Ball State University Athletics
Photo by: Ball State Football Video
Scrimmage Saturday for Football Squad
April 07, 2018 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State football team held spring practice number 10 Saturday morning at Scheumann Stadium and spent most of the practice in scrimmage mode. The coaching staff had the team go through three scrimmage sessions split up by a few drills.
"As a head coach, you want to see good things happen on both sides of the ball and I think we saw that today," Mike Neu said. "Overall, the play itself was clean; it wasn't sloppy. Guys were getting lined up. We got a lot of guys reps today, which was the main goal."
The first team offense took the opening drive of the first session right down the field for a touchdown. Junior running back James Gilbert put the offense in scoring position with a big run up the middle of the field. Fellow junior running back Malik Dunner capped the drive with a three-yard scoring run.
The defense responded a few minutes later. Redshirt freshman Gerald Smith stepped in front of a pass along the far sideline and nearly returned the interception for a touchdown.
After the first break, the first team offense faced off against the first team defense again. Junior quarterback Riley Neal extended the drive with a crisp third-down pass to senior Corey Lacanaria. However, the defense stepped up on the ensuing third down by forcing a hold on the offensive line that prevented a possible sack.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Plitt guided the second team offense to a touchdown on the next drive. Plitt kept the drive alive with a fourth-down completion to sophomore tight end Dylan Koch. He finished the drive by finding junior wide receiver Antwan Davis in the near corner of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown pass.
The final scrimmage period had plenty of fireworks. Neal started it off with a perfect 50-yard bomb down the right sideline to a streaking Riley Miller for a touchdown. Sophomore linebacker Jaylin Thomas made some noise for the defense a couple of plays later with as he came free up the middle for a sack.
Neal had the final big play for the offense. On 4th-and-goal at the two-yard line, Neal kept the ball on an option play and walked into the end zone untouched for the score.
"We have one week left of spring practice and we want to finish it on a positive note," Neu said. "There are still some things we want to be able to get on tape to evaluate. I think the goal for us this week is to be consistent, day in and day out, and finish things off the right way. We need to carry the momentum and confidence we've developed in the spring into the next phase, which is the summer and training camp."
The annual Spring Football Game is slated for next Saturday, April 14 at 11 a.m., as part of Spring Fan Jam. For the complete football practice schedule, click here.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.
"As a head coach, you want to see good things happen on both sides of the ball and I think we saw that today," Mike Neu said. "Overall, the play itself was clean; it wasn't sloppy. Guys were getting lined up. We got a lot of guys reps today, which was the main goal."
The first team offense took the opening drive of the first session right down the field for a touchdown. Junior running back James Gilbert put the offense in scoring position with a big run up the middle of the field. Fellow junior running back Malik Dunner capped the drive with a three-yard scoring run.
The defense responded a few minutes later. Redshirt freshman Gerald Smith stepped in front of a pass along the far sideline and nearly returned the interception for a touchdown.
After the first break, the first team offense faced off against the first team defense again. Junior quarterback Riley Neal extended the drive with a crisp third-down pass to senior Corey Lacanaria. However, the defense stepped up on the ensuing third down by forcing a hold on the offensive line that prevented a possible sack.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Plitt guided the second team offense to a touchdown on the next drive. Plitt kept the drive alive with a fourth-down completion to sophomore tight end Dylan Koch. He finished the drive by finding junior wide receiver Antwan Davis in the near corner of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown pass.
The final scrimmage period had plenty of fireworks. Neal started it off with a perfect 50-yard bomb down the right sideline to a streaking Riley Miller for a touchdown. Sophomore linebacker Jaylin Thomas made some noise for the defense a couple of plays later with as he came free up the middle for a sack.
Neal had the final big play for the offense. On 4th-and-goal at the two-yard line, Neal kept the ball on an option play and walked into the end zone untouched for the score.
"We have one week left of spring practice and we want to finish it on a positive note," Neu said. "There are still some things we want to be able to get on tape to evaluate. I think the goal for us this week is to be consistent, day in and day out, and finish things off the right way. We need to carry the momentum and confidence we've developed in the spring into the next phase, which is the summer and training camp."
The annual Spring Football Game is slated for next Saturday, April 14 at 11 a.m., as part of Spring Fan Jam. For the complete football practice schedule, click here.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.
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