April 27, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
As part of a campus-wide Maryland Day celebration, approximately 10,000 fans visited Byrd Stadium on Saturday afternoon to witness the University of Maryland's annual spring football game. Scott McBrien passed for 121 yards and a touchdown to help spark the Red to a 38-14 victory over the White in a split-squad scrimmage.
McBrien, a sophomore transfer from West Virginia who prepped at nearby DeMatha High School, completed 13 of 20 passes and threw the first of three touchdown passes on the day. He began the day as the starting quarterback for the White Team (second-team offense), but following an injury to Red Team starter Chris Kelley, McBrien spent the rest of the afternoon with the Red.
Kelly was driving the first-team offense on its first possession when a pass was picked off by Curome Cox and returned 80 yards for a White touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Kelley completed a pair of passes during a 75-yard scoring drive as the Red evened the score. The key play in the drive was a 47-yard, acrobatic catch by sophomore receiver Onochi Onwuemene. The drive culminated in a 5-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Chris Downs.
Kelley left the game on the final play of the first quarter, walking off the field with a sprained right knee after completing three of six passes for 60 yards.
The score remained tied until McBrien engineered a 63-yard scoring drive capped by Mario Merrills' 1-yard plunge with 5:46 left in the half. McBrien also spurred the Red's final possession of the half, coming into the lineup on a third-and-nine play for a 28-yard completion to tight end Jeff Dugan - the first of four straight completions during a two-minute drill which resulted in a 35-yard field goal by Nick Novak as the clock expired.
Leading 17-7, McBrien sparked the Red to another 63-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the second half. His 11-yard pass to Latrez Harrison capped the drive. Harrison, who played quarterback at Maryland during his first two seasons, hauled in a 69-yard scoring pass three minutes later as the Red streaked to a 31-7 lead.
The Red led 38-7 on a 4-yard run by quarterback Orlando Evans. The White scored its final touchdown on a 50-yard pass completion from Hunter Cross, also a transfer from West Virginia, to Onwuemene.
Downs was the game's leading rusher with 72 yards and a touchdown, on 14 carries. Merrills ended with 48 yards and a TD in 12 carries. Onwuemene, a redshirt sophomore from Good Counsel High School, caught four passes for 117 yards to lead all receivers. Harrison had a pair of TD catches for 80 yards.
All-America punter Brooks Barnard averaged 47.8 yards on six punts for the day. Freshman defensive tackle Akil Patterson had four sacks for 24 yards, and forced a fumble.
RED 7 10 14 7 - 38
WHITE 7 0 0 7 - 14
