Senior quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 234 yards and one touchdown and redshirt freshman wide receiver Tommy Crosby caught six passes for 118 yards to highlight the day.
The annual game, which matches the Blue (offense) against the White (defense), lasted just over 90 minutes and consisted of nearly 100 plays broken up into five different segments. The offense began drives from each 40-yard line, its own 15-yard line, and the White's 25-yard line. The Fightin' Blue Hens also worked on field goals and punt protection during the scrimmage, which was played before a crowd of approximately 1,200 fans.
“The spring is about getting better and I thought we did that,” UD Head Coach K.C. Keeler, whose squad hopes to bounce back from last year's 5-6 record, said. “Defensively, I thought we got a lot better. I feel very good about where we are on offense and I like how we competed on defense. We've had some injuries on that side of the ball but we've competed hard and gotten better and I'm happy about that. Today's game was as good a spring game as we've had since I've been here.”
The UD offense gained 540 total yards on 96 plays (5.6 yards per play) as quarterbacks Flacco, redshirt freshman Sean Scanlon and sophomore Brad Casalvieri connected on 28 of 41 passes for 445 yards and one touchdown without an interception. Flacco, who threw for 2,783 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first year as a starter last fall, hit on 14 of 20 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown, a 35-yard screen pass to senior All-America running back Omar Cuff on the second drive of the day.
Scanlon, who sat out last season as a freshman and is expected to be Flacco's top backup this fall, completed 9 of 15 passes for 159 yards and Casalvieri connected on 5 of 6 passes for 52 yards.
Crosby had a 59-yard reception midway through the scrimmage and also had a 27-yard catch and two 16-yard receptions. Junior Kervin Michaud five catches for 67 yards and redshirt freshman Martwain Johnston caught three passes for 73 yards.
The Blue team scored three other touchdowns during the game as sophomore Jared Bradley, who led all rushers with 81 yards on 29 carries, scored on short dives from one and two yards. Sophomore Jerry Butler, a first-year transfer from the University of Wisconsin, also scored on a 14-yard burst up the middle.
Delaware's kicking game was also strong as junior Jon Striefsky, who will battle to take over the placement duties this fall after the departure of two-year starter Zach Hobby, converted both of his extra point attempts and was good on six of seven field goal attempts, including kicks from 43 and 42 yards.
The defense recorded six sacks on the day and was led by junior Johnathon Smith, a first-year transfer from the University of Connecticut who recorded 13 tackles. Senior linebacker J.T. Laws had eight tackles, including two sacks, redshirt freshman Anthony Walters had seven tackles and three pass breakups, and junior defensive end Ronald Talley, a first-year transfer from the University of Notre Dame, had four tackles, including two sacks.
Photo by Bob Burleigh
