LOPEZ RECOVERS WINNING TOUCHDOWN IN ANNUAL "STEAK AND BEANS" SCRIMMAGE
Aug. 24: The St. Lawrence University football team held their annual “Steak and Beans Scrimmage” under the lights at Leckonby Stadium on Sunday evening.
The guidelines of the scrimmage are simple: the members of the Class of 2008 broke the squad into two teams, Scarlet and White, to reflect their jersey colors. The white team was coached by the full time staff members, including head coach Chris Phelps, defensive coordinator Kevin Farr, offensive line coach Chuck Leierer and cornerbacks coach Aland Joseph, while the Scarlet team was coached by the Graduate Assistant coaches including James Simboli, Bo McDougall, Jeff Dittman and Troy Lassial. The victor of Sunday’s three-quarter scrimmage game would dine over delicious steaks, while the losers suffer the agony of hot dogs and baked beans.
The Scarlet squad looked very comfortable offensively in the early going. Junior tailback Josh Izzo, who is returning from an injury that cost him the 2007 season, showed his recovery is complete with an impressive 40 yard rush that set his team up with a scoring chance. Fellow classmate, quarterback Mike Wayne, then broke a run up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown to put Scarlet ahead, 6-0. Senior kicker Matt Popov tacked on the extra point.
Scarlet’s defense stepped up in the early-going to match their offense, as seniors Andy Welkley and Josh Miller provided heavy pressure on White’s first year quarterback Andy Spadoni to stall their opponent’s drive. With the ball back in Wayne’s possession, Scarlet’s offense made it 10-0 with 5:48 remaining in the opening quarter. Wayne helped to extend his team’s drive thanks to solid decision and playmaking that set up a 42-yard field goal by Popov.
The first quarter remained in the hands of the Scarlet team, as junior Gerard Bryant, a Division III ECAC All-Star last season, burst through the offensive line on 3rd-and-long and threw Spadoni to the ground to give his team the ball back. However, White’s defense began to play with some confidence, as junior cornerback Adam Boghosian broke up consecutive passes and senior defensive end Jonathan Edwards sacked Wayne for a loss of over 15 yards to give White possession to start the second quarter.
On the first play from scrimmage of the second, the White team sued a bit of trickery to get themselves back into the game. First year quarterback Jason Conde faked a hand-off up the middle and scampered along the near sidelines for a 75-yard touchdown run that fooled Scarlet’s defense. A failed extra point try kept the score 10-6 with only 13 seconds gone in the quarter.
Each team’s defensive units looked very sharp throughout the quarter, forcing several 3-and-outs each way. With the ball again in Conde’s hands, the rookie from Voorheesville, NY drove his team down the field and connected with fellow first year Brendan Fitzpatrick for a 19-yard touchdown. The score put the White team on top for the first time, 12-10, while sophomore John Murphy added the extra point with 7:35 to play in the second quarter.
The Scarlet team turned to sophomore quarterback Michael Baraldi to respond, and he did just that, leading his team down the field and into the red zone. Baraldi, who kept the drive alive with a 15-yard pass to junior Anthony Patterson, again faced a tough test on 3rd and 3 from the 5 yard line. The quarterback took the shotgun snap and fired a quick screen pass to Patterson in the slot, where the wide receiver cut inside behind his blockers and crossed the goal line to put his team back on top, 16-13 with 2:19 to play in the quarter. Popov again added the extra point to push the cushion to 17-13.
After the White team’s offense was unable to set up a scoring chance, Scarlet took over at their own 10-yard line with 58 seconds showing on the clock. On the first play of the drive, though, Baraldi mishandled the snap, which was picked up in the end zone by junior defensive tackle Christian Lopez for a touchdown. The score, followed by an extra point by Murphy, gave White the lead, 20-17 after the second quarter.
After each team had a drive stall to start the final quarter, Mother Nature came into play. Lightning forced the cancelation of the final quarter and allowed the White team to storm the field with a 20-17 victory in the “Steak and Beans Scrimmage.”
“I thought the guys showed a lot of passion tonight, which is exactly why you have games like this one,” said Coach Phelps. “I think there are things on both sides of the ball that need to be tightened, but we saw a lot of positive things come from our student-athletes tonight that we hope to carry over into the regular season.”
St. Lawrence will scrimmage Utica College on Saturday, August 30 at Leckonby Field in their final pre-season test before the 2008 opener at Johns Hopkins on September 6. The scrimmage against the Pioneers will begin at 1:00pm.
SAINTS' 2008 TRAINING CAMP
GETS UNDERWAY
Aug. 15: The St. Lawrence University football team reported for the squad’s 2008 training camp on Friday morning, with the returning players opening in the morning session while this season’s incoming class of first year students will take the field for the first time in the afternoon.
The Scarlet and Brown are coming off of a 4-5 season that included back-to-back victories over Merchant Marine and WPI to close the 2007 campaign. However, there will certainly be voids to fill on both sides of the ball over the course of training camp as several key players graduated last spring.
“Anytime you graduate the caliber players that we did in the spring, you’re going to need guys to fill the void,” said Saints’ head coach Chris Phelps, who enters his eighth season at the helm. “I’m confident in the guys that are here at camp this week; that they can step into their rolls and be effective against a highly competitive schedule this year.”
The Saints will be led throughout the 2008 season by their quintet of senior captains, offensive lineman Tim LaRose, linebacker Chuck Bradway, full back Carl Festa, safety Andy Welkley and cornerback Devaun McFarland.
“The leadership those five seniors bring to the table is fantastic for our younger guys, as they put forth their best effort no matter if it is on the football field, in the classroom or in the weight room,” added Phelps. “The excitement has been building for me and my coaching staff for weeks and we’re pumped to be back on the field today.”
Chris Engel, the Saints' radio play-by-play announcer from WPDM Radio, will be providing daily updates from training camp. To listen to the audio files, simply click the links below.
Saints' Camp: Day 7
Saints' Camp: Day 6
Saints' Camp: Day 5
Saints' Camp: Day 4
Saints' Camp: Day 3
Saints' Camp: Day 2
Saints' Camp: Day 1
