Drills, scrimmage highlight annual game

When football coach Butch Jones let a fan call a second down and six end around, it didn't work, but it accomplished everything Jones had hoped for.

Jones used the team's annual spring game Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium to promote his program by including fans in any way possible, which meant letting them call the occasional play.

"I can't say enough about our culture here," Jones said. "We want to make it entertaining for our fans and make it worthwhile for them to come here."

The game pitted the offense and defense against each other and used a modified scoring system that allowed the defense to score points for turnovers, stops, negative plays and wins in one-on-one drills. The offense won the challenge 45-42.

The game consisted of three segments, with the offense wearing white jerseys and the defense wearing maroon.

Sophomore Antonio Brown started the scoring by catching a 58-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brian Brunner on the second possession of the game. Brown's touchdown gave the white team an early 7-2 lead.

A couple of first downs and a Dan LeFevour touchdown pass to freshman tight end Rocky Weaver made the score 18-4 at the end of session one.

LeFevour completed 13-of-16 passes for 115 yards in the game, but for him Saturday was about celebrating CMU football.

"I think there was a good turnout," he said. "It was good to see all the support that we've got from our community and school."

The first drill, called the Circle of Life, saw the team form a ring around two players trying to wrestle each other to the ground for a point.

Jones was pleased with the way his team competed and, like Dan LeFevour, was happy to have the opportunity to showcase his team and promote the football program.

"It's always interesting to see what guys play when the lights come on," Jones said. "I really like the concept of doing one-on-ones in front of the fans and exposing our fans to some of the things we do in practice. It was a great, great night."

The second segment began with the ball placed at midfield and was highlighted by a Brian Brunner drive that ended with Brown's second touchdown catch of the day.

After segment two and a series of individual drills, the defense had closed the gap to 33-15.

Before the third segment Jones took the opportunity to honor some of his players with a few awards.

Junior defensive back Chaz West, junior receiver Jean Pitts and sophomore defensive lineman Sean Murnane all took home Iron Chippewa Awards, which are voted on by the players.

Jones said honoring the players and giving them the opportunity to compete in front of fans was a great way to cap off spring practice.

"These kids practice at 9:30 in the morning, in obscurity and now it becomes fun for them and energizes them to be in front of the fans," he said.

Thanks to a Vince Agnew interception, the defense had closed within one point of the offense, 39-38, before the final drills of the day.

The offense won six of the last 10 one-on-one drills between the CMU linemen to give the white team the win.

Redshirt freshman Rocky Weaver added a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone to his earlier touchdown and hopes that he has done enough to catch the eye of his coaches.

"I think we had a great spring," Weaver said. "I don't know if they'll want me out there as a receiver or blocking. It doesn't matter - I just love football and want to play."

[More at http://media.www.cm-life.com]