April 14, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland football team reached the halfway point of the spring Saturday morning as the Terps ran through a 130-play situational scrimmage in Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.
It was the Terps second scrimmage of the spring and marked the ninth of 15 allotted workouts, which culminates with the annual Red-White Game on Saturday, April 28 (3:30 p.m.).
Less than 24 hours after leaving the practice field, the Terps experienced one of their most physical workouts of the spring.
"They came out with a better frame of mind today and both sides went after each other pretty well," head coach Ralph Friedgen said. "The offense did a little better and the defense did a little worse. That happens at spring practice. I did see some guys getting better and that is a positive."
The offense was significantly more proficient than in the team's first scrimmage, when it managed just one touchdown in nine offensive possessions from at or near midfield, throwing two interceptions.
On Saturday, the offense produced nine touchdown drives and no interceptions in 26 possessions, though seven of those drives came with the ball placed deep in the defense's territory.
The offense produced four touchdown drives of 50 yards or more, though the defense was able to hold its ground, yielding just field goal attempts on a number of other possessions.
Senior Lance Ball had the play of the day on the first snap of the Terps' second drive. With the ball at the 5-yard line, Ball took the handoff and bounced to the right, breaking up field for a 95-yard touchdown run. Ball carried the ball 14 times for 128 yards.
Ball was not the only rusher who found the end zone. Redshirt freshman Morgan Green pounded in three scores, including a long of 18 yards on a run to the right side. Green totaled 79 yards on 25 rushes.
"Morgan Green has gotten better," Friedgen said. "He has an opportunity and he is taking advantage of it."
Junior quarterback Jordan Steffy was 13-for-19, compiling 161 yards and two touchdowns. Steffy hooked up with wideout Danny Oquendo for a 3-yard completion to the back of the end zone. He also found tight end Dan Gronkowski for a 10-yard scoring strike.
Steffy added a rushing touchdown late in the scrimmage when he ran an option to the right for a 1-yard score.
Junior Bobby Sheahin tossed the Terps' other touchdown, a pass to redshirt freshman Adrian Cannon. Sheahin was an efficient 6-for-7 on the day, good for 75 yards.
Sophomore Josh Portis was 10-for-16 with 102 yards passing.
"I thought Josh Portis made improvements in some areas and others he didn't," Friedgen said. "It is an ongoing thing. He had some poise today and made plays. Jordan Steffy is seeing things very well. I also thought Turner played very well today. He played with poise and he is getting better too. They had a bad day yesterday and I think they came back today. We are making some progress there."
Sophomore Darrius Heyward-Bey led the receiving corps with four catches for 104 yards. He hauled in a 31-yard completion from Steffy early in the scrimmage. Only a saving tackle by Kevin Barnes prevented a touchdown on the play.
Redshirt freshman Alex Wujciak racked up a team-high 10 tackles, including a sack and two other tackles for losses. Junior Erin Henderson had eight tackles, while Nolan Carroll and Colin Nelson had seven apiece from their defensive backfield spots.
Redshirt freshman Adrian Moten had three sacks, the only Terp to register more than one.
The kicking game produced just three field goals with Obi Egekeze going 1-for-4 and Travis Baltz hitting 2 of 4 attempts.
Scrimmage Statistics
Offense
Passing (Att.-Comp.-Yds.):
Steffy 13-19/161 yards/2 TD; Portis 10-16/102 yards/1 TD; Sheahin 6-7/75 yards/1 TD; Turner 6-13/65 yards; Robinson 0-2/0 yards.
Receiving (Rec.-Tds.):
Heyward-Bey 4-104; Cannon 5-52/1 TD; Lee-Odai 2-39; Galt 3-46; Goode 2-35; L. Williams 6-43; Gronkowski 3-32/2 TD; Oquendo 3-29/1 TD; Pfister 2-12; Jackson 1-7; Ball 4-4.
Rushing (Carries-Yds.):
Ball: 14-128/1 TD; Green: 24-79/3 TD; Washington: 9-15/1 fumble; Portis: 6-6; L. Williams: 2-9; Galt: 1-8; Sheahin: 2-4; Turner: 7-(-3)/1 fumble; Steffy: 1-1/1 TD; Heyward-Bey: 1-0
Field Goals:
Egekeze: 1-4/ 30, (Missed 39, 39, 42); Baltz: 2-4/ 39, 42, (Missed 39, 20)
Defense
Tackles (Solo-Assisted-Total):
Wujciak (9-1-10), Henderson (6-2-8), Carroll (5-2-7), Nelson (7-0-7), Varner (6-0-6), Moten (6-0-6), Wiseman (5-0-5), Bullock (3-1-4), Feliciano (2-1-3), Otulaja (2-1-3), Baum (2-1-3), Thornton (3-0-3), Harrell (1-1-2), Barnes (2-0-2), Dickerson (1-1-2), Schultz (2-0-2), Allen (1-1-2), Muhtadi (2-0-2), Philistin (2-0-2), Clement (2-0-2), Fokou (2-0-2), Skinner (2-0-2), Justice (1-0-1), Davidson (1-0-1), Whitmore (1-0-1), Dacosta (1-0-1), Robinson (1-0-1), Frost (1-0-1)
Tackles for Loss (No.-Yards):
Moten (3-13), Wujciak (3-10), Otulaja (1-6), Harrell (1-3), Henderson (1-1)
Sacks (No.):
Moten (3), Wujciak (1), Otulaja (1)
Pass Breakups (No.):
Wujciak (1), Barnes (1), Thornton (1)
Fumble Recoveries (No.):
Dickerson (1)
Punt Blocks (No.):
Baum (1)
updated April 16, 5 p.m. (ET)
