CALEDONIA, Mich. - The spring football finale was played under very chilly and windy conditions on Friday morning at Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex with the defense beating the offense, 20-12. The defense had the most experience returning and it certainly showed early as the defense did not allow a first down until late in the first quarter. The game consisted of four, 12-minute quarters with a running clock with the exception of the last two minutes of the game. The traditional scoring format existed with the following exceptions. Defense could score two points for a caused turnover and one point apiece for a sack, three-and-out and a stop on fourth down. There were no punts in the game. Offense could also score one point for a first down and a play over 20 yards.
The game featured several new faces on both sides of the ball as the Panthers gear up for the upcoming 2018 season in the fall. The offense saw the first action by quarterback Aaron Sharp and running back
Seth Acda, who were both highly sought after talents.
Haiden Majewski who ended last season as the starting quarterback for DU took the first snaps while Sharp was rotated into the game. Acda was the starting running back and showed some nifty moves when given the chance. Also, wide receiver Rashad Still showed his promise with a few catches during the game. Still is a transfer from the University of Minnesota.
The defense had the familiar face of
Kye Black at linebacker who was all over the field making tackles. The defensive line was very impressive as they put constant pressure on DU's quarterbacks and running backs. The first quarter ended with a 5-2 lead in favor of the defense.
Ellis Reid opened the scoring with a sack which also came on fourth down resulting in two points. Midway through the quarter the defense scored another point on a stop. The initial first down for the offense was courtesy of
Brenden Sherrod who hauled in a pass from Majewski. The defense got a stop as time was running out in the first quarter as well.
Max Tiraboschi gave the offense a 20-yard run at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter to cut defense lead to 5-4.
Alex Carswell jumped on a poor snap in shotgun formation for a fumble recovery at the 6:29 mark of the quarter and it also occurred on a three-and-out for three total points. The defense ended the scoring in the second quarter with a fourth-down stop which was also a three-and-out series and led 10-4 at the break.
In the third quarter, defense took a 12-4 lead at the 9:55 mark on a stop and three-and-out. The offense generated back-to-back first downs for the first time to cut the deficit to 12-6. The quarter ended with the defense ahead 14-7. The most scoring happened in the fourth quarter. Still made a first down catch and Sharp found
Daronte Powers to move the ball inside the red zone for the first time. However,
Robert Clanton and Reid harrassed Sharp into a sack and consecutive plays and after an offensive interference penalty it was 4th-and-50. With just 2:05 left, the defense led 19-9 and the offense needed a big drive to come back. Majewski connected with Still on a first down with 1:26 left but the drive stalled. The offense scored two final points on first downs by Acda with his legs and Sherrod with a catch from Majewski.
