 AKRON, OH – Jawon Chisholm had 14 carries for 124 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the offense to an 82-36 win over the defense in The University of Akron football program's annual Spring Game on Saturday afternoon inside Stile Athletics Field House. The intra-squad scrimmage was scheduled to be held at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field, but heavy rain and high winds forced it indoors.
A special scoring system allowed the defense to gain points in a variety of ways and the offense could get on the scoreboard in the tradition fashion as well as in a few additional ways.
Chisholm was named the game's offensive MVP, while defensive end Nico Caponi earned that honor on the other side of the ball. Caponi finished with four tackles and was responsible for two of the defense's four sacks.
All three quarterbacks listed on the Zips' spring roster – Patrick Nicely, Clayton Moore and Zach D'Orazio – saw time under center. Moore, a junior college transfer who enrolled at UA in January, completed 11-of-14 passes for 122 yards and one TD.
Nicely, the squad's returning starter, completed 7-of-11 attempts for 103 yards, and D'Orazio was 5-for-8 passing for 127 yards and one TD. He connected on the longest pass play of the day, a 77-yarder to Nolan Procter down the right sideline during the second half. Procter, who had two catches for 87 yards, was brought down inside the five-yard line.
The offense finished the day with 352 passing yards on 23-of-33 completions. The team ran 69 plays for 550 yards of total offense.
Marquelo Suel, a junior college transfer who sat out last season, fueled Procter’s production with eight receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown. Providing highlights in the backfield along with Chisholm was freshman Marvin Staten, who carried the ball 14 times for 50 yards.
Safety L.T. Smith led the defense with 10 tackles (seven unassisted) and corner back Bill Alexander had eight tackles (seven unassisted). Brian Wagner, who led the team with 130 tackles in 2010, made four stops and was one of six defenders to have four or more tackles on the day.
Saturday's game marked the completion of the program's spring camp and served as the team's 15th allowable team workout date for the spring. The Zips open the season at Ohio State on Sept. 3 and face Mid-American Conference opponent Temple on Sept. 10 in their home opener. UA will be begin its preseason training camp in 109 days.
Courtesy of Akron Athletics |
