April 21, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland football team held what amounted to its final tune-up for next week's Spring Game as the Terps ran through a two-hour scrimmage Saturday morning in Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.

It was the Terps' third scrimmage of the spring and leaves the team with just three more practices, the final one coming Saturday at the annual Red-White Spring Game (3:30 p.m.).

Today's scrimmage was held under game-like conditions with four 12-minute quarters. The coaches also stayed on the sidelines, rather than in the offensive backfield, to signal in plays. In addition, special teams were run at full speed.

"That's why I practiced this way," head coach Ralph Friedgen said. "If we make mistakes here, we can learn from them and hopefully not make mistakes in the games. Not many teams go full speed on kickoffs and punt returns, but I don't know how to evaluate it unless we do."

The offense looked sharper than the defense in the early going as it scored touchdowns in three of its first seven possessions with quarterbacks Jordan Steffy, Josh Portis and Chris Turner each leading the Terps into the end zone.

"I think Portis played a little better than he did last week," Friedgen said. "Jordan didn't play quite as well as he did last week, but both of them are going to be good players. I wanted to practice like this because neither one of them have been in a lot of games."

Friedgen saw an advantage in treating the scrimmage as close to game conditions as possible.

"Practicing like it was a game will give them some confidence and experience," Friedgen said. "They both did some good things, and overall I think we got something out of this scrimmage. I wanted to see Portis and Steffy in there with the first team. They're both making progress, and I think Turner is too. I was also impressed with Jamarr Robinson. He's beginning to grasp the plays and he's showing some talent."

Steffy was 13 of 21 for 182 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight Jason Goode on a fourth-down play. Steffy also ran for 19 yards, including a 14-yard scramble for a first down which kept a drive alive.

Portis led the team to touchdown on his first possession when he handed the ball off to Lance Ball who raced around left side for a 36-yard TD. Ball posted a scrimmage-high 95 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Portis completed 8 of 13 passes for 113 yards, but had one interception and fumbled twice. The sophomore led the offense on an 11-play drive which ended with Obi Egekeze's 23-yard field goal. Portis also had 31 rushing yards.

Turner's first drive ended with a touchdown. He hit Adrian Cannon for a 22-yard TD to cap a drive which was aided by a 23-yard scramble from the sophomore signal-caller. Turner was 6 of 8 for 86 yards on the day.

Reserve defensive back Jamari McCollough sparked the defense, which allowed just four field-goal attempts over the final 14 possessions. The defense also went into the end zone.

McCullough's 36-yard interception return for a score on an errant Turner toss was the final touchdown of the scrimmage, though the offense moved down the field on the ensuing possession.

With time running out in the first half, Steffy marched the offense to a score. He connected on 4 of 5 passes on the drive, including key first down completions (11 and 14 yards) to Darrius Heyward-Bey, who had six receptions for 88 yards on the day.

Those completions to Heyward-Bey set up a 28-yard field goal from Egekeze as the half ended.

Linebackers Erin Henderson and Alex Wujciak were active on defensive side of the ball. Wujciak made his presence felt throughout the scrimmage with a number of jarring hits. He had a team-high 16 tackles to go with one pass breakup. Henderson tallied 12 stops and a pass breakup.

Reserve defensive lineman Omarr Savage chipped in with a pair of sacks. Savage and Dre Moore each had five stops.

Freshman running back Morgan Green posted 48 rushing yards on 16 carries. He also hauled in 62-yard screen pass from Portis on the opening possession of the second half, which setup a 20-yard field goal by Baltz.

"Morgan Green has really stepped up," Friedgen said. "He had a heck of a run today in there with the first team.

The offense had just two more scoring chances after the Baltz field goal as it was unable to take advantage in the red zone. Egekeze capped a nine-play drive with a 23-yard field goal and Baltz was wide right on a 32-yarder in the fourth quarter.

"We made some mistakes in the red zone," Friedgen said. "We were a little better at it last week than we were this week. We have to look at that. Overall, I wasn't disappointed, but I'll have to look at the film and see how things went."

The Terps are off until Tuesday when they hit the practice field at 4 p.m.

Scrimmage Statistics

Offense

Passing (Att.-Comp.-Yds.):
Steffy 13-21/182 yards/1 TD; Portis 8-13/113 yards/1 INT; Turner 6-8/86 yards/1 INT; Robinson 3-7/32 yards; B. Sheahin 0-2/0 yards/1 INT.

Receiving (Rec.-Yds.):
Heyward-Bey 6-88; Cannon 4-67/1 TD; Goode 4-56/1 TD; Oquendo 3-44; Williams 3-26; Ball 2-6; Green 1-62/1 TD; T. Galt 1-15; ; Lee-Odai 1-14; Gronkowski 1-11; Jackson 1-11; Haynos 1-7; C. Sheahin 1-3; Smalls 1-3.

Rushing (Carries-Yds.):
Ball 13-95/1 TD; Green 16-48; Portis 5-31/2 fumbles; Washington 5-24; Steffy 5-19; Turner 6-11/1 fumble; E. Williams 1-6; Robinson 1-(-11); Smalls 1-(-3); B. Sheahin 2-(-9).

Defense

Tackles (Solo-Assisted-Total):
Wujciak (5-11-16), Henderson (5-7-12), Bullock (3-3-6), Fokou (4-1-5), Savage (2-3-5), Moore (2-3-5), Barnes (3-1-4), Philistin (1-3-4), Wiseman (3-1-4), Nelson (3-1-4), Carroll (1-3-4), Skinner (4-0-4), Ivey (2-1-3), Baum (2-1-3), Frost (1-2-3), Allen (1-2-3), Clement (3-0-3), Lemons (1-1-2), Feliciano (1-1-2), McCullough (1-1-2), Perez (2-0-2), Robinson (1-0-1), Whitmore (1-0-1), Harrell (1-0-1), Schultz (1-0-1), Akinwade (1-0-1), Ball (1-0-1), Dacosta (1-0-1), Clinton (1-0-1), Moten (1-0-1), Muhtadi (1-0-1), Sule (1-0-1)

Tackles for Loss (No.-Yds):
Ivey (1-4), Clement (1-3), Wujciak (1-1), Nelson (1-1), Bullock (1-1)

Sacks (No.-Yds):
Savage (2-7), Dacosta (1-11), Muhtadi (1-7), Philistin (1-5), Whitmore (1-5), Harrell (1-4), Clement (1-4), Fokou (1-3), Clinton (1-3)

Interceptions (No.-Yds):
McCullough (1-36 TD), Baum (1-12), Nelson (1-0)

Pass Breakups (No.):
Wujciak (1), Baum (1), Henderson (1), Whitmore (1)

Fumble Recoveries (No.):
Savage (1); E. Williams (1); Portis (1).

Special Teams

Field Goals:
Egekeze 2-2/ 28, 23; Baltz 1-2/ 20 (Missed 32)

Punting (No.-Avg.):
Roberts 3-48.0; Baltz 3-31.7

Punt Returns (No.-Avg.):
Wiseman 2-10.0

Kickoff Returns (No.-Avg.):
Wiseman 3-17.3; Oquendo 1-19.0