Aug. 11, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland football team finished off its opening week of preseason camp with an 85-play scrimmage Saturday evening in Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.

The offense, led by the effective play of its quarterbacks and running back Keon Lattimore's two touchdowns, outshined the defense, scoring on six of its 14 possessions.

Lattimore, who split carries with Lance Ball last season, has shown improved quickness thus far in training camp, and he carried over a strong week of practice into the scrimmage.

"I thought Lattimore played very well," head coach Ralph Friedgen said after the scrimmage. "He looks faster than he did before."

The senior rushed for 21 yards on eight carries, and also showed good moves in the open field as a receiver. On a third-and-seven play he took a swing pass from Josh Portis well short of the first down marker and made several tacklers miss en route to a 22-yard gain.

Reserve running back Morgan Green impressed as well, netting 68 yards on 11 carries, while Ball added 28 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

"The offense did better than I anticipated them doing," Friedgen said. "The second group went 95 yards the first time they touched the ball. The quarterbacks all had pretty good days throwing."

Jordan Steffy effectively quarterbacked the first team offense to two scores, and finished his day 8-for-11 for 113 yards. The junior signal-caller routinely found Joey Haynos over the middle for long gains, and the sure-handed tight end proved to be an effective weapon with five catches for 63 yards.

"We're getting smart play out of our quarterbacks," Friedgen said. "That's one thing I think Jordan does. He plays very smart. He's not afraid to take the check downs, keep the chains moving, and he's really probably better than Sam (Hollenbach) was at that. He manages the game pretty well."

On the third possession of the scrimmage, Steffy hit Haynos on back-to-back plays for 20 and 18 yards, respectively, to set up Lattimore's 1-yard TD plunge.

Portis proved effective as well, tossing for two scores, including a 32-yarder to LaQuan Williams on the offense's second drive of the day. That score capped off a 13-play, 95-yard march, in which Portis completed 7 of 8 passes for 81 yards.

Later, he found tight end Drew Gloster for a 4-yard touchdown. He finished 11 of 13 for the day with no interceptions.

Williams hauled in three passes for 60 yards, while Adrian Cannon caught three for 15 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Dave Philistin led the way with nine total tackles, while Alex Wujciak, Trey Covington and Brian Whitmore recorded sacks.

The defense did force a pair of turnovers, as Erin Henderson intercepted a screen pass from Steffy, and Chris Clinton knocked the ball out of reserve quarterback Jamarr Robinson's hands for a fumble.

His fumble aside, Robinson played reasonably well, and added a touchdown pass to freshman Quinton McCree who out-jumped the defender for the ball in the end zone.

Sophomore Chris Turner also played well, finishing 8 of 13 for 82 yards. He led the offense to its final touchdown of the scrimmage, completing 3 of 4 passes for 34 yards, including a key third-down completion to wideout Kevin Gresham.

Special teams were also featured as Obi Egekeze and Travis Baltz, each nailed 1 of 2 field-goal attempts. Egekeze came up just short from 47 yards out before hitting from 46. Baltz connected on a 44-yarder and missed from 35.

The Terps will not practice again until Monday when they'll hold two workouts. They hit the field at 9 a.m. and then return at 5:30 p.m.

All practices and scrimmages remain closed to the public, while credentialed members of the media may attend the first five periods (approximately 30 minutes) of each workout, except scrimmages.

Scrimmage Statistics

Offense

Rushing (Carries-Yds.):
Green 11-68; Ball 8-28/1 TD; Lattimore 8-21/2 TDs; Scott 7-11; Gresham 1-7; Oquendo 1-6; Robinson 2-5/1 fumble; Steffy 2-5; Portis 1-5; Turner 3-(-11).

Passing (Att.-Comp.-Yds.):
Steffy 8-11/113 yards/1 INT; Portis 11-13/106 yards/1 TD; Turner 8-13/82 yards; Robinson 2-3/14 yards/1 TD.

Receiving (Rec.-Tds.):
Haynos 5-63; L. Williams 3-60/1 TD; Gresham 2-27; Lattimore 1-22; Smalls 2-21; Scott 2-16; I. Williams 2-15; Cannon 2-15; Gloster 2-13/1 TD; Green 1-13; Ball 1-10; Goode; 1-5.

Field Goals:
Egekeze: 1-2/ 46, (Missed 47); Baltz: 1-2/ 44 (Missed 35)

Defense

Tackles (Solo-Assisted-Total):
Philistin (3-6-9), Wiseman (2-6-8), Clinton (3-2-5), Allen (2-3-5), Skinner (1-4-5), Bullock (2-2-4), Moten (2-2-4), Gardner (1-3-4), Ball (3-0-3), Covington (2-1-3), Wujciak (2-1-3), Barnes (3-0-3), Henderson (0-3-3), McCullough (1-2-3), Pooler (1-2-3), Justice (0-3-3), Moore (1-1-2), Navarre (1-1-2), Frost (0-2-2), Varner (1-1-2), Schultz (0-2-2), Fokou (1-1-2), Carroll (0-2-2), Clement (1-0-1), Robinson (1-0-1), Whitmore (1-0-1), Jackson-Mills (1-0-1), Otulaja (0-1-1), Herald (1-0-1), Ivey (0-1-1), Feliciano (0-1-1).

Tackles for Loss (No.-Yards):
Wujciak (1-7), Moten (1-5), Covington (1-5), Whitmore (1-5), Ball (1-2), Clement (1-2), Moore (1-1).

Sacks (No.-Yards):
Wujciak (1-7), Covington (1-5), Whitmore (1-5).

Pass Breakups (No.):
Otulaja (2), Gardner (1), Barnes (1), Wiseman (1), Armstrong (1).

Interceptions (No.):
Henderson (1).

Forced Fumbles (No.):
Clinton (1).