The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Hold Second Spring Football Scrimmage
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 10, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- In last week's first spring scrimmage for the UAB football team, the Blazer defense held the advantage in the early going before the offense got untracked to finish with the upperhand.
In Saturday's second scrimmage it was the offense's turn to get off to a fast start only to be slowed by the defense by the end of the two-hour workout.
Head coach Neil Callaway pointed out some dropped balls and ill-advised penalties that were sources of irritation, but overall, he was pleased with the team's performance in the scrimmage.
"I thought there was a lot of competitive effort on both sides," Callaway said. "I thought it was a little reversed from the last scrimmage. Last scrimmage the defense had the upperhand early and the offense kind of caught up with them. I thought it was just the opposite today. The offense came out and did a good job the first part of the scrimmage and the defense caught up them at the end.
"We can learn from our mistakes today, but I was pleased with the effort."
A major reason for the successful start for the Blazers offense on Saturday was the play of sophomore quarterback David Isabelle. Isabelle completed his first four passes and finished the day with 16 completions on 27 attempts for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns with one interception. Isabelle also showed his running ability, rushing for 124 yards on 17 attempts with one touchdown.
"I thought he (Isabelle) did play better, he threw the ball better," Callaway of Isabelle. "But part of that the receivers made some plays, too."
Senior Mike Jones was the receiver responsible for several of those plays as he enjoyed an outstanding scrimmage. Jones finished with a team-best six receptions for 95 yards with two touchdowns. Jones also caught a pair of two-point conversion passes.
"Mike Jones had a big day, he made some good plays on the ball," Callaway said.
QB Bryan Ellis threw the ball better in Saturday's scrimmage, according to Callaway, though his stats don't reflect it due to several dropped passes by receivers. Ellis finished with 7-of-19 passing for 38 yards with an interception. He also had 34 rushing yards on seven attempts.
Joe Bento was 3-of-8 for 53 yards and Jonathan Perry finished 1-of-3 for 50 yards.
The numbers were fairly balanced from the running back position. Pat Shed, who ran for 135 yards in last week's first scrimmage, ran for 54 yards Saturday on only six carries, breaking off an impressive 34-yard run. Justin Brooks finished with 25 yards on nine rushes while Daniel Borne had 23 yards on seven carries.
Aside from Jones' six catches, the Blazers had three receivers catch three passes. Frantrell Forrest had 3-for-27 yards, Nick Adams caught 3-for-39 and Sam Accursio has 3-for-27 yards.
The defense had several players stand out Saturday. Safety Jamie Bender, LB Marvin Burdette and safety Ferson Stafford led the tacklers with seven stops with Burdette also contributing a sack and Bender an interception.
DE Derek Slaughter had six tackles with a pair of sacks with LB Caleb Dyck registering six stops with a sack.
UAB had three other interceptions to go with Bender's pick. CB Cornelius Richards, safety Stephen Allen and CB Ugonna Amarikawa also had interceptions.
There was no punting in the scrimmage Saturday, but sophomore kicker Josh Zahn did attempt four field goals, hitting three of those (35, 42 and 42 yards).
The Blazers have four practices remaining this week before concluding their 2010 spring drills. UAB will conclude spring practice next Saturday, April 17 with its Spring Game, set for 11:00 a.m. at West Campus Field.
Scrimmage Statistics
Rushing: Isabelle 17-124, 1 TD; Shed 6-54; Adams 2-35; Ellis 7-34; Brooks 9-25; Borne 7-23; Perry 4-5.
Passing: Isabelle 16-27-172, 2 TD, 1 INT; Ellis 7-19-38, 1 INT; Bento 3-8-53, 1 INT; Perry 1-3-50, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: M. Jones 6-95, 2 TD; Adams 3-39; Forrest 3-27; Accursio 3-16; Shed 2-74; A. McDaniel 2-30; Perry 2-14; Brooks 2-12; Borne 2-9; Moore 1-5; Pruitt 1-2.
Field Goals: Zahn 3-4 (35, 42, 42).
