Defense Tops Offense, 26-19, to Wrap Spring Football Drills

BOULDER - The University of Colorado football team held its annual spring game on Saturday afternoon in front of nearly 3,000 spectators who packed the Buffs' practice fields to watch the offense vs. defense formatted scrimmage.

            Both sides had performance incentives to earn points, and the defense, sporting white, built a 12-0 lead and hung on for a 26-19 victory, demonstrating its dominance over the black squad.   

"We were getting tired of the coaches jumping on our butts," said junior cornerback Lorenzo Sims, who patrolled the Buffs' secondary and finished the game with two tackles, two passes broken up and an interception. "Everyone was prepared mentally. There was a great competition level out there and we were all having fun."

Head coach Gary Barnett was impressed with the intensity the defense brought to the table. The offense struggled early, however, highlighted by the first team offense which started the game with three consecutive three-and-outs.

"Our offense didn't come out firing on all cylinders," Barnett said. "We were sloppy and we made a lot of mistakes."

The receiving core was of particular concern, as CU's wideouts combined for eight dropped passes. Of starting quarterback Joel Klatt's 11 incompletions, seven were either dropped or batted down at the line of scrimmage.

"Our receivers have definitely been playing better than what they showed today," Barnett said.

Klatt finished the day completing 5-of-16 passes for 64 yards. Quarterback James Cox struggled, completing 4-of-9 passes for 21 yards and an interception. Sophomore Bernard Jackson ended spring football on another impressive note against the second string defense. He threw for 70 yards on 7-of-10 passing, and had the only touchdown pass of the day, a seven yarder to tight end Tyson DeVree. He also ran the ball six times for 41 yards and set up the Buffs' only other touchdown, a one-yard run by fullback Paul Creighton.

 The coaching staff pitted Jackson against the first string defense for a series late in the game, but the offense quickly went three-and-out after two bad snaps backed them up into a third-and-long situation.

"There are always rough spots in practice," Jackson said. "But you have to move on and learn from your mistakes. Practice makes perfect."

Running back Hugh Charles led all rushers with 67 yards on 13 carries. Barnett was impressed with the speed Charles showed and emphasized that the coaches just want more consistency out of him.

"Even though coach (Barnett) didn't think the offense played well, I thought I had a good effort," Charles said. "The defense knows a lot of our stuff so it's tough going against them."

There were several impressive performances on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive back Lionel Harris led all defenders with seven total tackles. Defensive End Alonzo Barrett, coming off a five-sack performance in last Saturday's scrimmage, had another solid outing with four total tackles, a quarterback sack, a quarterback hurry, a tackle for a loss and a third down stop. Defensive end Abraham Wright and linebacker Jordon Dizon recorded the Buffs' other quarterback sacks on the afternoon.

"Overall I think we (the defense) came together and we had some big plays," said Dizon.

The game was preceded by the second annual "Healthy Kids Day," an event sponsored by the athletic department in which children under 13 engaged in a variety of activities with CU student-athletes of different sports. The first 300 children to complete the exercises were able to take the field with the Buff players for opening stretches. The intimate setting for the game allowed fans to get a closer look at the team which will be defending its Big 12 North Division title in the fall.

"There was a lot of open space where kids could go run around during the game," said senior tight end Quinn Sypniewski. With the bleachers, everyone was closer and it made for a better atmosphere for the game."

--colorado football--

Defense (white)..............  12   14  ?  26

Offense (black)..............  11     8  ?  19

Scoring Summary

Drive   1?Defensive Stop (3 Points)

Drive   2?Defensive Stop (3 Points)

Drive   3?Defensive Stop (3 Points)

Drive   5?Defensive Stop (3 Points)

Drive   6?Crosby 53 FG

Drive   7?*Tyson DeVree 7 pass from Bernard Jackson (Garden kick)

Drive   8?Defensive Stop (5 Points; Lorenzo Sims interception)

Drive   9?Defensive Stop (3 Points)

Drive 10?Defensive Stop (1 Point)

Drive 11?*Creighton 1 run (Garden kick)

Drive 12?Defensive Stop (1 Point)

Drive 14?Defensive Stop (1 Point)

Drive 16?Defensive Stop (3 Points)

*?offense also received 1 point for three first downs on drive (defensive stops had value of 5, 3 or 1 points depending on circumstances)

Weather?63 degrees, 48% humidity, winds from the east at 7 mph, clear skies

Officials?7 of ?em, in full referee regalia

Attendance?2,800; Time?1:42     

Rushing (42-169)?Charles 13-67; Jackson 6-41, Ellis 9-27, Cox 1-20, Creighton 2-11, Vickers 6-10, Brnett 1-6, Schaub 1-5, Klatt 1-3, Enright 1-minus 3, Team 1-minus 20.  Does not include 3 sacks for minus 17.

Passing (36-16-1, 155)?Jackson 11-7-0, 70; Klatt 16-5-0, 64; Cox 9-4-1, 21.

Receiving (16-155)?Gonzales 3-19, Sypniewski 2-54, Goettsch 2-19. Joseph 2-17, Ellis 2-2, Crawford 1-17, Williams 1-12, DeVree 1-7, Sprague 1-5, Klopfenstein 1-3.

Punting (4-49.3)?Torp 4-197, 49.3 avg., 70 long.

Interceptions (1-0)?Sims 1-0.

Field Goals (1-of-3)?Crosby 1 of 3 (58 wr, 53, 53 wl).

PAT Kicks (2-of-2)?Garden 2 of 2.

Tackles?Harris 5,2?7; Dawn 6,0?6; Iwuh 3,2?5; Manupuna 0,5?5; Reid 4,0?4; Wright 3,1?4; Barrett 2,2?4; Henderson 0,4?4; Hollis 2,1?3; Dizon 2,1?3; V.Washington 2,1?3; Veikune 1,2?3; T.Washington 1,2?3; B.Jones 2,0?2; Sims 2,0?2; Sanders 1,1?2; Walters 1,1?2; Z.Jones 1,1?2; 10 with 1,0?1.

Tackles For Loss (10-51)?Wright 2-9, Iwuh 1-20, Dizon 1-8, Barrett 1-5, Guydon 1-5, Dawn 1-1, Hollis 1-1, Z.Jones 1-1, Sanders 1-1.

Quarterback Sacks (3-17)?Dizon 1-8, Barrett 1-5, Wright 1-4.

Third Down Stops (7)?Barrett, Carpenter, Dawn, Dizon, B.Jones, Manupuna, Wright.

Fumble Recoveries (0).

Forced Fumbles (0).

Passes Broken Up (7)?Sims 2, Dawn, B. Jones, Robinson, Walters, Wright.

Hurries (3)?Barrett, Ligon, Wright.

QB Chasedowns (1)?Ligon.