Complete Statistics
April 26, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
It was a tale of two halves at the annual spring football game Saturday at Byrd Stadium.
While the defenses shined in the first half, holding the squads to 12 total points, the offenses awoke in the second half as the Red team, led by 288 passing yards from quarterbacks Scott McBrien (Rockville, Md.) and Joel Statham (Chatsworth, Ga.), defeated the White team, 27-21, in front of a sizable crowd of fans who braved threatening weather in College Park.
Senior wideout Jafar Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) caught a 92-yard touchdown pass from McBrien five minutes into the second half and Nick Novak's (Charlottesville, Va.) extra point gave the Red team a 10-9 lead it would not relinquish.
After a scoreless first quarter, senior Dennard Wilson (Upper Marlboro, Md.) picked off a Statham pass and returned it 65 yards to paydirt to give the White team a 6-0 lead with 9:05 left before halftime.
Novak's 29-yard field goal got the Red team on the board just 35 seconds before halftime, but Daniel Ennis (Sykesville, Md.) responded with a 25-yard kick as time expired to give the White a 9-3 lead at the break.
Three Terrapin quarterbacks threw touchdown passes in the second half, starting with McBrien's long pass to Williams, who finished with 115 yards on three receptions.
Fullback Maurice Smith (Waldorf, Md.) rumbled 10 yards for a score six minutes into the final quarter and following a White fumble, Statham hooked up with Dan Melendez (Lancaster, Pa.) on a 52-yard pass to give the winners a 24-9 lead. Melendez, playing for both teams, hauled in four receptions for a game-high 117 yards on the day.
Two redshirt freshmen accounted for the White team's first offensive score of the day as Paschal Abiamiri (Randallstown, Md.) reeled in Sam Hollenbach's (Sellersville, Pa.) 24-yard throw in the back corner of the end zone. The score stood at 24-15 after Hollenbach's two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
After Novak split the uprights on a 35-yard kick, Statham - now playing for the White team in a modified two-minute warning drill - connected with Abiamiri on a 13-yard score that provided the final margin. Abiamiri caught five balls for 73 yards to go along with the two scores.
Tailbacks Sam Maldonado (Harrison, N.Y.) and Mario Merrills (Columbia, Md.) each had strong games, rushing for 89 and 86 yards, respectively.
McBrien completed half of his 16 pass attempts for 166 yards, while Statham threw for 212 yards on 10-22 passing for both teams. Senior Orlando Evans (Stockton, Calif.) completed 9 of 12 passes for 108 yards and Hollenbach totaled 53 yards on 5-of-8 passing.
Linebacker Andrew Henley (Riverdale, Md.) and strong safety Chris Kelley, playing in his new position for the first time since he switched over from quarterback, led the defensive effort with six tackles each for the winning squad. Jamahl Cochran (Morristown, N.J.) racked up three sacks and Landon Jones (Marion, Ohio) added two more for the Red team. Junior Randy Starks (Waldorf, Md.) led the White team with five tackles and a sack, while freshman cornerback Chris Choice (Suitland, Md.) also had an interception.
