Ducks’ Adams shines during Shrine game
ST. PETERSBURG — Oregon’s Vernon Adams Jr., out to show he can make it as a 5-foot-11 quarterback, came up big Saturday, throwing three touchdowns in the second quarter to lead the West to an easy 29-9 win over the East squad in the East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field.
“It’s just football; I’ve been playing it all my life,” Adams said of picking up former Falcons coach June Jones’ offense in a week. “You throw the ball; they catch it. Let’s go. Shout out to the O-line and the receivers making me look good. I’m happy we got the win.”
Adams, voted the game’s most outstanding player on offense, passed for 191 yards in three series, including a 93-yard score to Purdue wide receiver Danny Anthrop. Adams threw a touchdown to Colorado State tight end Kivon Cartwright on the first play of the second quarter, and a 10-yard touchdown to former Illinois wide receiver Geronimo Allison, who added a second touchdown as the game’s final points.
“It means a lot. I’m blessed to have this opportunity to compete in front of so many fans and such competition,” said Allison, who finished with 68 yards on six catches. “I felt like I made the most of my opportunities.”
The East led 9-0, due largely to interceptions by the two Gators in the game. Brian Poole, a cornerback from Bradenton Southeast, picked off Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. Linebacker Anthony Harrell had picked off a Doughty pass on the opening drive to set up a field goal.
But Poole injured his collarbone and had his right arm in a sling afterward, saying it would be a four-week injury.
“We lost, so it doesn’t mean a whole lot,” said Poole, who said he thought of Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler’s clinching goalline interception at the end of last year’s Super Bowl as he saw two receivers in front of him before the snap.