Sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis threw for 259 yards and a pair of touchdowns. |
Cream Tops Crimson, 27-26, in Spring Game
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April 14, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis threw for 259 yards, as his Cream squad topped the Crimson, 27-26, in the Hoosiers' 2007 spring football game Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. Junior wide receiver James Hardy paced the Cream offense with two touchdowns for 107 yards on five catches, while senior running back Josiah Sears rushed into the endzone for a score and added another with his arm.
Despite being on the losing end, the Crimson squad also showed a great effort, led by two redshirt freshmen in quarterback Ben Chappell and wide receiver Terrance Turner. Chappell threw for 253 yards with two touchdown passes, and Turner caught two touchdowns of his own.
The Crimson side opened the game strong as Chappell wasted little time getting his squad on the board during the squad's opening drive. After a 19-yard completion to Turner, Chappell capitalized on a 15-yard Crimson personal foul with a steady drive to the endzone on the ground and in the air. At the 6:46 mark on first and goal, Chappell took things into his own hands with a six-yard run and dive into the endzone for the game's first score.
On the very next drive Lewis answered the Crimson score, notching the game at 7-7, with a 46-yard completion to Hardy. With the ball on the Cream 30, Sears rushed the ball 11 yards allowing Lewis to attempt his first pass to Hardy. After an incompletion, the next two passes were complete to Hardy, with the first going for 13 yards and the final resulting in the 46-yard TD pass.
With the score now tied, the Crimson forced a Cream turnover and Lewis looked to capitalize, but a fine pick by sophomore safety J.T. Owens ended the drive.
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At the 1:41 mark in the first quarter and on the ball on the Cream 33, Ray Fisher caught a short pass from Lewis and took it 67 yards to give the Cream a 13-7 lead, a lead it would take into the second quarter. Fisher finished the game with 109 yards along with the touchdown on six catches.
On the opening drive of the second quarter, the tricks were on for the Cream, when sophomore wide receiver Nick Polk took a handoff from Chappell and stunned the defense with a 29-yard pass to Terrance Turner for a 14-13 Crimson advantage.
With the Cream down by one and facing a 1st and goal with 7:56 left in the second quarter, Sears took the reigns of his squad, using his speed for a 4-yard rush to get back on top 20-14. A six- point lead wasn't enough for the Sears, as the senior would use his arm on a trick play, throwing a 5-yard completion to James Hardy to put the Cream on top 27-14 going into the half.
After a quick intermission, the third quarter would be even quicker with neither team scoring a point. The best shot at a score came for the Crimson with 41 second remaining, when redshirt freshman Nick Ford missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.
With the third quarter behind both teams, the Cream and Crimson would trade possessions until the 5:00 mark, when Chappell would connect for the second of his two touchdowns with Turner for a 79-yard score. Now down just seven, with 1:49 on the clock, a Crimson defense led by Tracy Porter would prove steady as it forced the Cream to punt.
As the ball sat on its own 10-yard line 55 seconds left in the game, Chappell connected on two passes with one to Turner and one to Polk. After a quick timeout and a failed attempt to Polk, Chappell would then find Polk in the endzone for a 34-yard score, leaving the Crimson one point behind
Electing to go for two, Chappell threw a pass toward the endzone that resulted in a pass interference. With another chance at the win, Chappell's second pass attempt failed, leaving the score at 27-26 for the Cream victory.
Chappell closed out the contest going 16-for-26 with 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Turner recorded seven catches for a game-high 157 yards. Meanwhile Polk, who saw action at safety and receiver, netted 113 yards on six grabs.
Fisher and Hardy both racked up over 100 yards for the Cream, as Fisher pulled in 109 along with Hardy's 107.