A night of firsts in Cardinal football history
The Cards concluded spring practice with a dazzling display of offensive
fireworks before 8,500 fans in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Friday night during
the annual Spring Game.
The Red's, which comprised the first team units played well in defeating the
White's (seconds team) 47-0.
Red quarterback Stephone Lefors was on the money all night, completing 15-18
in the first half for 270 yards, 3 TD's. Sophomore running back Eric
Shelton carried 15 times behind the #1 offensive line and gained 121 yards and
scored one touchdown. Wide receiver Broderick Clark caught five passes on
the night for 139 yards and 2 TD's.
And the new coach seemed please with his Red unit offensively following
Friday nights game.
"I was happy with the execution of the first team offense....I thought
we looked fairly sharp, didn't make mistakes, didn't have penalties," Coach
Petrino said following the game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Rascatti also played well, completing
6-7 passes in the second half for 89 yards, including a 29 yard touchdown pass
to sophomore receiver Joshua Tinch with under a minute remaining in the
contest.
"I thought the quarterbacks did a good job of executing what we wanted
them to do," Petrino said. "So it's nice to stand back and when
you expect them to throw the ball a certain place they did."
Defensively, the first unit played well and were led by safety Kerry Rhodes,
who made 5 tackles, 1 TFL and intercepted the games only pass, tackle Montavious
Stanley, who had 5 tackles and a TFL, middle linebacker Robert McCune (7
tackles) and sophomore safety Brent Johnson (7 tackles).
"I was happy with the way the one defense ran around and hit,"
Petrino said. " We had a lot of good hitting going on out there....I was
just happy to see them run and hit."
And after 14 spring practices, the Cards appear to have taken away several
valuable lessons heading into the fall, which pleased Coach Petrino following
last night's game.
"I thought we got a lot out of it [spring practice], particularly
introducing the new offense and defense and I know the players believe in
themselves so that's a big part of it right there," Petrino said.
"They had fun out here tonight..It was nice to get the coaches off the
field let the players find the huddle, let the defense find the ball and get
lined up...So it was good and I think they had fun."
Spring
Game Stats
On the field
- 2003 signees Michael Bush, Ryan Holifield, and Danny Barlow were in
attendance for last night's festivities. Holifield, accompanied by his
father Mark, was excited to be a part of the atmosphere and seemed eager to
join the Cardinal program in the fall.
- 2004 quarterback prospect Brian Brohm was on the sidelines for last
night's game and was accompanied by his father, former UofL great, Oscar.
- The 8,000 fans announced for last night's game set a new spring game
record.
- Several UofL basketball players were in attendance, including Francisco
Garcia, Alhaji Mohammad, Kendall Dartez, and Otis George.
- The First Annual Friends of ITV Spring Game Tailgate was a huge
success. Some 50-60 people showed up to celebrate the conclusion of
spring practice and appeared eager for the start of football season and more
tailgaiting opportunities. Signee Ryan Holifield and his father Mark
even dropped by to say hello before the game.