April 17, 2010

2010 Spring Scrimmage unofficial stats

PITTSBURGH - Sophomore quarterback Sean Patterson (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) - the lone signal-caller in uniform - completed 5-of-9 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown to highlight a controlled scrimmage that signified the end of spring practice for the 2010 Duquesne football team.

The scrimmage, which consisted of approximately 25 plays, concluded an afternoon that included goal line drills, one-on-one work, red zone situations and 7-on-7 passing drills.

Over a dozen players who are either recovering from surgery or nursing injuries were on the sidelines for the afternoon workout.

"It was a challenge for the offense with six starters out, but it also opened it up for a lot more competition," said sixth-year head coach Jerry Schmitt of spring practice which began on March 24. "I was pleased with how the team responded. We held a lot of guys out this afternoon as a precaution."

Patterson hit junior Isaac Spragg (Westfield, Va./Valley Forge Military Academy) from 14 yards out on the first team offense's second possession for the scrimmage's only score.

"Sean really benefitted from the extra work this spring," said Schmitt. "He got all of the reps which enabled him to make great strides. He's really grown as a leader."

Sophomore Larry McCoy (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) led all ballcarriers with 27 yards on four carries. Spragg led the receiving corps with two catches for 29 yards. Junior Brooks Roorback (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) also caught a pair of passes for 14 yards.

Five players had two tackles each for the Dukes including senior linebacker Nathan Totino (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle). Totino also added a pair of interceptions in goal line and red zone drills.

Redshirt freshman Reggie Eiland (Accokeek, Md./Gwynn Park) had a sack and Khiry Carter (Philadelphia, Pa./West Philadelphia Catholic) recovered a fumble for the defense during the controlled scrimmage.

The Dukes were without their four top receivers in sophomore Akeem Moore (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) and seniors Connor Dixon (South Park, Pa./South Park) and Dave Williams (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) along with senior tight end Sean Bunevich (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) who were sidelined along with nine others due to either offseason surgeries or injury.

"We had a lot of competitive battles this spring," said Schmitt. "We saw very few lulls in effort which was encouraging because our schedule had us going as many as four days in a row before and after Easter break. I was pleased with the effort and attitude of our players and I look for that to continue into off-season conditioning work."

Duquesne, which returns 17 starters from last year's 3-8 team, opens the 2010 season at home versus Bucknell on September 4.