Wildcats wrap drills with scrimmage
ACU to put cap on spring with 75-play game at Shotwell
ABILENE -- The ACU football team will wrap up more than three weeks of spring training Saturday morning with the annual Purple-White scrimmage at Shotwell Stadium.
The 75-play scrimmage is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and should take approximately 70-80 minutes to complete. The offense can score via touchdowns and field goals, while the defense will be awarded points for turnovers and stops on third and fourth downs.
The first-team units will square off for the first 15 plays, followed by the second-team units for 10 plays. That scenario will be replayed two more times to get the 75 plays into the scrimmage.
The scrimmage will not be controlled by a clock, but game officials will be used and penalties will be assessed.
The Wildcats began spring drills on March 3 coming off a 2002 season in which they won a piece of the Lone Star Conference South Division championship and finished second in the overall LSC standings.
"I think we've gotten a pretty decent gauge on what we have," said ACU head coach Gary Gaines, who will be in his fourth season with the Wildcats in 2003. "As with most spring trainings, the defense is ahead of the offense. I would be disappointed if the defense wasn't ahead at this point. But our offense is coming around, and I'll be interested to see how it performs Saturday."
Among those who will not be on the field Saturday are wide receivers DaRay Sims and Don Hooks, defensive back Danieal Manning, defensive linemen Clayton Farrell and Jayme Jackson and offensive linemen Sione Ohuafi and Josh Lively.
Still, though, Gaines and his coaching staff have had a chance to look at some key positions throughout the spring, including running back and tight end. The Wildcats lost two-time first team all-LSC South Division running back Eric Polk and 2002 first team all-LSC South Division tight end Doug Ginapp, both of whom were seniors last year.
Senior running back Charles Williams, who ran for 151 yards and one score on 43 carries last year after joining the team just before the season started, will be with the first-team offense Saturday. Junior Willie Williams, Abilene High-ex Sneezy Beltran and Crane redshirt freshman Harold Jeffrey are also in the mix and will play Saturday.
"We've worked four of those guys this spring, and Charles and Willie have probably been the most outstanding," Gaines said. "Sneezy has been OK, and he could move back to wide receiver in the fall if we run into some issues with guys being ineligible."
The tight end situation is between sophomores Clinton Farrell and Odis Dolton. Farrell saw limited playing time in 2002, while Dolton sat out the season after injuring his knee last spring. As a freshman in 2001 he caught eight passes for 195 yards and one touchdown.
The Wildcats' only worry right now along the offensive line is that only two tackles -- senior all-conference performer Britt Lively and sophomore Charles Mock -- are healthy enough to play Saturday. However, Gaines said a lighter Mock has been the most improved player on the Wildcats' roster this spring.
Defensively, the Wildcats' line is one of its strengths with Devian Mims, Rahgene Cherry, Brad Walton and Mark Malunowe set to go with the first team Saturday. Freshman transfer Joe Edwards (Texas Tech) has been impressive in spring drills and will only enhance the Wildcats' defensive line during the season.
Without Manning in the secondary, redshirt freshman Kendrick Muckelroy will play safety with the first team defensive backfield, which will also include all-conference players in safety David Jones and cornerback Kendrick Walker, as well as cornerback Corey Thompson.
ACU, which was 6-4 overall last year, will open the 2003 season on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Central Arkansas.
