Spratt Stadium was littered with sunshine and fall like temperatures as Griffon Football wrapped up spring practice with their annual scrimmage. A crowd of about 500 fans looked on as all three phases of the game; offense, defense and special teams looked sharp.
The scrimmage opened with the first team offense and defense going at each other. The opening series was a steady diet of running back Michael Hill. The senior to be looked his usual speedy, strong self with two carries of ten yards or more in the first four plays. On Hill’s third carry, he galloped 50 yards to the five yard line when two plays later quarterback Travis Partridge hit redshirt freshman tight end Alek Ferbet from two yards out for the scrimmages opening score. Three possessions later, Hill scored again, a 40 yard scamper for the Griffons’ second touchdown of the day.
Later in the scrimmage, the offense scored the final of their three touchdowns on the day as backup quarterback Tyler Harrison hit tight end Reggie Jordan on a 21 yard strike.
Speaking of quarterback Travis Partridge, he looked sharp as well. Stating several times during the offseason that he needed to improve in the passing game, he consistently hit his receivers in stride while looking especially accurate in the two minute drill constantly throwing precise out routes to the sideline to stop the clock.
The Griffon defense had a solid day as well forcing two turnovers, the first of which came on the sixth offensive possession of the day when cornerback Jeremy Weston picked off a Partridge pass over the middle. Late in the scrimmage, with younger players in the game redshirt freshman Jon Trocosso recovered a Ricky Thomson fumble. Another turnover was negated by an offside penalty as defensive back Stephen Juergens picked off a fourth down Partridge boot leg pass. The defense line also made their presence felt with numerous stops in goal line situations.
With 17 starters and 26 seniors returning, the Griffons don’t have a lot of holes to fill. One of them however is that of placekicker. With NFL draft hopeful and First Team All-American Greg Zuerlein on hand, his replacement Taylor Anderson showed well. Anderson, who filled in for Zuerlein early last year and went 6 for 6 in kicks attempted put his talents on display going 3 for 6 in 50 + yard kicks while not missing a kick from shorter distances.
With spring practice concluded, the Griffons can now set their sights on fall camp which will begin around August 8 with the season opener set for Thursday, August 30 at 6 PM as the Griffons host Central Missouri in Spratt Stadium.
2012 season tickets are on sale now by joining the Gold Coat Victory Fund. You can join on-line at gogriffons.com or for more information contact the athletics department at 816-271-5926.
2012 GRIFFON FOOTBALL SPRING GAME STARTING LINE-UPS
Offense
QB #12 Travis Partridge
RB #22 Michael Hill
WR #3 Tyron Crockom
WR #9 Derek Libby
WR #11 Tarrell Downing
TE #89 Reggie Jordan
LT #67 Nick Clark
LG #70 Brian Chiles
C #64 Michael Yardley
RG #74 Jeremy Jacobson
RT #71 Macon Allan
Defense
DE #91 David Bass
DT #88 John Brown
DT # 89 Austin Baska
DE # 93 Ben Pister
LB #47 Wallace Carter
LB #25 Yomi Alli
LB #5 Dan Ritter
CB #1 Jeremy Weston
CB #2 Ben Jackson
S #37 Stephen Juergens
S 35 Kirk Resseguie
— MWSU Sports Information —