Spring practices came to an end on Saturday for Buffalo football as the team held its annual Blue & White Game at UB Stadium. The Blue, played by the team's defense, defeated the White, the team's offense, 63-53.
The Blue trailed 33-11 at one point in the controlled scrimmage. The defense managed to take the lead in the fourth quarter though after it stifled the offense on five straight possessions. The Blue then took the lead when sophomore defensive back Andre Evans hit sophomore fullback Chris Sharon and jarred the ball loose.
Sharon's mishandling of the ball allowed defensive back Mario Henry to return the fumble 89 yards for a touchdown. Henry's fumble return proved to be the only lead change in the game as it also ignited the Blue to further put up points and shut down the White for the rest of the game.
"We started off slow, the offense got us hard," Henry said. "We battled back and stayed in it. I just kept my head in it. I was at the right place at the right time and just happened to be there."
Although the White did not win the game, it still managed to create some plays of its own. The White ran a double reverse on the opening play of the scrimmage leading to a 61-yard connection from sophomore wide receiver Brett Hamlin to senior tight end Chad Upshaw. This set the stage for senior running back Chris McDuffie to score a four-yard touchdown on his only carry of the game.
"We started off strong on offense but we need to keep the intensity in the game," said sophomore quarterback Drew Willy, who was named next season's starter following the game. "We had some missed assignments but we did well for the spring game."
Senior running back Jared Patterson pitched in with a four-yard touchdown and also had 39 yards on the ground to lead the running backs.
In the passing game, senior quarterback Tony Paoli led the game in passing as he went 6-of-9 for 80 yards while Willy took the most snaps out of all the signal callers. Willy went 6-21 for 59 yards and threw one interception.
"I think I played alright," Willy said. "I could've made better reads but I thought I did alright in this spring game. There is always room for improvement."
Head coach Turner Gill felt Willy was the most comfortable with the reigns of the system.
"He did alright and overall has done the best," Gill said. "He's done some good things and we need to keep developing him more."
Upshaw led the game with 60 yards receiving while sophomore Ernest Jackson led the Bulls with four receptions. Jackson also had 51 yards receiving on the afternoon.
"It's great to see Ernest come in," Gill said. "It's great to see him make plays in a game-time environment."
Defensively, freshman linebacker Tom Drewes led all players with 11 tackles. He also had a tackle for a loss and broke up one pass. For the second year in a row, junior defensive lineman James Judges led all Bulls in sacks. He recorded three on Saturday after making four in last year's game.
Even though Judges had an impressive stat line, he still believed that he had some work to do.
"I did okay, but I feel there's a lot to improve upon," Judges said. "I have a long way to go still. I'm doing what the coaches preach. I believe in myself and just got to keep going and good things will happen."
Defensive coordinator Jimmy Williams was content with the overall improvement on the defensive side of the ball.
"We're in the process of improving," Williams said. "We continue to attack all the angles everywhere. We did a good job as a whole."
One notable absence from the sidelines was that of former defensive backs coach R. Todd Littlejohn. Earlier this month, Littlejohn was hired as defensive backs coach for the California Golden Bears. Littlejohn is the third member of Gill's coaching staff to depart before the season for an opportunity elsewhere.
"It bothers you a little bit but it's part of the profession," Gill said. "You can't control these things. We have to do the right things for our team and will find the right guy to be the next coach."
The Bulls will not practice again until the beginning of August as they inch closer to the 2006 season opener against Temple at UB Stadium on August 31.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
