Terps Preseason Football Camp Log: Day 18
8/23/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 23, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland had scheduled a mock football scrimmage with limited contact for Thursday evening, but nearly halfway through the four-quarter scrimmage, Coach Ralph Friedgen changed his mind.
The players had been practicing under two-hand touch tackling rules, but Friedgen felt that his players needed a change, so he ordered them to begin hitting.
"We tried to do the mock scrimmage, but it ruined the whole continuity and kids were getting all upset," Friedgen said. "It wasn't working like I wanted it to, so we went ahead and scrimmaged, and we got better. I thought the intensity was better once we got into the scrimmage."
The players embraced the full contact rules, and the scrimmage picked up with renewed energy during the second half.
The offense struggled to move the ball on the ground under the two-hand touch rules, but rushed the ball effectively in the second half. Senior tailback Keon Lattimore finished with 26 yards rushing on five carries, while backup runners Morgan Green and Dan Bonato rushed for 48 yards and 51 yards, respectively, and tallied the offense's only two touchdowns.
Bonato scored first, on an 11-yard run which capped off a hard-fought 11-play, 95-yard drive quarterbacked by Josh Portis. The sophomore had an excellent day throwing the football, connecting on 7 of 10 passes for 133 yards. He hooked up with wideout Adrian Cannon twice on long completions of 42 and 43 yards.
Quarterback Jordan Steffy continued to work with the first team offense, and looked comfortable moving the team down the field. At one point he completed 10 consecutive passes, including four in-a-row to tight end Joey Haynos, who finished with five catches for 58 yards.
Cannon led the team in receiving with four catches for 102 yards, followed by Haynos, while tight end Jason Goode had four grabs for 39 yards.
Steffy's only mistake came when he flushed out of the pocket and intercepted by safety Christian Varner in the red zone, which ended his completion streak. Steffy finished with 19 completions on 26 attempts for 165 yards and one interception.
Sophomore Chris Turner, who split time with Portis quarterbacking the second team offense, was 5 of 7 for 63 yards. Portis was 7 of 10 for 133 yards.
The Terrapin defense gave up yards on the ground, but made up for it by forcing five turnovers. Linebacker Derrick Drummond also had a pick, and the defense forced three fumbles, including one by Adrian Moten who stripped wide receiver Stephen Smalls and then recovered the fumble.
"You know I'm never happy when we have a lot of penalties and a lot of turnovers," Friedgen said. "But, if you take that out, there was some good hitting. The offense was moving the ball, but what happens when you have penalties and you turn the ball over? You nullify the progress you're making."
Moten finished with a team-high 11 tackles, his second consecutive scrimmage in double-digit stops. The Terps defense also posted 12 tackles for loss, including six sacks.
Defensive lineman Mack Frost had a pair of sacks and drew praise from Friedgen after the scrimmage.
"Mack Frost has played great," he said. "Mack's really been making plays all camp. He's one of the better pass rushers we have. He's going to play a lot of football."
Place-kicker Obi Egekeze provided the only scoring in the Terps first eight offensive drives, hitting two long field goals of 43 and 42 yards. His only miss came later in the contest from 52 yards out. The miss had the distance but was just wide right.
Overall, the offense scored two touchdowns and two field goals in 16 drives, although one of those ended with the halftime break.
With just over a week remaining before the regular season kicks off, the Terps will begin preparing for Villanova on Friday. Maryland is next scheduled to practice at 4:30 p.m. Friday and again at 4 p.m. Saturday.
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./TDs):
Bonato 13-51/1 TD; Green 12-48/1 TD; Lattimore 5-26; I. Williams 1-24; Portis 6-21; Ball 7-12; Henry 2-11; Cannon 1-4; Steffy 3-(-5); Turner 2-(-11); Robinson 2-(-12).
Passing (Att.-Comp.-Yds.):
Steffy 19-26/165 yards/1 INT; Portis 7-10/133 yards; Turner 5-7/63 yards; J. Robinson 2-6/28 yards/1 INT.
Receiving (Rec.-Yds./TDs):
Cannon 4-102; Haynos 5-58; Goode 4-39; Smalls 3-27; Gresham 2-24; Goldberg 1-24; Lattimore 3-18; I. Williams 2-17; L. Williams 2-17; Gloster 1-15; Green 1-10; Pfister 1-10; McCree 1-9; Smith 1-7; L. Ball 2-(-2).
Defense
Tackles (Solo-Assisted-Total):
Moten (8-3-11), Clinton (4-2-6), Drummond (5-0-5), Justice (5-0-5), Fokou (5-0-5), Philistin (4-0-4), Skinner (4-0-4), Nelson (3-1-4), Schultz (2-2-4), Frost (3-1-4), Herald (3-0-3), A. Ball (3-0-3), Jackson-Mills (3-0-3), Barnes (1-2-3), McCollough (2-1-3), D. Galt (2-0-2), Moore (2-0-2), Carroll (2-0-2), Dacosta (2-0-2), Wiseman (2-0-2), Whitmore (2-0-2), Armstrong (0-1-1), Carter (1-0-1), Davidson (1-0-1), D. Robinson (1-0-1), Allen (1-0-1), Schmitt (1-0-1), Ivey (1-0-1), Muhtadi (1-0-1), Lemons (1-0-1), Covington (1-0-1), Gloster (1-0-1), St. John (1-0-1).
Tackles for Loss (No.-Yards):
Whitmore (2-14), Frost (2-11), A. Ball (1-7), Dacosta (1-6), Justice (1-4), Fokou (1-3), Moore (1-3), D. Galt (1-2), Lemons (1-1).
Sacks (No.-Yards):
Frost (2-11), Whitmore (1-8), Ball (1-7), Dacosta (1-6), Lemons (1-5), Justice (1-4).
Pass Breakups (No.):
Moore (1), Skinner (1), Fokou (1), McCollough (1).
Interceptions (No.-Yds.):
Varner (1-0), Drummond (1-22).
Fumbles Caused (No.):
Moten (1), Fokou (1), Barnes (1).
Fumbles Recovered (No.):
Moten (1), McCollough (1), Henry (1).
Miscellaneous
Field Goals:
Egekeze: 2-3/ 43, 42 (Missed 52).
Punting (No.-Yards/Avg.):
Baltz (4-193/38.6 avg.).
Kickoff Return (No.-Yards/Avg.):
Skinner (2-46/23.0 avg.), Henry (2-47/23.5 avg).
Punt Return (No.-Yards):
Wiseman (3-11), Varner FC.
