Green Trumps White, 43-41, in Annual Spring Football Game

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football conducted its annual Spring Game Saturday, April 12, in the friendly confines of Rynearson Stadium under first-year Head Coach Chris Creighton. After a spirited scrimmage of nearly 90 minutes, the Green team, comprising the EMU offense, came away with a 43-41 victory.

The spring game started like any normal contest with an opening kickoff followed by three series at different locations on the field before halftime. After a five-minute halftime, the teams returned to the field for three final series to conclude the 2014 Spring Game at Rynearson Stadium. With the offense pitted against the defense, a special scoring system was put in place for both squads to earn points.

The offense clinched one point for every first down and every PAT, while receiving the typical three points for a field goal and six points for a touchdown. The defense secured one point for a PAT and two points for a three-and-out, while also adding five points for a turnover and 11 points for a touchdown.

After stretching and individual drills, the EMU offense (Green) took the field against the EMU defense (White) for about an hour and a half with both teams having promising moments. Sophomore quarterback Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Toledo St. John's Jesuit) led the offense to three points with three first downs before the defense knotted the score at 3-3 for holding the offense.

The White team took its first lead of the contest after grabbing two points for a three-and-out before Jay Jones (Palm Coast, Fla.-Matanzas) made a big return on an Austin Barnes (Fairview Heights, Ill.-O'Fallon) punt. Roback connected on a pass to David Gibson (Cleveland, Ohio-Solon) in the second series to give the lead back to the Green team, 13-5.

The offense continued to strike when redshirt-freshman Reggie Bell (Los Angeles, Calif.-Susan Miller Dorsey) found a wide-open Cole Gardner (Batavia, Ill.-Batavia) in the end zone, allowing the Green team to take the 23-5 lead. A missed PAT allowed the White team to notch its sixth point.

The defense notched two points in the third series while the offense clinched three final points to lead, 26-11, heading into halftime.

In the first series of the final half, the defense came out strong, forcing a bad snap and recovering the ball for a five-point turnover to come within 10 of the offense. The defense continued to chip away at the offense's lead using six points on two missed field goals and four points on two three-and-out plays to bring the score to 31-30 for Green.

The defense took its first lead of the scrimmage since the first series forcing the offense to go three-and-out for the fourth time in the contest. Juwan Lewis (Muskegon, Mich.-Muskegon) came up big for the offense with a 50-plus yard run to bring the ball into the red zone for the Green team. But the defense was able to stop any further movement and force a field goal attempt. The Green team took the lead for the second time in the contest, 35-32, after a made field goal.

Redshirt-freshman Brandon Bossard (Eagleville, Pa.-Methaction) recorded the Green team's third touchdown of the night when he found paydirt on a perfectly passed ball to the hands of sophomore tight end Duwhan Alford (Elkhard, Ind.-Concord) in the end zone to extend the offensive lead to 43-32 with a made PAT from Dylan Mulder (Saline, Mich.-Saline).

In an extra series at the end of the contest, the defense came up huge, blocking a punt before Anthony Zappone (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake) returned the ball for a touchdown to come within two of the offense, 43-41. The offense held onto the lead in the final play of the contest to take the 43-41 victory.

The 2014 regular season kicks off Saturday, Aug. 30, with a home contest against Morgan State University. Season tickets are now on sale for the five-game home slate which includes four contests against Mid-American Conference foes. Tickets can be purchased at EMUTix.com or by calling 734.487.2282.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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