Colorado State University Athletics
Offense edges defense in CSU football's second scrimmage
8/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 22, 2008
By Jeff Jacobson
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Rams held their second full scrimmage of fall camp Thursday, running through thud drills before and after live contact play in nearly 90-degree temperatures at Hughes Stadium. Implementing the team's patented scoring system, Klay Kubiak and Kory Sperry combined for three TDs to lead the offense to a 26-25 victory.
During the 125-play scrimmage that ran just over 90 minutes, the squad saw Farris go 5-for-7 with a team-high 38 yards, including a long 20-yard completion to Sperry, for the offense's only TD reception. The other quarterback seeing time during live drills was Kubiak, who rushed for two TDs.
Several defensive players came up big on the other side of the ball. Gerard Thomas led the team with three tackles while Cory Macon intercepted a Farris pass, John Clark recovered a fumble and Sam Stewart recorded a sack. This considered, Head Coach Steve Fairchild believes the defense is currently the Rams' strong point. "
We're better off right now defensively," Fairchild told a group of reporters who were admitted to the stadium after the closed scrimmage. "We're ready to play a game defensively. However we need improvements on both sides of the ball."
Continuing to battle for the punter position are Jason Smith and Anthony Hartz. During the scrimmage, Smith averaged 44.3 yards on three punts while Hartz averaged 38.5 yards on two attempts. Smith also connected on a 42-yard field goal, as did Ben DeLine.
Making an earlier return to practice than Fairchild expected, Nick Oppenneer saw time during the scrimmage. While still wearing a red jersey, the junior cornerback took reps during thud drills, including an interception on the first play of the day.
The Rams spent the first 40 minutes of practice in their pregame warm-up, fine-tuning the process before the team's first game Aug. 31 against CU.
The Rams return to the field Friday as they practice at 7:45 a.m. on the fields south of Moby Arena. The team will then hold another scrimmage Saturday at Hughes Stadium, which is once again closed to the public and media.
