In a game that was as lopsided as the score indicates, Gold pounded Purple 34-3 in front of a nice crowd on a glorious spring day. Unlike many spring games which employ modified rules, head coach Bill Zwaan uses conventional football rules with the exception of no kickoffs and no punt returns. The Purple team consisted of the first team offense and the second team defense while the Gold team was the first team defense and the second team offense.
When the game opened with Purple going three-and-out, there was an immediate uneasiness. After all, last year's team scored touchdowns on their opening possession in nine of its 13 games. And none of the other four first drives ended in three-and-outs. Following Purple's punt (with no return), Gold's first play found quarterback Alec Werner rolling out before tossing a 46-yard completion to Shannon Mayer. And the question was voiced - "Who's going to be starting quarterback?"
This wouldn't be a point of discussion except for the suspension of Andrew Derr due to an off the field incident a month ago. While Derr's long-term status is undetermined at this point, it is almost certain that he won't be under center when the team opens against Lenoir-Rhyne on September 3 at Farrell Stadium. So coming into spring practice it was discussed that there was a lack of experience at the position. In the team's two spring scrimmages, the first team offense faced the second team defense and vise versa. While Pat Moriarty was practicing with the first team offense and looked okay, it was hard to get a sense of how Werner was performing, since the first team defense simply overwhelmed the youthful second team offensive line in front of him. So the Spring Game was an opportunity for him to play on equal footing. And he performed well.
It wasn't so much Werner's numbers - he finished 7 of 15 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. But his decisions seemed spot on as he rushed five times for 45 yards and a score, including a 16-yard scamper on second and 15. On Gold's third possession, he found Mayer wide open over the middle only to have Mayer drop the pass. But on the very next play, Werner did not hesitate to go back to his favorite target, with Mayer hauling in the reception and going on to complete the 56-yard play in the end zone. Mayer finished with four catches for 134 yards and a score. The running game for Gold saw Anthony Brown pick up 52 yards on five carries before leaving with an apparent minor right hamstring injury. But Mike Class carried ten times for a total of 34 yards and a touchdown, including a couple of spirited runs.
For the Purple offense, Moriarty finished 18 of 37 for 222 yards, but 88 of those yards went to Jarel Elder who came out of the backfield and took advantage of the linebacker who had little chance of covering the speedster. Moriarty did find Eddie Elliott in one-on-one coverage and completed a 41-yard pass to him. But he also threw an interception Corey Kelley returned 40 yards for a touchdown. The only thing that prevented Purple from being shut out was a 25-yard Ben Solis field goal. Unfortunately Solis later missed a 38-yard attempt.
Defensively for Gold, the line played well as Andrew Cohen, Josh Ganzelli and Byron Cooper each registered a sack while young ends John Dubyk and George Shipp shared one. Sean Steinmetz and Drew Formica each had five tackles. For Purple, Jeremy Irving led the way with seven tackles. Nydair Rouse had three tackles and an interception while Shaquil James had four tackles and a pass breakup.
After the first half, many wondered if there would be a change at the top signal caller once summer camp rolled around. But it appears the change had been made by the end of the third quarter. On Purple's last two possessions, Werner donned the red jersey and got an opportunity to play with the first team offense. He completed a 19-yard pass to Eerin Young and a 21-yard strike to Jared Reed, but lost a fumble when he was sacked by Ganzelli.
Box Score
West Chester Athletic Site - Gold Tops Purple In Annual Spring Game, 34-3
Daily Local News - Werner shines at QB in WCU’s Purple-Gold game
Connor Walsh and James Rusenko help celebrate Mike Class' touchdown
Corey Kelley prepares for the fade attempt to Jordan Banks (Photo Bert Garbutt)
The 2015 recruiting class was introduced at halftime (Photo Bert Garbutt)
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