Running Game Shines In Scrimmage

PROVO -- In the last scrimmage before the annual Blue and White scrimmage on April 7, senior running back Brian McDonald continued to be the workhorse for the Cougars this spring with 10 carries and 27 yards at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

The 120-play scrimmage gave head coach Gary Crowton and company the chance to see how the new offense is developing as it went up against the Cougar defense.

"I've put this offense in at a lot of different universities, so I've been here before," said Crowton. "I feel like it's progressing. We may be a little ahead of schedule. But basically, it's going at the rate it should be going."

Brandon Doman started off at quarterback for the Cougars, completing his first pass to senior tight end Doug Jolley for five yards. With 50 plays on offense, Doman finished the afternoon completing 11-21 passing for 95 yards, two interceptions and two touchdowns. He also ran for 32 yards on five carries.

Jolley was the top receiver with four catches and 30 yards including a touchdown pass from Todd Mortensen. Receivers Mike Rigell, Toby Christensen, Soren Halladay and Pat Williams also had significant contributions.

On defense, the Cougars had several big plays and hard hits. In the first series of the scrimmage, sophomore linebacker Paul Walkenhorst returned an interception 30 yards. Brother combinations of John and Ryan Denney and Daniel and Michael Marquardt had some big plays. John Denney had back-to-back sacks on Mortensen and both Marquardt brothers recorded sacks. Sophomore cornerback Jernaro Gilford had a tackle for a loss on a screen play and also had a pass break-up. Senior defensive lineman Brett Keisel had a fumble recovery, a sack and batted down a pass.

"I'm happy with the things they're doing as a defensive staff," Crowton said. "Defensively, they made a lot of good plays today. The thing I like most is that we're playing with a lot of enthusiasm. they're playing very hard and competitive. If they keep doing that, we'll be all right."

In the beginning of the scrimmage, Ricks College transfer Justin Anderson went down with a stress fracture in the fibula head of his left leg and will be out for the remainder of spring football. The Blue and White scrimmage will be held on Saturday, April 7 at noon in LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Individual Stats

Passing (Att-Comp-Yds-Int-TD)

Brandon Doman (21-11-95-2-1)

Todd Mortensen (25-13-85-0-1)

Rushing (Att-Yds-TD)

Brian McDonald (10-27-0)

Luke Staley (8-48-1)

Receiving (Rec-Yds-TD)

Doug Jolley (4-30-1)

Toby Christensen (3-(-2)-0)

Mike Rigell (3-32-0)