April 13, 2002
Wildcats Scrimmage: The Kentucky football team capped a two- and one-half hour practice with a 90-minute scrimmage Saturday at the Nutter Training Facility.
Similar to the scrimmage a week ago, the workout provided a variety of situations. The first- and second-team offensive units played the first-, second-, and third-team defenses in various combinations and starting points on the field.
First-team quarterback Jared Lorenzen looked sharp again. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 223 yards and five touchdowns. Two of his TD passes came late in the scrimmage when the offense was given the ball on the defense’s five-yard line. Lorenzen was intercepted once, by safety David Johnson on a desperation throw in a 4th-and-19 situation.
Shane Boyd spent most of his time with the second unit. Despite having to face the first-team defense much of the day, he still completed 9 of 16 passes for 113 yards, one TD, and no interceptions.
Wide receiver Tommy Cook led the pass catchers with three receptions for 108 yards, including a 60-yard TD bomb from Lorenzen. Wide receiver Ernest Simms, who had been sidelined with a hamstring strain, made his first scrimmage appearance a good one. He caught three for 53 yards, including a 40-yard TD bomb from Lorenzen.
Wide receiver Aaron Boone showed his ability to run with the ball by catching a couple of short passes and turned them into big gainers – one a 39-yard TD from Boyd and the other a 26-yard play.
Running back Mike Kamphake definitely had a nose for the goal line during the scrimmage. He handled the ball three times and turned all three into touchdowns, a five-yard TD catch and scoring runs of nine and two yards.
First-team running back Artose Pinner rushed 14 times for 46 yards, including a five-yard touchdown run. Second-team running back Alexis Bwenge had some impressive runs and finished with 48 yards on 19 carries.
The defensive units also had some good moments. Predictably, they did a good job stopping the offense when drives started 60 or more yards away from the goal line. The offense got just one TD when starting on its own end of the field.
A highlight for the second-team defense came on a goal line stand. After the offense drove to the one-yard line, defensive back Eric Ogletree stuck Pinner for no gain on a third-and-goal play, forcing a field goal attempt. The defense caused one fumble during the scrimmage on a big hit by safety Adetayo Agboke. Linebacker Kamaal Ahmad recovered the fumble.
The defense totaled seven “touch” sacks as plays are blown dead by touching the quarterback. Defensive tackle Jeremy Caudill appeared to play well, as he shared two sacks and also had a tackle for loss. Defensive tackle Richard Gray notched a pair of sacks.
In placekicking, the Wildcat kickers made one of three field goals and six of seven extra points. Sevin Sucurovich made an 18-yard field goal but missed from 47 yards. Taylor Begley missed from 43 yards. Sucurovich and Begley each made an extra point. Justin Hutton made two of two PATs and Clint Ruth made two of three extra points.
The Wildcats return to the practice field on Tuesday, April 16, at 2:20 p.m. The Wildcats practice twice next week, followed by the Blue/White Spring Game on Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.
Kentucky Football Calendar:
Spring Practices
April 162:20 p.m.
April 192:20 p.m.
Blue/White Spring GameApril 20 7 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium
– UK –
