University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Improves In Second Scrimmage
8/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Southern Miss Improves In Second Scrimmage
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss Golden Eagles competed in the second scrimmage of the preseason Wednesday, and there was improvement on both sides of the ball.
Golden Eagle Head Coach Jeff Bower was pleased with the defensive effort and saw better play from the offense as the scrimmage went on.
"I thought our effort was good," Bower said. "We really flew around defensively and made some plays. We didn't create many turnovers, and we need to work on that. Offensively, we started making improvement and made some plays after we began our third down competition. It was up and down though, and we were very inconsistent."
Southern Miss worked all facets of the game on Wednesday, including short-yardage situations, goal line and special teams.
"We got good work done, and we got a lot of good stuff on tape," Bower said. "We did some of the kicking game, and that will be good to see."
Offensively, quarterbacks Micky D'Angelo and Dustin Almond split time with the first team and second team offenses. D'Angelo was 5-for-9 with one interception and 28 yards passing, while Almond was 4-for-9 for 58 yards. Antwon Courington led all receivers with three receptions for 35 yards.
On the ground, James Walley saw the most snaps against the first team defense, rushing for six yards on seven carries. Tim Blackwell gained 23 yards on eight carries, and Sherron Moore rushed for 26 yards on eight carries. The long run of the night came on freshman quarterback Damien Carter's 42-yard scamper against the No. 3 defense.
John Eubanks turned in the only interception of the game.
Luke Johnson punted six times for a 45-yard average with a long of 54 yards. Neal Schmidt punted four times for a 37-yard average.
"We have to get better in our kicking game, but our punters did well," Bower said. "It was good to see that, but we just have to be consistent."
Bower also said that redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Crumpton has left the team and will transfer to another institution.
"He just felt that if he was going to play, it would have to be somewhere else," Bower said.
The progress has been steady over the preseason practices, but there is still work to be done.
"We have a ways to go, especially on offense," Bower said. "But we will get a lot from this tape (of the scrimmage) and that will be good to teach with."
The Golden Eagles continue practice through Saturday, with a final scrimmage set for 3:30 p.m. The scrimmage will be closed to the public.
