Redshirt junior Pete Thomas prepares to throw the ball Saturday April 20, 2013 at Carter-Finley Stadium during the Kay Yow spring football game. The Red team defeated the White team 20-0. Photo by Chris Rupert
Head coach Dave Doeren gave students and fans a first look at his new football team Saturday afternoon as N.C. State hosted the annual Kay Yow Spring Game.
“There were about 29,000 fans, and we raised close to $20,000,” Doeren said. “That says a lot, not just about their excitement for our football program, but also their generosity toward a great charity.”
The money raised was donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
The team was divided into two teams, Red and White. The Red team, led by redshirt junior quarterback Pete Thomas, took the victory, 20-10.
“Every single meeting, we are getting better,” Thomas said. “The summer is going to be huge for us. We cannot take any steps back. We need to keep getting more comfortable so when we show up for fall camp, we will be out there playing and reacting.”
Thomas completed 15 of 26 passes for 168 yards while his White team counterpart, sophomore quarterback Manny Stocker, threw 11 passes on 20 attempts for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Junior transfer student quarterback Jacoby Brissett also saw time under center for both teams, combining for four completions on 10 pass attempts for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt junior halfback Tony Creecy led the Red team in rushing with 75 yards on 20 carries and a fumble. The White team was led by redshirt junior running back Milton Hall. Hall carried the ball 18 times and gained 50 yards. Hall also scored a touchdown for the Red team.
Sophomore running bac k Shadrach Thornton struggled on the ground, only mustering six yards on 10 carries while fumbling the ball three times.
“The biggest disappointments were the fumbles that occurred,” Doeren said.
Both defenses had major contributions in the contest. Sophomore linebacker M.J. Salahuddin led the Red defense with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
For the White team, redshirt freshman linebacker Drew Davis led with 12 tackles. White team redshirt senior defensive end Forrest West led both teams in sacks with two for 14 yards.
“We had a lot of excitement going on,” Salahuddin said. “All throughout the winter, we had been working on taking away the ball, ball security and stuff like that as well as being enthusiastic on defense. We really did a good job with that today.”
There was little action in the first half as both teams only managed to score field goals off of the foot of junior placekicker Niklas Sade.
The second half began with a fumble by Creecy and a Stocker pass picked off by redshirt sophomore cornerback Juston Burris in the end zone.
Thomas and the Red team took advantage of the interception and drove the ball 70 yards down the field on a drive that culminated with a four-yard run by Hall for the first touchdown of the game.
The White team went three-and-out on the next series, and the Red team received the ensuing punt. Four plays later, Brissett connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Bryan Underwood on a 39-yard touchdown pass to give the Red team a 17-3 lead.
Following another White team punt, the Red team turned the ball over on downs after eight plays and a previous fourth-down conversion.
Stocker and the White team took the ball on its own 40-yard line and reaches the end zone on nine plays, capped off on a fourth-and-17, 36- yard pass to freshman wide receiver Bra’Lon Cherry to cut the deficit to seven points.
After the Red team was forced to punt, redshirt sophomore quarterback Garrett Leatham went under center for the White team on the next drive and fumbled on the second play, turning the ball over.
Sade kicked a 36-yard field goal for the Red team to end the game’s scoring.