The White team scored five touchdowns in the first half and rushed for 323 yards in a 48-13 victory in the 42nd Annual Red-White Spring Game on Friday night at Stambaugh Stadium.
The White team had the first-team offense and the second-team defense, and the Red team was comprised of the first-team defense and the second-team offense. The first and second quarters had regulation timing rules, and the second half had a 30-minute continuous clock.
The early scoring barrage included four touchdowns in five drives, and the White defense allowed just one first down during that stretch. After a 54-yard touchdown pass from Dante Nania to Andrew Williams two minutes into the second quarter, the White team held a yardage edge of 268 yards to minus-1. White led 34-3 at halftime.
The White squad won for just the second time since 2003, and it won in a big way. The 48 points were the second-most points ever scored by the White team, behind only the 1995 squad's 55-point effort in a jersey scrimmage. The 35-point margin of victory was also the second-largest behind the Red's 61-7 win in 1976.
Sophomore tailback Jody Webb was the headliner of the White attack, rushing for 172 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries. Freshman Ryan Moore had 94 yards and a touchdown on seven totes, and redshirt-freshman quarterback Ricky Davis also found the endzone on a 12-yard rush.
In the quarterback battle, Nania posted the most yardage and the game's long passing touchdown. He was 4-for-6 for 79 yards, which included the 54-yard pass in stride to Williams early in the second quarter. Davis finished 5-for-6 for 66 yards as the other White quarterback.
Red freshman tailback Sidney Sandidge had the biggest play of the night, a 70-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter. He finished with 87 yards on 12 carries, and Edmond Jacobs added 29 yards for the Red.
Red quarterback Tanner Garry had game highs of eight completions on 17 attempts and finished with 66 yards. Nick Wargo added 46 yards on 4-of-9 passing. That duo was sacked a combined nine times by the White defense. Marcel Caver and Michael Wheary shared game-high honors with four catches for the Red team.
Eric Thompson had a good first series for the Red defense, and he finished with 4.5 tackles, an interception a pass breakup and a forced fumble. The sophomore cornerback tackled Martin Ruiz in the backfield on the opening drive, and he intercepted Nania on an out route on third down. His turnover led to a 31-yard field goal by Joey Cejudo that gave Red a 3-0 lead.
The White team answered quickly on the legs of Webb, and it went on to score 34 consecutive points. Webb ran for 23 yards on the first play of the drive, and he found paydirt on a 33-yard run two plays later to make the score 7-3.
Davis showcased his talents as a passer and runner on a first-quarter drive that put White ahead 14-3. Davis connected with tight end Nate Adams on a 25-yard gain to start the drive, and the redshirt freshman quarterback scored on a 12-yard keeper. Ruiz had a 21-yard run, which ended when Thompson forced him to fumble out of bounds, that set up the score.
Webb scored on a 7-yard run with 25 seconds left in the first quarter, and the touchdown pass from Nania to Williams happened less than three minutes later.
The first turnover forced by the White defense came when Antoine Cox recovered a fumbled handoff between Nick Wargo and Sidney Sandidge. That led to a one-yard touchdown run by Moore, which was set up by a 22-yard run by Webb and a 28-yard run by Moore. Cox finished with a team-high seven tackles, and Jameel Smith had a game-high eight tackles for the Red squad.
Cejudo ended White's scoring run with a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter to make the score 34-6. Web scored from 12 yards out before the end of the quarter, and Sandidge's 70-yard scamper came with 13 minutes remaining in the fourth. Webb had the final score of the night on an 11-yard run with just over seven minutes left.
