NORMAL, Ill. – In one of the most competitive scrimmages in recent memory, the red team came from behind to secure a 28-27 win in the annual Spring Showcase on Saturday afternoon at Hancock Stadium.
Scrimmage Scoring:
• The white team took the early lead on an 83-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Jefferson to Tristan Bailey
• Bailey then surprised the red team defense, took a lateral and tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to Eric Rogers to extend the advantage to 14-0
• The red team then got on the board on a 7-yard touchdown run by Jeff Proctor to trim the lead 14-7 at halftime
• Once again, Bailey proved hard to cover as he broke free for a 32-yard touchdown connection with Jefferson to extend the lead back to two touchdowns at 21-7
• Back-to-back touchdown strikes of 35 and 33 yards, respectively, from Brady Davis to Andrew Edgar knotted the game at 21-21 headed into the fourth quarter
• Proctor's second touchdown of the day then gave the red team its first lead of the contest at 28-21 midway through the fourth quarter
• With under a minute to play in the scrimmage, Jefferson connected with Rogers for the second time to bring the white team within one at 28-27 … the white squad went for two and the win, but a two-point conversion rushing attempt by nose guard John Ridgeway was unsuccessful and the red team came away with the thrilling victory
Red Team Highlights:
• Davis finished the scrimmage 11-for-18 with two touchdowns, with Edgar leading the way for the receivers with four grabs for 101 yards and two scores
• Running back Jeff Proctor led all ball carriers with 100 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns … fullback Tim McCloyn also had a pair of carries, with a long of 25 yards to set up one of Proctor's two touchdowns
• True freshman linebacker Jeremiah Jordan was the standout on defense for the red squad, recording six total tackles, two sacks and five tackles-for-loss … Julian Haynie also tied for the team lead with six stops and Clayton Isbell had the team's lone interception on the day
White Team Highlights:
• Jefferson matched Davis nearly step-for-step, completing 10-of-17 passes for 206 yards with three touchdowns
• Bailey accounted for three scores on the day (two receiving, one passing) and led the white team with 124 yards on three receptions … not to be outdone, Rogers led the team with five grabs for 93 yards with a pair of touchdowns
• Safety Christian Uphoff led the white team with five tackles, followed by Zeke Vandenburgh with four overall
• Devin Taylor had the team's only sack of the day on a corner blitz and Luther Kirk recorded the only turnover on an interception off Davis, which he returned 51 yards to set up a score
GoRedbirds.