'Green' Team Withstands 'White' Squad Rally to Win Spring Game
EUGENE, Ore.? In Oregon's Spring Game Saturday at Autzen Stadium, sophomore quarterbacks Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf led the 'green' team to a 20-15 victory over veteran signal-caller Kellen Clemens’s 'white' team under sunny spring skies.
The white squad trailed 13-2 late in the second quarter, but scored right before the half, then again with 1:49 left in the game to narrow the final score.
In the final stat comparison, the white squad held a commanding 41:48 time of possession edge in the hour-long affair (to the green's 11:42) and passed for 242 yards.
Leaf spent time with both squads and ended 17-of-25 passing for 213 yards. On the green side, he completed 12 of 16 attempts for 138 yards, and also went 5-of-9 passing for 75 yards with one touchdown for the white team late in the game.
"There are three guys that can play quarterback on this team that are going to flourish in this offense, and [Brady’s] one of them," Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. "What he lacks in athleticism, compared to the other two, he has great poise and decision-making and a sense of the pocket. I was very pleased with his performance today."
In comparison, Clemens completed 8 of 13 attempts for 118 yards and one touchdown. The Burns, Ore., native left the game after the opening drive of the third quarter because of a mild ankle sprain, suffered on a first-down sack by freshman lineman Ra'Shon Harris at the green 41-yard-line.
Dixon captained the green offense on five possessions in the first, second and fourth quarters, and connected on 4 of 9 throws for 78 yards and one touchdown, and scrambled for 20 yards on six carries.
For the white squad, junior wide receiver Kyle Weatherspoon pulled in a game-high 10 catches for 129 yards, including a touchdown from Clemens at the end of the second quarter. Senior Demetrius Williams added two receptions for 55 yards, and senior Drew Larson scored on a 17-yard strike from Leaf with 1:49 remaining in the game.
On the green team, sophomore receiver Garren Strong pulled in the day's longest completion - a 65-yard touchdown - from Dixon with 1:42 left in the second quarter.
On the ground, starting tailback and senior Terrence Whitehead played only the first half and led the white team in rushing with seven carries and 47 yards. On the green squad, Terrell Jackson accounted for 56 rushing yards on nine carries, and had a 10-yard scoring run to close the third quarter.
On special teams, junior Paul Martinez connected on two field goals for the green team, the first from 32 yards with 6:36 left in the first quarter, then from 37 yards out with 3:46 left before halftime.
On defensive for the green, Harris ended with two sacks for 11 yards, and sophomore Ryan Phipps posted nine tackles. On the white side, sophomore Josh Thomas-Dotson piled up seven tackles, including a sack for 15 yards. The white squad was also credited with a team safety on Dixon on a referee's holding call in the end zone on the second possion of the second quarter.
Fall preseason honor candidate and junior defensive lineman Haloti Ngata saw limited action Saturday. "Haloti is a disruptive force," Bellotti added. "He didn’t play a lot today, mainly because we wanted to give the other team a chance."
The Ducks open their fall season on the road at Houston, Thu., Sept. 1, then return to Eugene for their home opener, Sat., Sept. 10 vs. Montana.
