Wolfpack Football concluded its spring season with the Kay Yow Spring Football game at Carter Finley Stadium.
In a meeting between the Black team consisting of players like junior cornerback David Amerson , senior safety Earl Wolff, sophomore running back Tony Creecy and senior safety Brandon Bishop and the White team which consisted of the likes of senior quarterback Mike Glennon , running back James Washington and wide receiver Tobias Palmer, it was the Blacks who triumphed 32-7 following a strong performance across both sides of the ball.
Glennon started the game strong with a 15-yard pas to junior receiver Quinton Payton followed by a seven yard Washington rush and it felt like it would be the Whites that would emerge victorious on the back of its offensive stars.
However the passing game for the afternoon belonged to sophomore backup quarterback Tyler Brosius who zipped a 13-yard pass to sophomore receiver Bryan Underwood to set the ball rolling.
Brosius showed off his arm, throwing another long pass to Underwood for 15 and could have added another long one to his name had freshman Hakeem Flowers been able to keep a hold of the ball following a perfect throw by the quarterback.
Junior defensive end Forest West playing for the white team was one of those players who had an early impact notching four tackles, two of them for loss of 10-yards in the first nine minutes.
On the other hand Mike Glennon was having a rough day and got sacked by Daryl Cato-Bishop for a loss of seven as the White team struggled and had to keep on punting the ball.
Tight end Anthony Talbert made a play to stake a claim to the starting job after a 20-yard pass by Tyler Brosius . The Black team was the first to enter the red zone and despite having second-string offensive players, they drew first blood following a five-yard rush by Tony Creecy with 14:14 to go in the second. Sophomore kicker Nicklas Sade failed to convert the point after as the scoreboard indicated 6-0.
Soon after it was the turn of the other back up tight-end Asa Watson to make an impression as he made a 74-yard play following Glennon’s pass from the White 25 to set the ball on the Black one-yard line. Running back James Washington rushed for a yard to tie the game at six-all and Sade put them one up after converting the point this time around.
The Black team ruled the roost when it came to turnovers as junior safety Dontae Johnson intercepted freshman quarterback Brian Taylor and returned it for 37-yards.
Taylor’s bad luck continued in the next drive as well as het got sacked by redshirt junior defensive end Isaac Swindell in the White end zone resulting in a safety giving the Black team a 8-7 lead.
Despite the return of four starters from last year, most of who were part of the White team, the offensive line’s woes continued as Glennon got sacked for the second time in the game, this time by junior linebacker Rickey Dowdy.
With 36 seconds to go Amerson made one of his trademark jumps to rise above Palmer to make his first pick of the game. Amerson ended last season as the leading interceptor in the nation with 13 picks.
The Black team closed the half on a strong note following a 40-yard field goal conversion by Sade to go to the locker room with a 11-7 lead.
The second half saw both quarters shortened by three minutes each due to the rain. However it was the same story for the White team as Glennon got sacked yet again, this time by sophomore defensive tackle T.Y. Mcgill for a five-yard loss.
With 6:30 to go Brosius again displayed his skill connecting on a 54-yard play with Underwood, who showed off his speed only to get tackled on the White one-yard line. Junior running back Milton Hall sneaked in the ball from there on and Sade converted the point after to give the Black team a 18-7 lead with little over six minutes to go in the fourth.
As if that was not enough, the Black team heaped further misery on the White team after senior safety Earl Wolff intercepted Taylor and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 24-7 lead.
The Black team didn’t stop there as freshman quarterback Manny Stocker made a 15-yard rush to the endzone to bring the score up to 31-7 with barely seconds left in the game.
The game showed the Pack still has a lot of work to do with quarterback Mike Glennon struggling after going 12-20 for 153 yards for one interception and the running game showing absolutely no promise with both team combining for just 78-yards for the day. However the game did have a lot of positives with backup quarterback Tyler Brosius going 15 of 27 for 18 yards and no interceptions and Bryan Underwood hauling in six catches for 109 yards. As far as the defensive side of the team, the starting backline consisting of Amerson , Wolff, Bishop and Wilson showed they would continue to be a force to reckon with in the ACC. Sophomore defensive back Josh Stanley led all players with nine tackles.
The Pack will next be in action at the Chick-fil-A kickoff game against Tennessee on August 31 at the Georgia Dome.
