University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Eagles Show Improvement In Scrimmage
4/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Eagles Show Improvement In Scrimmage HATTIESBURG, Miss. --
Bower was pleased with the team's overall effort in the two-hour workout -- the 11th of the spring -- which saw the team go through a number of scenarios, including a goal-line session. The offense finished the day with five touchdowns in all, three rushing and two passing, while the defense came up with a score on Pierre Hutchins' 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown to go along with a safety.
"I thought our offense had a good day," Bower said. "We ran the ball well and did some good things throwing the ball. The offense had the better day. I thought we played with a lot of emotion and a lot of enthusiasm, and our kids were excited about playing. I was pleased with it. We did some good things, but there are some things we need to do better.
"I just think we were more into our scrimmage today," Bower continued. "We played hard and competed well."
Bower also was pleased with the performance from the team's three quarterbacks, including returning starter Dustin Almond, Damion Carter and Jeremy Young.
"Dustin had a good day," Bower said. "I thought all of the quarterbacks did some good things. Dustin did well. Jeremy showed me some things by the way he scrambled and made some plays. Damion also did well. All of them had a pretty good day."
Almond led all three players with 8-of-14 passing for 213 yards and two touchdowns -- a 26-yard score to Anthony Harris and a 20-yarder to Chris Rhoden. Young finished 6-of-12 for 82 yards through the air, while Carter was 5-of-8 for 71 yards.
On the ground, Tim Blackwell had a team-high 82 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, while Larry Thomas followed 17 carries for 63 yards and a score. Sherron Moore picked up 62 yards and two touchdowns on 12 rushes. Harris completed the day with 31 yards on 11 carries.
Marvin Young led all receivers with 104 yards on two catches, while DaRon Lawrence grabbed four catches for 64 yards. Anthony Perine finished with three receptions for 29 yards, and Rhoden grabbed two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown. Harris had one catch for 26 yards and a touchdown, and Carter and Blackwell added catches of 25 and 20, respectively.
The defensive unit finished the day with nine sacks, paced by Michael Boley's two solo sacks. Terry Anderson added 1.5 sacks, while Akeem Lockett and Darrell Bennett each added a solo sack. Bennett, Dillon Cleckler and Kevis Coley all finished with 10 tackles, led by Bennett's seven solo stops. Anderson and Rashad Smith both had seven total tackles, and Thomas Johnson and Trevis Coley added six stops apiece. Johnson also got the tackle for the safety. John Eubanks led the team with two pass breakups.
The Golden Eagles begin the final week of spring drills with a workout Tuesday afternoon, and then hit the field Thursday and Friday before playing the in annual Black and Gold Spring Game on Saturday, April 17 at 1 p.m.
