White defeats Orange 35-14
4/19/2008 1:00:00 AM | Football
Jason Madkins, a 6-5 transfer wide receiver from
Senior quarterback Ryan Hinojosa, a transfer from Hardin-Simmons who red-shirted last season for the Bearkats, completed 10 of 19 for 180 yards and two touchdowns as the White starting quarterback. Backup Jordan Williams hit on three for seven passes for 81 yards and a score.
Jeff Welch completed 14 of 28 passes for 129 yards and a score. Taylor Weidman was three of nine for 36 yards.
TyMagic Robinson led all rushers with 10 carries for 68 yards including one touchdown. Randy Stewart was a standout defensively with nine tackles and an interception.
"All in all, there was a lot to be happy about in the spring game today, "Head Coach Todd Whitten said. "We've had a great spring and shown a lot of improvement over the course of the workouts."
The
Defensive back D. J. Emerson, a transfer from SMU, intercepted a Welch pass at the 50-yard line and returned the ball 26 yards to the
The White scored again to go up 14-7 with
Another Hinojosa touchdown pass, this time to transfer wide receiver Jason Madkins put the White ahead 21-7. The 10-yard scoring toss completed a nine-play, 71-yard drive. Two 17-yard passes by Hinojosa to Justin Wells, the to the
The
The White scored the final touchdown of the spring game on its second drive of the second half, going 84 yards in seven plays. Madkins took a short pass from Jordan Williams for a 61-yard score with
After dropping his first pass of the morning, Madkins got on a roll and caught the next four passes thrown his way. His first touchdown came when quarterback Ryan Hinojoza threw a beautiful fade into the right corner of the end zone from 10 yards out to put the White up 21-7 with 3:05 remaining in the second quarter.
But the highlight of the day came in the third quarter when quarterback Jordan Williams threw a short pass into the flat and Madkins outran the Orange defenders 62 yards down the sideline for the final score of the game.
“I guess what happened (on the drop) was that I got too wide open and took my eyes off the ball,” Madkins said. “It was in my mind and I had to go back and redeem myself.”
If Madkins was the spark on offense, Emerson definitely stood out on defense. Heading into the spring, the Bearkats were hoping to find some help in the secondary and they might have found a playmaker. Emerson had four pass breakups to go along with his interception.
“At first, things were a little rough (in the secondary),” Emerson said. “But as the spring went on, we started to get a whole lot better. We have had some injuries and had some guys out, but things are starting to get better and we'll be good.”
Hinojoza, who missed last season with a knee injury, came into the spring as an unknown battling for the backup job behind Rhett Bomar with Welch, Taylor Weidman and Jordan Williams. But following his performance Saturday and pretty much the past four weeks, Hinojoza heads into the summer penciled in as the No. 2 signal caller. He finished the game 10-of-18 (three passes were dropped) for 178 yards and two scores.
“Where we are right now, if we had to play tomorrow Ryan Hinojoza would be the backup quarterback,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “He's a little older and has a little more experience. While I say that, I think Jeff Welch did some nice things and Taylor Weidman did some nice things. They are just freshmen and need more snaps and more experience. They both have bright futures.”
Besides his interception, Welch had a pretty good outing Saturday as well. He finished the day 17-of-31 for 171 yards and a touchdown, a 20-yard strike to tight end Paul Mansfield right before the half. Welch also rushed for 68 yards and a score.
The thing that hurt the Orange the most Saturday was turnovers. Emerson, Randy Stewart and Jeff Sparks all had interceptions for the White and Frank Simon recovered a fumbled snap.
“We had some turnovers defensively, which was good, and I thought we moved the ball well at times,” Whitten said. “Turnovers were kind of the story, but overall I was very pleased. We had some guys that weren't here in the past step up and make some plays. All in all, I thought it was a good day.”
Orange and White notes
Full stable of running backs ? One thing SHSU fans can take away from Saturday's game is that the Bearkats are loaded in the backfield. TyMagic Robinson carried the ball nine times for 63 yards to lead the White.
For the Orange, All-SLC back Chris Poullard had only four carries for 10 yards but caught four passes for 35. James Aston also had a solid outing with 16 yards on four carries and four grabs for 61 yards in a losing effort.
No reward for a great effort ? Orange wide receiver Catron Houston showed some steady hands, reeling in four passes for 28 yards. But he was robbed of the catch of the day. On second and 10 from the White 27, Houston caught a touchdown pass from Jeff Welch, ran into the pole vaulting mat that was sitting beside the left corner of the end zone, flipped up on the mat into a puddle of water all the while holding onto the ball. It was a great catch, but a chop block negated the score.
Who said offensive linemen couldn't catch? ? It's rare for an offensive lineman to catch a pass in a game but for it to happen twice, well that's really unusual. Jeff Welch got a couple of lucky bounces on a pair of White deflections that fell into the hands of offensive linemen R.C. Fairchild and Hunter Schmidt. Fairchild made the most of his opportunity, rumbling for 12 yards and a first down. Schmidt only managed to gain a yard on his grab.
