Orange Downs Blue 20-17 In UVa Spring Football Game

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Orange team defeated the Blue squad 20-17 in the Virginia football team’s annual spring football game at Scott Stadium. The teams played four eight-minute quarters in a standard game format that included special teams play. The Orange team featured the majority of the Cavaliers’ returning starters on offense while the Blue team included the returning starters on defense.

“It was pretty good tempo,” Virginia head coach Mike London said. “The weather was good, it was what you want out of the last practice of spring practice. It was good to see the guys competing. We are going to continue to make downfield throws and try to get the ball in the hands of as many guys as possible. There is an emphasis on explosive plays, plays that move the ball beyond 15 yards. We have guys that can run, that were athletes and track runners in high school, and we are going to find ways to get them the ball.”

The Orange team got on the scoreboard first with a one-yard touchdown rush by tailback Perry Jones. Jones’ rush was set up by a 47-yard pass completion from quarterback Michael Rocco to tight end Jake McGee.

The Blue team scored on its first offensive series as well, as quarterback David Watford’s 16-yard completion to tailback Clifton Richardson and a 16-yard rush by tailback Khalek Shepherd helped set up a 20-yard field goal by Drew Jarrett.

Later in the half, Ian Frye connected on a 42-yard field goal for the Orange team that gave his squad a 10-3 lead.

In the second half, the Blue team began with the ball and first-year quarterback Greyson Lambert completed four passes, including a 31-yard strike to wide receiver Miles Gooch. A final 13-yard completion to tailback Kevin Parks and an extra point by Jarrett tied the score at 10-10.

Orange took a seven-point lead, 17-10, later in the third quarter after Rocco completed 26-yard and 27-yard passes to wide receiver Dominique Terrell and fullback Zachary Swanson, respectively. The final play of the drive was a seven-yard touchdown rush by Jones.

Blue tied the game, 17-17, on a 75-yard touchdown run by Shepherd.

The game-winning score came at the 55-second mark of the fourth quarter, a Drew Jarrett 27-yard field goal.

Shepherd finished with a team-high 102 rushing yards for the Blue Team. Jones led the Orange team with 26 yards and two touchdowns.

Rocco led the UVa quarterbacks 194 yards and completed 12-of-21 pass attempts. Watford, who played for both teams, threw for a combined 131 yards. Lambert, playing for the Blue team, was 8-for-15 for 75 yards and a touchdown.

The Orange receivers were led by Terrell’s 61 yards, followed by Swanson with 44 yards on three catches. For the Blue receiving corps, Gooch caught three passes for 58 yards followed by Richardson with 24 yards.

Outside linebacker LaRoy Reynolds led all players with eight tackles and also broke up a pass for the Blue team. Cornerback Demetrious Nicholson finished with seven tackles and defensive tackle Justin Renfrow had two sacks, two tackles for loss and three tackles.

Defensively for Orange, defensive tackle Vincent Croce had the game’s only interception while defensive tackle David Dean and cornerback Brendan Morgan had six tackles apiece.

After the game, UVa head coach Mike London announced Perry Jones, senior offensive tackle Oday Aboushi, LaRoy Reynolds and senior defensive tackle Will Hill will serve as team captains for the 2012 season.