April 18, 1998
The Kentucky football team held a two and one-half hour scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium. It was the team’s third scrimmage of the spring practice season.
The first- and second-team offensive units started well, with five touchdowns during the first 10 possessions, but the first- and second-team defenses rallied to shut down the offense on the last 18 possessions of the scrimmage.
The first-team defense held the first-team offense scoreless on 15 of its 17 possessions, including one interception and a blocked field goal. Quarterback Tim Couch directed the first team to two touchdowns, both scored by fullback Derek Homer on runs of 80 and five yards. Couch completed 17-of-35 passes for 210 yards during the workout. Homer paced the running game with seven carries for 97 yards, including the two TD runs of 80 and five yards. Anthony White gained 88 yards on 13 carries, including a 48-yard run.
The second-team defense held the offense scoreless on eight of 11 possessions. Quarterback Dusty Bonner directed the second offense to two TDs, a three-yard run by fullback Mike Kamphake and a three-yard pass from Bonner to wide receiver Jermaine White. QB Matt Mumme also led a touchdown drive, capped by a one-yard run by fullback A. J. Simon. For the day, Bonner completed 8-of-14 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. Mumme quarterbacked both the first and second offenses, completing 11-of-32 for 177 yards. Corry Doyle also quarterbacked the second unit on one possession, completing 1-of-3 passes for 27 yards. Kamphake led the second-team rushing with 12 carries for 34 yards and one TD. Fullback Patrick Wiggins picked up 27 yards on eight tries. Simon gained 17 yards on two carries, including one TD. Top receivers during the scrimmage included tight end Jimmy Haley, with eight catches for 97 yards; wide Jermaine White with four grabs for 92 yards and one touchdown; wide receiver Jimmy Robinson (5-73); wide receiver Craig Yeast (5-53); and wide receiver Quentin McCord (4-94). The defensive star of the day was strong safety Jeff Zurcher, who had an interception, blocked a punt, picked up a blocked field goal and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown, and had a pass breakup on a fourth-down play. Cornerback Eric Kelly also made a big play with the field goal block that Zurcher returned for the touchdown.
In order to protect the quarterback from injury, defensive players “sack” the quarterback simply by touching him during the pass rush. Under those guidelines, the first-team defense sacked the quarterback 13 times and the second-team defense turned in nine sacks. The defensive sack leaders included end Robert Jones with five, linebacker Marlon McCree with four, tackle Mark Jacobs with four, tackle George Massey with two, and end Matt Layow with two.
The Wildcats return to the practice field on Monday and Wednesday. Kentucky completes spring practice on Saturday, April 25, with the Blue/White Spring Game at 2 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.
Tickets for the Wildcat FanFare Weekend on Sale: Tickets for the Wildcat FanFare Weekend are on sale at Central Kentucky locations of Dawahare’s, Kroger, SuperAmerica, and the UK Ticket Office in Memorial Coliseum. The FanFare Weekend will be April 24-26 and includes three baseball games, the Blue/White Spring Football Game, and the Wildcat FanFare before the spring game.
Tickets cost $5 each and are good for all five of the weekend’s activities. Children in the eighth grade and younger will be admitted free.
