Louisiana Tech coaches pleased after spring football game
RUSTON, La. – Over the course of two hours on Saturday afternoon, Louisiana Tech fans had the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the 2018 Bulldog Football team during the LA Tech Spring Game presented by Dairy Queen at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Those in attendance at Joe Aillet Stadium braved below-average temperatures on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Ruston, while they were treated to a 16-6 victory by the White Team over the Blue Team. The two teams were selected through a draft by the Louisiana Tech coaching staff.
“I liked the energy and the physical nature of the game,” head coach Skip Holtz said. “We were trying to put them in as many game-like situations, so there is an awful lot to evaluate on this film. There are some goods and some bads in it, but for the end
of spring I enjoyed the spirit and energy and competition from both teams and the way they came out here and competed. Overall, I think it has been a really productive 15 days for us.”
After a pair of three-and-outs to start the scrimmage, the Blue Team opened the scoring on Saturday after putting together a 13-play, 66-yard drive in the first quarter that ended with a 31-yard field goal by Brady Farlow for a 3-0 lead by Blue.
With just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, the White Team took the lead and never relinquished it after a beautiful pass play by redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Walker after he connected with Rhashid Bonnette for a 46-yard touchdown pass, resulting in a 6-3 lead after a failed PAT. Later in the second quarter, Farlow made it a 9-3 lead for White after hitting a 29-yard field goal just before the halfway mark.
Late in the third quarter, Tyler Mathews connected on a 22-yard field goal for the Blue Team to cut White’s lead to three points, but Jerrod Craft’s 1-yard rushing touchdown midway through the final period closed out the scoring for both teams and extended the White Team’s lead to 16-6.
On Saturday, the performance of the defense on both sides was a bright spot with the Bulldog defense recording three interceptions on the afternoon, five sacks and seven total tackles for loss between the White Team and Blue Team.
On the offensive side of the ball, LA Tech’s ground attack totaled 279 rushing yards, while the Bulldog quarterbacks combined to throw for 373 yards on the afternoon. Jaqwis Dancy was another bright spot with 78 rushing yards in the scrimmage on 12 carries, while Cee Jay Powell led all receivers with 73 yards on seven catches.
The 2018 LA Tech Spring Game officially marks the end of 15 spring practice sessions for the Bulldogs.
“Now what we have to do is get some guys healthy who have some bumps and bruises,” Holtz said. “We are going to have to really start training for what we call phase three during the summer where we are really going to get in there with Coach [Kurt] Hester and see what we can do to change our bodies physically for the next three or four months before camp in the fall.”