Fresno State Athletics
Offense Looks Sharp in Annual Spring Game
4/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 26, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - Jeff Grady went 19-for-26 with 219 yards and Paul Pinegar was 14-of-28 with 207 yards as Fresno State competed in the annual Spring Game before 712 at Bulldog Stadium. The game brings this year's spring practice to a close.
The scrimmage was comprised of several different situations. It started with six-play drives being started from the offense's 20 and 40-yard lines and the defense's 40-yard line. The team then worked on 2nd and 3rd down situations before battling in the compete zone, which saw the ball placed on the 25-yard line and played like overtime in college football. The night ended with 1 minute 10 seconds placed on the clock and the offense forced to get into field goal range with just one timeout.
"Overall I was happy with tonight," head coach Pat Hill said. "There were not many penalties and not many turnovers. It was just a really solid scrimmage for us."
The game was played on an unseasonably cool 55 degree evening. Despite that, big plays on offense highlighted the contest. Grady, who threw for two touchdowns, hooked up with Marque Davis on a 52-yard play early in the game. Davis later caught an inside screen on 3rd-and-4 and took it 66 yards for a touchdown. On the night, the junior wide receiver had five catches for 135 yards.
The running game also looked good for the Bulldogs. Derrick Ward picked up 29 yards on four carries before being forced to leave the game with a mild hamstring strain. But Therrian Fontenot picked up the slack and looked solid, slashing his way for 64 yards on 14 carries. Matt Rivera also made a contribution, carrying the ball eight times for 51 yards and coming out of the backfield to make four catches, 22 yards and a touchdown.
"We are so much farther along now than we were after the spring game last year," Hill said. "I thought Jeff Grady looked good. He was very sharp, played smart and did a good job of moving the offense. Marque Davis is obviously a big-time player. I think we are going to see a lot of what he did tonight all season long. We had some young guys who really looked good. And Therrian [Fontenot] ran as hard as I've seen him run."
Both Pinegar and Grady spread the ball out all night, with 13 different receivers catching passes. And both kickers, Asen Asparuhov and Brett Visintainer, made long field goals, with Visintainer's coming from 42 yards.
"Paul Pinegar is going to be a very good quarterback for us," Hill said. "He showed flashes of that tonight. And our young receivers are really coming along. Adam Jennings had a good spring. Lenny McCormick and Deandre Gilbert all got a lot of quality reps. I think when we get Bernard back, we are going to have a very good receiving corps."
The stars of the game were not limited to the offense. During the two-minute drill portion of the scrimmage, both James Sanders and Nate Ray had interceptions, with Ray's coming in the end zone. In addition, Jamal Jones had seven tackles and a sack; Del Hawkins had three tackles for loss and two sacks; and Sam Williams had four tackles, a pass break up and a quarterback hurry. "There was a lot of good hitting from the defense," Hill said. "I thought Kendall Edwards played well all spring. He had a couple of big-time hits tonight.
The game's only injury was suffered by Ward. Wide receiver Bernard Berrian (toe), defensive end Nick Burley (thumb) and defensive end Brian Morris (knee) all missed spring drills due to injury. Nose tackle Jason Stewart also did not play tonight.
Fresno State begins its 2002 season on the road with the John Thompson Foundation Classic at Wisconsin on Aug. 23. The home opener is Aug. 29 against San Diego State.
Those fans interested in purchasing or renewing season tickets should go online to the official website of Fresno State Athletics, www.gobulldogs.com. Tickets are also available by calling the Fresno State Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS.
STATISTICS
Rushing
Therrian Fontenot: 14-64; Matt Rivera: 8-51; Derrick Ward: 4-29; James Cummings: 1-8, Paul Pinegar: 1-8; Jeff Grady: 1-(-3)
Passing
Jeff Grady: 19-26-1-219, 2 TD; Paul Pinegar: 14-28-1-207, 3 TD
Receiving
Charles Ealy: 4-71; Matt Rivera: 4-22, TD; Deandre Gilbert: 3-26, Alec Greco: 3-13, TD; Adam Jennings: 3-21; Lenny McCormick 2-29, TD; Mark Wood: 2-38; Therrian Fontenot: 2-10, TD; Jermaine Jamison 2-17
Defensive Leaders
Nate Ray: 8 tackles, INT, PBU Jamal Jones: 7 tackles, 1 sack (-4 yds.), PBU James Sanders: 4 tackles, INT, PBU Del Hawkins: 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, QB hurry Sam Williams: 4 tackles, PBU, QB hurry
