Miami Ohio University Athletics
Miami Shows Improvement in Second Spring Football Scrimmage
4/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 8, 2004
OXFORD, Ohio-The name of the game is improvement, and Miami University's football team used the second of its three spring scrimmages to demonstrate the strides it has made in the five days since its first scrimmage.
"It was better," head coach Terry Hoeppner commented. "There was definite improvement from last Saturday. When you play against each other, there are going to be plays that make one side look good and the other side look not so good, but we competed hard and executed well."
The RedHawk offense and defense exchanged blows throughout the afternoon with neither side able to come away with a clear advantage. Defensive back Alphonso Hodge struck the first blow for the defense, picking off a Josh Betts' pass on the third play from scrimmage. It would be Betts' only interception on the day, as the sophomore completed a 36-long pass to Michael Larkin on the next possession, setting up a two-yard scoring plunge by Adam Ciborowski.
Miami's first-string offense would not reach the endzone again but moved the ball well enough to set up three field goals, including 29- and 47-yard efforts from Todd Soderquist and a 24-yard boot from Jared Parseghian. Betts was 10-of-17 despite windy conditions, throwing for 128 yards, including three completions to Martin Nance for 43 yards.
"Josh has had a pretty good spring so far," offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery said. "As next year will be his fourth year with us, he has a good grasp of the offense. He's still learning through repetitions and will have to become more consistent. Hopefully he'll finish on a strong note with the spring game next weekend."
Though the first-string defense was stingy, allowing only three rushing plays over more than five yards, Ciborowski was the day's leading ground gainer with 32 yards rushing. Freshman running back Brandon Murphy, who electrified early in the day with a 62-yard kick off return, contributed the day's longest rushing play with a 16-yard dash. Defensively, Hodge added two pass deflections, including one in the endzone, to his interception.
The going was difficult early for the second string offense, as it was unable to pick up a first down on its first four possessions. Freshman quarterback Mike Kokal was able to get something started on the fifth possession, stringing together a pair of first downs and positioning the offense for a 37-yard Soderquist field goal.
Kokal and Ryne Robinson guided the second string all the way to the endzone on the next possession, as Kokal completed a key 16-yard reception to Robinson on a 3rd-and-12 play and later found Robinson on a 13-yard scoring strike.
Miami's second-string defense was tough on the run, holding the offense to just three runs of five yards or greater and none of more than six. Linebacker David Hutzelman was in on several hits for losses and sacked Kokal for a safety at one point.
"We played hard, and we played fast," co-defensive coordinator Brian George stated. "We still made mistakes and have a ways to go, but overall we made improvements. Our run defense has been solid, which goes with our philosophy of stopping the run first."
According to Montgomery finding consistency will be a focus for the remainder of the spring.
"We did well overall, but the problem this deep in spring is that you have a lot of guys from your two-deep not suiting up because of injuries," Montgomery said. "It's hard to find consistency like that. We were better today, but we missed some chances at big plays."
The defense also is trying to find consistency while dealing with personnel issues.
"We were without four of our defensive starters today because of off-season surgeries or class," George said. "The positive is that a lot of our more inexperienced players are getting the opportunity to pick up some extra reps and get additional attention from the coaching staff."
After some time off for the Easter holiday, the RedHawks return to work on Tuesday when they resume the first of their final three practices. Miami takes to the field for its annual spring game at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 17.
