|
Football Turns In Several Big Plays in Cole Scrimmage on Saturday
April 26, 2008
ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine football team hosted the Fourth Annual Jeff Cole Memorial Spring Scrimmage on Saturday morning at Alfond Stadium in Orono. The offense, defense and special teams each turned in several impressive plays on the day, as the Black Bears are now set to enter their final week of spring practice. "We as a coaching staff saw a lot of positives out here today," head coach Jack Cosgrove said. "Some of our guys have not had much game experience prior to today, so I was glad to see them step in there and make some plays. It's a good scrimmage to build off of heading into the final week of spring practice." The following are miscellaneous notes from Saturday's scrimmage: Offense Opens With Long Scoring March: On the game's first series, the first-team offense drove 80 yards and capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass from rising sophomore quarterback Adam Farkes to rising redshirt freshman H-back Jared Turcotte. Turcotte hurdled over a tackler on the play and ran through another tackle before diving into the end zone for the score. Several plays earlier in the drive aided in the score, including a pair of catches by rising sophomore wideout Tyrell Jones. Rising redshirt freshman tailback Roosevelt Boone also got in on the action, including ripping off a 12-yard run early in the drive to keep the chains moving.
Offense Produces Three Scoring Drives: In addition to the opening touchdown drive, the offense scored on two other drives, including converting a field goal on the game's fourth series. Farkes began the drive under center at the defense's 23-yard line. He immediately hooked up with Boone for an 18-yard reception down to the defense's five. The defense held, but rising junior kicker John Moloney drilled a 31-yard field goal to put three points on the board for the offense. The offense also scored on its sixth series, as Boone scored a rushing touchdown from one yard out.
Farkes Gets Off To Strong Start: Farkes, who started six games as a redshirt freshman last fall, made a strong opening statement in the scrimmage as he began 5-of-5 passing for 74 yards and the touchdown toss to Turcotte. He started at quarterback on all three of Maine's scoring drives. Rising junior quarterback Michael Brusko came on in relief of Farkes on the offense's field goal drive. Kicking Game Solid: Rising junior John Moloney, who served as one of the video assistants for the team last season, made 5-of-7 field goal attempts and was perfect on his two extra-point opportunities. Following the offense's first drive, the team held a field goal kicking session where Moloney made 4-of-6 attempts, including a perfect 3-for-3 effort with the first-team unit. Moloney converted on field goal attempts of 27, 29, 31 and 33 yards. He also drilled the 31-yard attempt to cap the offense's second scoring drive. Defense Gets In On The Fun As Well: The defense also got in on the action and made some strong plays. Rising junior and returning second-team All-American Jovan Belcher had a sack, tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Rising junior defensive end Jordan Stevens, who is switching to the position after playing linebacker the past two seasons, had a tackle for loss and several more stops. Those two weren't the only defenders to see action in the backfield, as rising redshirt freshman linebacker Conor Keating made a tackle for loss and blocked a punt. Rising sophomore linebacker Levi Ervin, who switched from safety this spring, also made a stop behind the line of scrimmage. Turnovers: The offense did a solid job of not turning over the ball until the final play of the game. Rising junior safety Troy Harris ended the contest as he intercepted a pass inside the defense's territory and returned it six yards to end a potential scoring drive. Three Quarterbacks See Time: In addition to Farkes and Brusko taking snaps from under center, rising redshirt freshman quarterback Christopher Treister also got in on the action and was the offense's signal caller for two drives near the end of the day. What's Remaining This Spring: The Black Bear football team has four more practices remaining in its 2008 spring season. The team will hold practices from 5:45-8 a.m., Tuesday-Friday, of this week. Practices are open to the public to attend. Maine opens its 2008 season on Saturday, Aug. 30, when the Black Bears travel to Iowa City to face Big Ten-foe Iowa. The game marks the fifth-straight season the Black Bears will face a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe. For more information on Maine football, please visit the team's page at www.GoBlackBears.com(.) |
