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Late touchdown lifts White team over Green team in spring football game

April 26, 2014
<p>Sophomore tight end Josiah Price celebrates his touchdown with his teammates April 26, 2014, during the Spring Green and White game at Spartan Stadium.The White team won, 20-13. Julia Nagy/The State News</p>

Sophomore tight end Josiah Price celebrates his touchdown with his teammates April 26, 2014, during the Spring Green and White game at Spartan Stadium.The White team won, 20-13. Julia Nagy/The State News

Photo by Julia Nagy | The State News

A late 50-yard touchdown drive led by junior quarterback Connor Cook propelled the White team to a 20-13 win in the annual Green and White Spring Game at Spartan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

With the game tied late, Cook found sophomore tight end Josiah Price for the two-yard game-winning touchdown with only 23 seconds left in play.

The game-winning touchdown pass capped off an average outing for Cook, who finished 11-of-22 for 159 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. However, Cook said outside of the two interceptions, he was pleased with his performance on Saturday.

“I thought I was good besides the interceptions,” Cook said. “Demetrious Cox made a great play on the first one and the second one I think I might have just thrown it a little harder and a little higher."

The game started off hot, with the a couple early touchdowns, but quickly became a defensive showdown with multiple turnovers on from both teams.

Senior safety Kurtis Drummond snagged one of the five interceptions on Saturday and said the secondary has improved since the first day of spring practice.

“We’re definitely not where we want to be as a team, that’s what fall camp is for, but we’re definitely moving in the right direction, guys are growing, guys are improving,” Drummond said. “I would say we had a pretty impressive camp from the time that we started to the time we are finishing.”

The first half saw highs and lows for both the Green and White teams. Led by Cook, the White team jumped to an early 13-0 lead, but the Green would counter scoring with 29 seconds to go in the half to tie the game at 13 before halftime.

The first play from scrimmage was one sophomore quarterback Tyler O’Connor will want to forget when sophomore cornerback Jermaine Edmondson intercepted the pass and returned it 17 yards.

The very next play, redshirt freshman quarterback Damion Terry ran 23 yards for a White team touchdown.

The White team would add another touchdown to the board when Cook found junior Aaron Burbridge for a 26 yard score. However, the extra point was blocked by junior defensive end Shilique Calhoun. The Burbridge touchdown capped off a seven play 86-yard drive.

Winning by 13 and moving down field again, it appeared the White team would run away with the win, but an interception by sophomore safety Demetrious Cox changed the momentum of the game. The interception, thrown by Cook, would lead to a 31-yard field goal for sophomore kicker Michael Geiger.

After missing his first attempt, Geiger would kick another field goal for the Green team to trim the White’s lead to only one score.

O’Connor would then finish the first half comeback with a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Keith Mumphery. With the Geiger extra point, the game was tied at 13-13.

The second half would have less excitement, with only the game-winning touchdown by Price coming after halftime. The game was moved to a running clock for the second half to speed up the game.

Sophomore cornerback Darian Hicks sealed the win for the White team with an interception on a deep ball pass from O’Connor to end the game. The interception was O’Connor’s third of the day, as he finished 12-of-23 for 138 passing yards and one touchdown pass. He also scrambled for 24 yards as he led the Green team in rushing.

Terry, who has been battling with O’Connor this spring for the backup quarterback position, was used primarily as a wildcat threat on Saturday. He finished only 2-for-5 in the air, but was able to rush for 32 yards on three carries including the opening touchdown.

Head coach Mark Dantonio said the new wildcat package with Terry is something he and his staff will continue to explore as they move into fall camp.

Senior running back Nick Hill was also impressive on the ground, running for 69 yards on 10 carries. On the opposite spectrum, senior running back Jeremy Langford struggled, finishing with 18 yards on 11 carries. Dantonio said the run game will need to improve for MSU to experience success in the fall.

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Senior wide receiver Tony Lippett led the way in receiving, finishing with seven receptions for 96 yards. Price wasn’t far behind him, with 81 receiving yards on five grabs and one touchdown.

After it was all said and done, Dantonio said he was happy to see how the game turned out, with the Green team fighting back to make it close until the final whistle.

“Thought our guys competed, White took a 13-0 lead and I thought the Green played themselves back into it which is a positive,” Dantonio said. “(It’s good) anytime you have guys competing and continuing to play through it. We try to make it as game like as we can."

MSU will now be off until fall camp begins in early August as it prepares for the season opener against Jacksonville State on August 29 at Spartan Stadium. MSU is expected to enter the 2014 season as a contender for the Big Ten Championship game and potentially a preseason top-10 team.

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