air.

Cox finished the day completing 7-of-10 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns, while Erik Greenberg continued to keep competition tight, as the sophomore threw for 178 yards and one score, on 8-of-14 passing. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Klopfenstein reeled in a team-high five receptions netting 78 yards.

"Our quarterbacks have done a good job learning the offense," Barnett said. "Our receivers have also done a good job catching the ball this spring."

Barnett specifically pointed out the solid receiving performances at tight end, noting Klopfenstein has been "especially impressive."

Notes: Senior defensive end Marques Harris (slipped back disc) will not undergo surgery, but will continue to sit out the rest of the spring rehabilitating.

Senior offensive lineman Clint Werth, who has had several knee surgeries, will miss the 2003 season and utilize a medical redshirt.

The Buffs will hold a light practice Friday afternoon in shorts, to make up for a session that was canceled during the March snowstorm.

Scrimmage Statistics

Scoring Summary

Drive 4-Eberhart 35 FG
Drive 5-(defense)Moorer 55 interception return (no PAT try)
Drive 7-McCoy 68 pass from Cox (kick failed)
Drive 9-Duren 53 pass from Greenberg (Riley kick)
Drive 11-Caesar 3 run (Zaitz kick)
Drive 12-Calhoun 37 run (Eberly kick)
Drive 14-Hackett 6 pass from Cox (Eberhart kick)
Time-1:02
Rushing Att. Yards Avg. TD Long
Brian Calhoun 8 49 6.1 1 37t
Bobby Purify 9 38 4.2 0 13
Colt Brennan 4 15 3.8 0 10
Brandon Caesar 8 14 1.8 1 5
Joel Klatt 1 9 9.0 0 9
James Cox 1 4 4.0 0 4
Totals 31 129 4.1 2 37t
(Quarterback Sacks 6-minus 44)
Passing Att-Com-Int Pct. Yards TD Long Sacked
Erik Greenberg 14- 8-0 57.1 178 1 53t 2/11
James Cox 10- 7-1 70.0 139 2 68t 3/25
Joel Klatt 7- 3-1 42.9 23 0 13 0/ 0
Colt Brennan 2- 2-0 100.0 12 0 7 1/ 8
Totals 33-20-2 60.6 352 3 68t 6/44
Receiving No. Yards Avg. TD Long
Joe Klopfenstein 5 78 15.6 0 30
Mike Duren 3 85 28.3 1 53t
Derek McCoy 2 73 36.5 1 68t
John Donahoe 2 40 20.0 0 27
Ron Monteilh 2 13 6.5 0 8
Quinn Sypniewski 1 18 18.0 0 18
Marcus Gonzalez 1 14 14.0 0 14
Evan Judge 1 13 13.0 0 13
D.J. Hackett 1 6 6.0 1 6t
Jesse Wallace 2 12 6.0 0 10
Totals 20 352 17.6 3 68t
Punt Returns No. Yards Avg. TD Long
None
Kickoff Returns No. Yards Avg. TD Long
None
Int Returns No. Yards Avg. TD Long
Medford Moorer 1 55 55.0 1 55t
Sammy Joseph 1 0 0.0 0 0
Placekicking PAT FG-FGA Pct. (distances)
J.T. Eberly 1- 1 0- 2 .000 47wr, 37 blk
Nick Riley 1- 1 0- 0
Justin Zaitz 1- 2
Kevin Eberhart 1- 1 1- 1 1.000 35
(l-wide left; r-wide right; s-short; b-blocked)
Punting No. Yards Avg. Long Blk
None
Tackles UT AT--TOT TFL QBS 3DS
Sammy Joseph 3 0- 3 1
Andrew Ward 1 2- 3 1- 1 1
Akarika Dawn 2 1- 3 1- 8 1- 8
Medford Moorer 1 0- 1 1
Tyrone Henderson 6 3- 9 1- 3
Allen Mackey 1 0- 1
Sam Richmond 2 0- 2
Brian Iwuh 1 1- 2 1- 1
Kyle Griffith 2 2- 4 1-11 1-11
Brian Ottoboni 0 1- 1 2
Chris Hollis 4 1- 5 1- 6 1- 6 1
Alex Ligon 1 2- 3 1- 3
Sean Tufts 2 1- 3
Jason Ackermann 1 2- 3 2- 5
Matt McChesney 3 0- 3 1- 3 ?- 3
James Garee 3 0- 3 3-16 2?-16 1
Sam Wilder 0 1- 1 1
Vaka Manupuna 1 0- 1 1
Nick Clement 0 1- 1 1
Marcus Jones 1 0- 1 1
Gabe Nyenhuis 0 1- 1 1
Brandon Dabdoub 1 0- 1 1- 3
Tom Hubbard 3 2- 5 1
Marcus Moore 2 1- 3
FUMBLE RECOVERIES (0).
FORCED FUMBLES (0).
PASSES BROKEN UP (5)-Joseph 2, Moorer, Ottoboni, Ward.
HURRIES (4)-Dabdoub, Ligon, Manupuna, Wilder.