April 28, 2007
SAN DIEGO - RED-BLACK GAME STATS
The San Diego State football squad ended its spring drills with the annual Red-Black Game, which saw the Black team emerge victorious, 28-3, at Helix High School Saturday night. The third and final scrimmage consisted of 71 plays and was highlighted by quarterback Kevin O'Connell's three touchdown passes.
"I thought tonight was very smooth on both sides of the ball," head coach Chuck Long said. "The offense moved the ball very well and that's what we want. We want both sides to gain a lot of confidence coming out of the spring and they did that tonight. Obviously, some guys stuck out, but overall we had some good defensive stops and they stopped (the offense) when they needed to down there with a great interception by Aaron Moore. Those are the things we need to do more of, and we've been doing it all spring and it showed tonight."
O'Connell was strong from the start as he directed a seven-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to open the scrimmage. Starting from his own 38-yard line, O'Connell moved the ball downfield efficiently and capped the drive with a 26-yard touchdown strike to Justin Shaw. The senior signal-caller ended the drive by going 4-for-4 for 49 yards.
After a punt on the next drive, O'Connell stepped back onto the field, drove the Aztecs 70 yards and found Darren Mougey in the end-zone for a 12-yard scoring pass. Highlighting the drive was a 33-yard screen pass from O'Connell to Brandon Sullivan putting SDSU inside the red-zone, which eventually led to Mougey's touchdown.
Following three non-scoring possessions, San Diego State crossed the goal line for a third time, this time with Kevin Craft at the controls. The sophomore put together a 66-yard drive, which resulted in a Sullivan seven-yard touchdown run.
On the ensuing possession, Kelsey Sokoloski guided the offense to the 11-yard line, but was intercepted at the five-yard line by Aaron Moore, who returned the ball 42 yards. After the turnover, the offense went back to work and after nine plays, Garrett Palmer trotted onto the field and nailed a 50-yard field goal.
On the final drive, O'Connell duplicated what he had done earlier and led the offense to a nine-play, 61-yard scoring drive that featured Shaw's five-yard TD catch. Before an O'Connell incomplete pass, Black team QBs (O'Connell and Craft) went 10-for-10 for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
For the game, O'Connell finished with three touchdown passes and 153 yards on 13-of-17 passing. Shaw led all receivers with six catches and two touchdowns for 79 yards, while Mougey was credited with three receptions (26 yards) and a touchdown. Tyler Campbell led the rushing attack gaining 54 yards on seven carries and Sullivan ended the contest with a TD, six carries and 17 yards.
Defensively, Jerry Milling and Mark Wine notched a team-high six tackles, just ahead of teammates Freddy Dunkle and Eric Ikonne, who each recorded five. Among Millings' six tackles, two were behind the line of scrimmage.
The Red-Black game marks the end of the Aztecs' four-week spring practice schedule.