Bowling Green, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University football team moved past the midway point of spring practice Saturday afternoon with a two-hour controlled scrimmage at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.
In the first scrimmage of the spring, the coaching staff put both sides of the ball through a number of scenarios, including backing the offense up inside their own five yard line, red zone situations and a number of third-down plays. Additionally, with two new coordinators on staff, it gave the coaches an opportunity to work on communication between the booth and the field.
"I thought overall it went well. Defensively, I don't think we had the juice and energy we've shown all spring," said head coach Willie Taggart. "It was good to see our offense come out with the day they had. I thought it was a good learning lesson for our defense that when they have the energy, they play really well. We still have a lot of work to do, but we're moving in the right direction."
Offensively, Kawaun Jakes unofficially completed 11 of 18 passes for 119 yards, including a 25-yard scoring pass to Joel German. Brandon Doughty was able to complete nine passes for 110 yards and a pair of scores - a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kadeem Jones and a 25-yard strike to Courtney Dalcourt. In all, 11 different players caught passes, as Dalcourt led the group with 57 receiving yards. German and Jamarielle Brown led the way with three catches each.
On the ground, Tevin Bryant rushed for 108 yards, including scoring runs of 10 and 25 yards. Keshawn Simpson also picked up 29 yards on the ground.
On the defensive side of the ball, both Tye Golden and Ricardo Singh led the way with six tackles. Two of Golden's stops came behind the line of scrimmage. Kareem Peterson, Tevin Holliman, Ben Duvall and Jamarcus Allen each recorded sacks.
"More than anything, we want to make our guys aware of the situations. I think a lot of times these kids just come out and play ball, not thinking about the situations they are in," said Taggart. "We wanted to put our guys in situations where thing were tough and they had to fight through it. You never in the course of a game when things will change, and we have to be able to execute at any spot on the field."
With the second of four weeks in the books, the Hilltoppers will get back to work on Monday for the first of four practices next week. Spring practice will culminate with the annual spring game at 5 p.m. (CDT) on Saturday April 16. The Hilltoppers open the 2011 season on Thursday, Sept. 1, when they take on Kentucky at L.P. Field in Nashville. The upcoming season will also include six home game at Houchens-Smith Stadium. Season tickets information is available by calling 1-800-5 BIG RED.
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