The cherry blossoms lining the Hocking River signal that spring has sprung in Athens.
Although the picturesque backdrop was easy on the eyes, the play on the field at Peden Stadium wasn’t nearly as scintillating Saturday, as neither side crossed the goal line in Ohio’s annual Green and White Game.
“We’re only running a portion of our offense because of the situation we’re in health-wise,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said.
“There is a limited amount of continuity on both sides of the ball ... you’re only going to look so sharp.”
The Bobcats’ injury-marred spring practices prevented the two squads from playing a full game as punting, kickoffs and 7-on-7 passing drills were included in between possessions.
Redshirt senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton did not participate in game action but did sling passes in drills.
Beau Blankenship, a redshirt senior, saw action in three plays on the first drive of the game, two of which ate up chunks of yardage — a 9-yard swing pass out of the backfield and a 13-yard gain around the edge of the line of scrimmage.
Running backs Kyle Hammonds, a redshirt sophomore, and newcomer Paul Wilks split the rest of the carries out of the backfield. They combined for 18 carries and 64 yards.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Derrius Vick led the white squad into the red zone on its first drive, but saw the offense stall shortly thereafter. The field goal unit came onto the field and its kickers missed all four attempts.
It was the game’s only trip to the red zone Saturday.
“We got down in the red zone right away, and for some reason we have a tendency to start off scrimmages and even some games over the years not great,” defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow said. “But once they got in the red zone at least we made them kick a field goal.”
The defense recorded three sacks in the game, one apiece from freshman Tarell Basham and Kurt Laseak and redshirt freshman William Johnson.
The game’s most dynamic play was 33-yard reception by redshirt senior wide receiver Matt Waters. However, freshman cornerback Dyquan Stewart forced and recovered a fumble on the play to negate the gain.
nr225008@ohiou.edu
