The quarterback situation has been a headliner for the Spartans in the offseason, and both quarterbacks played well through one half. Tyler O’Connor had 75 yards on 6-11 passing for the Green team, and junior Damion Terry was 3-8 with 27 yards for the White team.

Freshman Messiah deWeaver led the only scoring drive for the White side, finishing the half 2-5 with 27 yards after a couple nice throws, one to sophomore Brandon Sowards to set up a first and goal scenario. Green team’s Brian Lewerke saw action as well, only completing one pass; a long bomb for 32 yards to freshman Cam Chambers.

The ground game was working for the White team, led by fifth-year senior Nick Tompkins, who had 28 yards on four carries. Overall, the White team had 53 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries shared by L.J. Scott, Williams and Tompkins. 

On the other side, Green team had a total of negative two yards rushing with yardage lost from sacks tacked on to total rushing yards. Junior Gerald Holmes led Green team with 16 yards on seven attempts. 

Special teams was a problem for the Spartans last season, but junior kicker Michael Geiger opened up the scoring for the Green with a 42 yard field goal. An O’Connor strike for 23 yards to senior tight end Jamal Lyles put the Green side in scoring position. Geiger was hitting consistently in warmups before the game from over 50 yards away.

Both sides committed a total of four penalties, three of which were assessed to Green team for 19 yards. The defense was alert for both sides, and sophomore Andrew Dowell was active for the White team, recording four tackles, one of which being a sack on O’Connor, and a pass break-up. Montae Nicholson led the Green team with five tackles and one pass break-up.

Dantonio took a moment to address the crowd midway through the second quarter. He emphasized that he wanted the fans to get louder and make the game as realistic as possible for his players.