White Dominates Green In Spring Game

Heading into the spring game Oregon was looking for a defensive dominate game from both sides due to great play by the defense and inconsistency from the offense.

The White team led by Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly got great plays from both sides of the ball in a 36-3 win.

With the green team getting the ball first and quickly feeling the pressure from Senior Nick Reed and Sophomore Tonio Celotto, Harper was flushed on an option read but was able to scramble for 15 yards showing his athleticism.

The following play Reed and Celotto were there on Harper once again this time picking up the sack.

Crenshaw added an 11-yard gain the next play before the Whites stuffed the Greens including another sack by Reed and forcing a punt.

With the first play the White team went big with Sophomore Justin Roper hitting Junior Ed Dickson in stride up the seem for a 65 yard pass that showed Dickson picking up more than half the yards after the catch and getting tackled inside the ten.

Roper finished off the drive with an option read that included a great fake pass to the outside that froze the defense and allowed Roper to glide in for the touchdown and to go up 7-0.

After forcing another three and out the Whites got the ball back and quickly went right back to work on offense.

Roper connected with Senior Jaison Williams for a five-yard pass on the sidelines that included Williams showing his desire for contact when he lowered his shoulder to truck an oncoming defender.

The very next play Junior LeGarrett Blount showed he can be the thunder to Senior Jeremiah Johnson's lightening when he picked up 35 yards on a run off the tackle that included Blount carrying tacklers for 15 yards downfield to get inside the 20-yard line.

After two failed attempts to the end zone via pass the Whites settled for a field goal to go up 10-0.

The Green team answered the field goal with their own 37-yard field goal after Harper guided the offense with his legs gaining over 30 yards on the ground while also passing for a 20-yard completion over the middle to Sophomore Drew Davis. The drive was aided by a 15-yard face-masking penalty when Sophomore Aaron Pflugrad was running an option play with Harper.

The first quarter ended with the White and Green teams each having a possession that showed flashes of good offense but each drive eventually sputtering to an end and having to punt.

With the score close still the White offense made it a point to pound the ball down the Green team's throats much like Oregon did last season against Washington.

With Kempt at quarterback for the White's the offense took advantage of the presence of Blount and his inside running ability. Kempt ran the zone read four times resulting in 20 yards on the ground for the option keeper.

Blount again added his thunderous style with a 25 yard run up the middle where he trucked Junior Walter Thurmond and continued down field even without both shoes on his feet.

The drive stalled after the big run from Blount and the White team made a 26-yard field goal.

The Green team moved downfield in chunks the next possession mostly from Freshman Chris Harper scrambling for first downs on passing plays that broke down or designed option reads.

Harper picked up picked up 36 yards on three carries while adding a perfect option read that gave Sophomore Aaron Pflugrad a chance to make a cut in the backfield and pick up the first down.

Sophomore Casey Matthews, who made plays all afternoon, got a big sack on Harper that forced the offense to stall and try a field goal.

With Freshman Darron Thomas in to hold the ball, the defense caught a break when the freshman and long snapper had trouble getting the ball back and resulted in Matthews crashing in to make another tackle on Thomas in the backfield.

Thomas getting another chance to shine after the Green defense stopped the Whites threw a pass that was intercepted by Senior Sonny Harris at the line of scrimmage. Harris took the ball inside the Green 15 yard line before getting tackled.

The Whites quickly struck again, this time Roper hit Williams on the sideline again and Williams plowed and spun his way into the end zone for another score to raise the score to 20-3.

With time winding down in the first half the Green team got a big break when Harper rolled out to the left and hit Sophomore Malachi Lewis up the seem when Lewis made a spectacular one handed grab that resulted in a 45 yard strike.

The Greens got to the 6-yard line on a reverse by Sophomore Jamere Holland that picked up 18 yards with time winding down in the first half.

With three chances inside the 10 and 30 seconds left on the clock the Whites stopped the Greens from scoring before going into the half up 20-3.

The White's got the ball at the start of the second half and tried to add onto their already large lead while taking advantage of the running clock in the second half.

Following Junior Quarterback Cade Cooper's lead the White offense marched downfield riding the scrambles of Cooper to the 35-yard line of the Green Defense.

After a bad snap where Cooper landed on the ball for a seven-yard loss the White's kicked a 50-yard field goal to push the lead to 23-3.

The White team added two more scores late in the fourth quarter, one coming from a Cooper to Freshmen Elvis Akpla for a six-yard touchdown pass pushing the lead to 29-3 after a blocked PAT.

The second coming from Cooper himself when Cooper scrambled for an eight-yard touchdown dive that had Cooper dive into the end zone for the final touchdown, 36-3.