White Edges Red in Utah Football Spring Game, 14-7

4/23/2016 12:00 AM | Football

April 23, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY -- Freshman quarterback Tyler Huntley completed 17 of 26 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown as the White team earned a 14-7 victory over the Red squad during the Utah football team's annual spring game Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. An estimated crowd of 6,300 turned out despite weather predictions calling for 100-percent chance of rain and thunderstorms. The rain did not materialize until after the game finished.

"For the spring overall, the offense was pretty good," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We made a lot more plays on the outside with our receivers than we have in a long time, but that has to continue. We had a sloppy start in the beginning of today's game, but overall when you judge the entire body of work, they took a big step forward this spring."

The White squad led by tight ends coach Fred Whittingham, Jr., outgained the Red Team, headed by wide receivers coach Guy Holliday, 292 yards to 169 in the events that featured four 10-minute quarters with a running clock in the second half.

Huntley engineered the White team's offense during the victory and finished 17-of-26 (65.4) for 233 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

"It was great to be able to lead my team to a victory," Huntley said. "I just come in and work every day on what I need to improve. I've built a good relationship with the entire receiving corps. We work every day to get our reps and when we get on the field for games, we have that chemistry with everyone."

Sophomore wide receiver Caleb Repp registered five receptions for a game-high 96 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown, for the White squad.

"Overall, the receivers have to step us for us this year," Whittingham said. "They looked sloppy early on today, but they finished strong. [Repp] is doing a nice job. He made some nice plays today. [Siaosi] Wilson made a nice catch on a deep ball."

Senior wide receiver Tyler Cooperwood contributed four receptions totaling 58 yards (long of 25). He also had a rush and threw a pass during the afternoon. Wilson hauled in a 41-yard grab and ended the day with two receptions for 44 yards. Redshirt freshman Gage Cook had 24 yards receiving on a pair of catches.

On the ground, sophomore running back Tani Leha'uli rushed six times for 39 yards, while junior Jordan Howard ran four times for 15 yards with a 4-yard scoring run.

Junior quarterback Brandon Cox quarterbacked the Red offense, completing 17-of-31 passes for 146 yards and one interception.

Freshman tight end Chad Hekking turned in a Red team-high 63 receiving yards on seven catches, while sophomore wide receiver Tyrone Smith came up with a 31-yard grab.

Redshirt freshman Marcel Manalo carried twice for 19 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run, while junior running back Troy McCormick had nine rushing yards on four attempts.

Defensively, junior defensive end Kendall Huey was credited with a game-best three sacks and totaled five tackles on the afternoon.

Redshirt freshman Tyson Cisrow had the day's only interception, which he returned 39 yards.

Junior linebacker Christian Drews paced the White squad with a game-high 10 tackles, including 1.0 TFL, while redshirt freshman linebacker Justin Tatola chipped in four tackles with 0.5 TFL.

Redshirt freshman defensive end Chris Hart had the Red team's lone sack to go along with three tackles. Redshirt freshman linebacker Jake Jackson came up with a Red team-high seven tackles, while redshirt freshman defensive back Philip Afia and junior linebacker Alex Whittingham were credited with six tackles apiece.

"We were limited defensively during the spring game," Whittingham said. "There aren't a lot of opportunities for blown assignments."

Sophomore punter Mitch Wishnowsky punted for both teams and ended the day with a 44.0-yard per punt average (132 total yards on three attempts).

After going scoreless during the first five drives of the day, the White offense took over and Huntley found Repp on a slant pass to pick up the initial first down of the day. On the next play, Repp and Huntley connected again for a 33-yard gain down the east sideline. Cooperwood picked up another first down on a swing pass that led to a missed 42-yard field goal by senior Andy Phillips.

The second series of the first quarter was highlighted by a 31-yard pickup down the west sideline from Cox to Smith to move the Red to the White's 37-yard line before Cisrow laid back in coverage for an interception and returned it 39 yards.

The White squad took over at its own 48, Cooperwood picked up five yards on the first play after making a series of moves on an end around. They converted on fourth down after Huntley scrambled for a 5-yard rush before Cooperwood dove for a spectacular catch to convert another fourth down. Phillips, who later confessed to feeling ill, attempted a 38-yard field goal that hit the post and bounced out to cap a scoreless first quarter.

The second quarter of play began with a 14-play drive for the White squad. Huntley found Repp on a square out for a first down before finding Cook for 16 more yards to bring the White team down to the 39-yard line. Repp picked up seven yards on third down and Leha'uli rushed for five yards on fourth to convert another first down. On the following third down, Leha'uli caught a pass out of the backfield and hurdled a defender for a 3-yard gain and another first down. Leha'uli rushed for 10 yards before Howard finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown rush.

As the running clock began during the first drive of the third quarter to start the second, Huntley rolled to his right and Repp boxed out for a 36-yard touchdown catch in the back corner.

The Red team answered with an impressive 10-yard scoring march that saw Cox go 6-of-7 for 42 yards and ended with a 9-yard touchdown run by Manalo.

The big plays continued when the White team took possession as Wilson went up for a great 45-yard gain on the drive's first play from scrimmage to clinch the 14-7 victory for the White squad.

Notable holdouts for precautionary or medical reasons from the Red Team were: Brian Allen, Cory Butler-Byrd, J.J. Dielman, Kylie Fitts, Dominique Hatfield, Lowell Lotulelei, Evan Moeai, Tim Patrick, Sam Tevi, Salesi Uhatafe, Marcus Williams and Troy Williams,