March 20, 2011
SAN DIEGO - The Red squad held off a late rally by the Black team in a 17-13 victory Sunday in the San Diego State football team's annual Red & Black Game. More than 1,200 fans were in attendance at the SDSU Sports Deck as the Aztecs put on a physical display on both sides of the ball.
It looked like it was going to be a high scoring affair early when touchdowns were scored on the first three possessions of the game. The Red team opened the scoring with a nine-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with an 11-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman running back Adam Muema (Covina, Calif.). The Red squad took advantage of three penalties on the drive for 45 yards by the Black defense.
The Black team answered on its first possession, marching 65 yards on seven plays, mainly through the air. Senior quarterback Ryan Lindley (Alpine, Calif.) threw for 54 yards on the drive, including a 19-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Dylan Denso (Dana Point, Calif.).
The Red squad wasted no time on its next offensive trip when sophomore quarterback Jake Bernards (Valencia, Calif.) found sophomore tight end Gavin Escobar (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) for a 29-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the drive. It came one play after Bernards tossed a 38-yard screen pass to Muema to get deep into Black territory.
Late in the second quarter, the Red defense came up big as senior Jerome Long (Los Osos, Calif.) forced a fumble that was recovered by freshman running back Mahbu Keels (San Diego/Mission Bay HS) and returned all the way to the Black 30. Abel Perez made it a 17-7 advantage for the Black team when he nailed a 36-yard field goal.
The Red squad answered with a seven-play drive that started with just 1:24 left in the half and ended with a 34-yard field goal by Perez to bring the Red to within seven points at 17-10.
After back-to-back three-and-outs by each team, the Black squad drove 60 yards on nine plays over 6:23, but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Perez.
The Black team's final attempt to take the lead began on its own 23-yard line with 4:00 left. Black used quick passing strikes of nine, eight, six and 18 to get to the Red 36. After gaining only two yards on the next three plays, Black was faced with a fourth and eight to keep the game going. Redshirt freshman quarterback Adam Dingwell's (La Habra, Calif.) throw to freshman Jay Waddell (Hesperia, Calif.), however, was incomplete after Red's Eric Pinkins (Sacramento, Calif.) broke up the pass with a big hit.
The two teams combined for 274 passing yards on 36 passing attempts. Bernards completed 4-of-8 attempts for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Dingwell tossed for 85 yards (8-of-16 attempts). Lindley was 3-for-6 for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Denso (66 yards, touchdown) and redshirt junior Chris Fuomi (Petaluma, Calif.) (51 yards) each caught four passes, while Muema (56 yards) and Escobar (36 yards, touchdown) had two catches apiece.
Ronnie Hillman, the 2010 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, had a game-high 42 yards on eight carries. Dingwell rushed for 36 yards on nine carries, Dwayne Garrett had a combined 26 yards on nine rushes and Muema rushed 12 times for 21 yards and a score.
There went plenty of impressive defensive players in the game as well, including sophomore Jordan Thomas (Redlands, Calif.) and senior J.J. Autele (Waipahu, Hawaii), who had two sacks apiece. Thomas and Long each forced a fumble, while Long, senior Logan Ketchum (Oak Park, Calif.) and redshirt freshman Dontrell Onuahu (La Quinta, Calif.) all added solo sacks.
Junior Ross Williams (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) had two tackles for a loss and sophomore Vaness Harris broke up a pass and had a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
Autele, sophomore Nat Berhe (Colton, Calif.), redshirt sophomore Andrew Feaster (Chula Vista, Calif.), redshirt freshman Cody Galea (Elk Grove, Calif.), redshirt freshman Kenneth Galea'i (Oceanside, Calif.), redshirt freshman Josh Gavert (Lakewood, Calif.), Pinkins, senior Neil Spencer (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Williams each had four tackles.
2011 San Diego State Red-Black Game
Sunday, March 20, 2011
SCORING PLAYS
RED - Adam Muema 11-yard run (Abel Perez kick), RED 7, BLACK 0
BLACK - Dylan Denso 19-yard pass from Ryan Lindley (Abel Perez kick), RED 7, BLACK 7
RED - Gavin Escobar 29-yard pass from Jake Bernards (Abel Perez kick), RED 14, BLACK 7
RED - Abel Perez 36-yard field goal, RED 17, BLACK 7
BLACK - Abel Perez 34-yard field goal, RED 17, BLACK 10
RED - Abel Perez 24-yard field goal, RED 17, BLACK 13
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATISTICS
RED RUSHING TOTALS (carries-yards-touchdowns)
Adam Muema 12-21-1, Chad Young 1-3-0, Dwayne Garrett 3-1-0, Jake Bernards 2-(minus 12)-0, Ryne Clark 3-(minus -24)-0. TOTALS 21-(minus 11)-1.
BLACK RUSHING TOTALS (carries-yards-touchdowns)
Ronnie Hillman 8-42-0, Adam Dingwell 9-36-0, Dwayne Garrett 6-25-0, Walter Kazee 2-2-0, Jay Waddell 2-(minus 3)-0. TOTALS 27-102-0.
RED PASSING TOTALS (completions-attempts-interceptions yards touchdowns)
Jake Bernards 4-8-1 100 1, Ryne Clark 3-6-0 35 0. TOTALS 7-14-1 135 1.
BLACK PASSING TOTALS (completions-attempts-interceptions yards touchdowns)
Adam Dingwell 8-16-0 85 0, Ryan Lindley 3-6-0 54 1. TOTALS 11-22-0 139 0.
RED PASSING TOTALS (completions-attempts-interceptions yards touchdowns)
Jake Bernards 4-8-1 100 1. Ryne Clark 3-6-0 35 0. TOTALS 7-14-1 135 1.
BLACK RECEIVING TOTALS (number-yards-touchdowns)
Dylan Denso 4-66-1, Chris Fomi 4-51-0, Jay Waddell 1-8-0, Ronnie Hillman 1-4-0, unknown 1-10-0. TOTALS 11-139-0.
RED RECEIVING TOTALS (number-yards-touchdowns)
Adam Muema 2-56-0, Gavin Escobar 2-36-1, Robert Gregorio 1-16-0, Hunter Hewitt 1-15-0, Ezell Ruffin 1-12-0. TOTALS 7-135-1.
INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
RED TEAM DEFENSIVE STATS
TACKLES
Nate Berhe 4, Ross Williams 4, Eric Pinkins 4, Andrew Feaster 4, Neil Spencer 4, Jake Fely 3, Colin Lockett 3, Jordan Thomas 3, Jerome Long 3, Gabe Lemon 3, Demetrius Barksdale 2, Josh Wade 2, Mahbu Keels 1. TOTALS 40.
INTERCEPTIONS (total-yards)
None.
FORCED FUMBLES
Jerome Long 1. Jordan Thomas 1.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES (total-yards)
Mahbu Keels 1-53, Jerome Long 1-0. TOTALS 2-53.
QUARTERBACK SACKS (total-yards)
Jordan Thomas 2-10, Jerome Long 1-2. TOTALS 3-12.
TACKLES FOR LOSS (total-yards)
Jordan Thomas 2-10, Ross Williams 2-3.5, Josh Wade 1-9, Jerome Long 1-2, Jake Fely 1-.5. TOTALS 7-25.
PASSES BROKEN UP (number)
Dey Juan Hemmings 1, Nate Berhe 1, Eric Pinkins 1. TOTALS 3.
BLACK TEAM DEFENSIVE STATS
TACKLES
J.J. Autele 4, Cody Galea 4, Kenneth Galea'i 4, Josh Gavert 4, Logan Ketchum 3, Dontrell Onuahu 3, Brandon Davis 2, King Holder 2, Jacob Driver 2, Leon McFadden 2, Derek Mack 1, Marcus Andrews 1, Vaness Harris 1. TOTALS 33.
INTERCEPTIONS (total-yards)
Leon McFadden 1-38.
FORCED FUMBLES
None.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES (total-yards)
None.
QUARTERBACK SACKS (total-yards)
J.J. Autele 2-12, Logan Ketchum 1-9, Dontrell Onuahu 1-9, Vaness Harris .5-3, Jacob Driver .5-3. TOTALS 5-36.
TACKLES FOR LOSS (total-yards)
Cody Galea 3-9, J.J. Autele 2-12, Logan Ketchum 2-10, Dontrell Onuahu 1-9, Vaness Harris 1-3, Jacob Driver 1-3. TOTALS 10-46.
PASSES BROKEN UP (number)
Vaness Harris 1, Leon McFadden 1.
Postgame Quotes
San Diego State Sophomore Defensive Back Eric Pinkins
On the defensive line:
"Our defense was looking pretty good, but as Coach Long says we have a lot of work to do. And we just have to keep working hard to try and win that Mountain West Championship and bring it home to San Diego."
On making the big hit to seal the game for the Red team:
"Well I was just back in cover three and I was just making a play. Then I saw (Jay) Waddell go up and make the post. I read the quarterback's eyes and I knew that he was going to run the post, so I broke on the ball. Originally I was going to go for the pick but he caught the ball so I just had to go for the big hit and hope that he didn't catch it.
San Diego State Sophomore Wide Receiver Dylan Denso
On the scrimmage today:
"I felt as a whole receiving group, we have had a lot of improvements from where we started. I think we still have a lot of stuff to work on to get to where we want to be. I mean, a lot of guys stepped up today, made a bunch of great catches, and that's all we want. We're just looking to start building some consistency and some rhythm to get some fluency in our offense. I think by the season, we're going to be good. The younger guys are going to come around and I know we're all ready."
On what he did well today:
"I don't like to talk about myself a lot, but I just try to be as consistent as possible and catch every ball that's thrown my way. I try to help out my offense by getting first downs and being an example to the younger guys, who also want to step up and make the plays."
On the upcoming season:
"Right now, everybody's got football fever; we're all kind of itching to see what our team is going to be all about for this upcoming season. I'm excited, as I know the rest of the team is too, and I'm excited to see what our finished product comes out to in the summer.
On the loss today against the black team:
"It's tough to say, but it hurts losing. It always does but every game there's going to be a winner and there's going be a loser. We played our hearts out, we tried to do everything we could and the ball didn't roll our way this time. I'm definitely going to be heading for the Red squad next time. It's our team and we're all getting out there next year."
San Diego State Senior Defensive Lineman Jerome Long
On how the teams were divided:
"Well, the coaches split the seniors up into different teams and then we had a draft and picked the players we wanted. It turned out to be pretty even."
On what was on the line for winning or losing the game:
"As the winners, we get steaks down the line. We are going to have dinner for the team and we get steaks and the other team gets little boiled up hot dogs. So that's the consequences of winning and losing."
On how it feels to be on the winning team:
"Me being a lineman, I love food. But winning in general, you play to win and it doesn't matter what you get, it's just that you get to play at all."
On what he thinks of some of the younger players coming into the program:
"There's a lot of talent, but they are very raw so we just have to get them into the right mindsets, hustling to the ball and always giving effort. We just have to get them to learn the game. It's different than high school so some major stuff for them is just teaching them the plays, knowing what to do and to react quick."