It appeared that MSU football sophomore wide receiver Chris D. Rucker was going to steal the show with his two touchdowns — possibly leading the White squad to a intrasquad spring game victory and steak dinner, the reward for being victorious.
But senior Matt Haughey, the Green team’s kicker, had different plans for the estimated 27,000 members in attendance, as he buried two clutch field goals (from 42 and 31 yards out) with less than 2:10 to play in the intrasquad spring game Saturday at Spartan Stadium en route to a 23-21 win over White.
“I thought we played hard and it came down to a competitive situation at the end, which is what you like to see,” MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Balance on a football field that can go either way — I thought that was a positive thing, so I like what’s going on and I like our attitudes.”
Down 21-17, the Green team chose to kick a field goal with 2:09 to play, a call Green team coach Dan Roushar, MSU’s offensive line coach, knew was gutsy, as his team would need to make quick stops in order to get a chance for another possession.
And that’s just what happened — White only used up 20 seconds on three plays and were forced to punt, giving Green the ball back for a potential winning drive with 1:48 to play.
A 58-yard screen pass to senior wide receiver Blair White put Green on the 12 yard line before Haughey kicked in the field goal to give his squad a 23-21 lead.
Senior safety Otis Wiley sealed the deal for his Green team — intercepting senior quarterback Brian Hoyer’s pass on the first play of the drive before the Green ran a couple of plays to speed up the clock and finalize the game.
While Hoyer completed 13-of-22 passes for 208 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins made some serious strides towards the back-up job — completing 12-of-19 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown.
“I made a lot of mistakes, there’s no doubt about that,” Cousins said. “Fortunately the guys around me were able to help me out a little bit with some yards after the catch. We were able to throw the football and my lineman gave me time and it was fun to get out here and play a game outside of practice and just make plays and have fun with it.”
Although no one ran for more than 43 yards on the ground (sophomore Andre Anderson on 17 carries), the receivers put on an aerial circus — sophomore Mark Dell of the Green team leading the way with 120 yards on six catches.
Sophomore wide receiver B.J. Cunningham shined the brightest for the White, snatching six catches for 97 yards and one touchdown.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “Late field goals lead to Green win in intrasquad game” on social media.
