April 20, 2002
The University of Kentucky White team defeated the Blue team 16-0 Saturday night in front of a crowd of 5,000 in Commonwealth Stadium in the annual Blue/White Spring Football Game.
When the coaches held a draft on Thursday, they tried to match the teams evenly. However, there were no equalizers for running back Artose Pinner and defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson, who combined to spark the White squad to victory.
Pinner had a combined 160 yards rushing and pass receiving while Robertson roamed the Blue backfield, stopping three separate drives with a quarterback sack and two tackles for loss.
The White team opened the scoring with 22 seconds remaining in the first half when Clint Ruth nailed a 37-yard field goal. Quarterback Jared Lorenzen had driven the Whites from their own seven-yard-line, all the way to the Blue four-yard line, before being stalled by incompletions and a penalty. Key plays in the drive included a 19-yard pass to wide receiver Aaron Boone, a 16-yard pass to Pinner, and a 23-yard aerial to wide receiver Daniel Hopewell that put the team in scoring position.
The field goal by Ruth was a positive sign for the Wildcat field goal kickers, who have struggled for much of the spring practice season.
The first touchdown was tallied in the middle of the third quarter. Reserve quarterback Dan Lumley lofted a short swing pass on the right side to Pinner. The burly running back showed his speed by cutting back to the middle, finding a seam, and outracing the defense 66 yards for the score. Justin Hutton added the extra point.
The White team finished the scoring in the final minute of the game when Lorenzen capped an 81-yard drive with a 12-yard TD pass to wide receiver Gerad Parker. Pinner also played a role in that drive by turning a short pass into a 32-yard gain.
For the game, Lorenzen completed 11 of 22 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown, but was picked off twice, both times by Blue free safety Quentus Cumby.
Pinner caught three passes for 114 yards and also rushed 11 times for a game-high 46 yards. Boone contributed four receptions for 72 yards.
Meanwhile, the White defense allowed only 65 yards for the Blue team. Blue quarterback Shane Boyd led two drives into scoring territory, but the White defense stiffened at the appropriate times.
Boyd paced the White team by completing six of 10 passes for 57 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Wide receiver Tommy Cook, who played well throughout the spring, continued his strong showing by catching three passes for 36 yards.
Running back Alexis Bwenge also looked good for the Blue team. Bwenge rushed nine times for 30 yards and also caught two passes for 17 yards.
The Blue defense was paced by Cumby, who added a pass breakup to his two interceptions, and linebacker Justin Haydock, who notched a game-high six tackles.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Blue/White Game began with a quarter of touch football by the UK alumni. Neither alumni team was able to put points on the board this year, so the score remained 0-0 when the varsity began play in the second quarter. The final three quarters were somewhat abbreviated, as the 15-minute periods featured continuous running clock except for change of possessions.
The Blue/White Game was the last of UK’s 15 allotted workouts during the 2002 spring football season. The Wildcats return to weightlifting and conditioning on Monday.
– UK –
