Big Crowd Sees Red Nip White, 17-10

Norman, Okla. - A crowd estimated at 40,500 saw the Red team defeat the White, 17-10 in Oklahoma's annual spring game. The contest brought to an end the spring practice session.

"I liked what I saw," said head coach Bob Stoops. "We had a lot of guys making plays. It was just a good, solid scrimmage."

The Sooner coach also lauded the crowd, which is thought to be the largest for an OU spring game since the alumni contest was replaced with an intrasquad contest in the early 1980's.

"The crowd was great and I want to thank the people who came out," he said. "We appreciate the support. It tells you something when you can draw that many for a spring game."

Two of the touchdowns in the game came on interception returns, including the first, a 39-yard return by Antonio Perkins for the white team. The play came on the Red team's second series on a pass from Jason White. Steven Sarubbi added the extra point and the White had the lead with 11:10 remaining in the second period.

The Red team scored on its next drive, a 13-play, 67-yard effort that culminated with a 26-yard field by Trey DiCarlo. The white team took the lead for good with 4:14 left in the half when Michael Thompson picked off a Noah Allen pass and returned it 36 yards for a TD. DiCarlo's extra point ran the count to 10-7.

On its next offensive possession, the Red team drove 64 yards in six plays and got a 17-yard touchdown pass from Brent Rawls to J.D. Runnels.

The only scoring of the second half came with 4:28 remaining in the game when Sarubbi booted a 25-yard field goal for the white.

Of his four quarterbacks, Stoops said, "They all made plays and they had some bad ones. Some of their interceptions were tipped by the receiver so it's hard to blame that on the quarterback. Overall, I saw a lot of good things."

Jason White completed 7-of-13 passes for 70 yards with two interceptions. Brent Rawls was 11-of-17 for 138 yards with one interception, while Paul Thompson was 5-of-14 for 49 yards with a pick and Noah Allen was 4-of-14 for 79 yards with two interceptions.

The leading rusher was Kejuan Jones with 9 attempts for 28 yards.

Perkins, a cornerback, was outstanding. In addition to his interception return for a touchdown, he broke up four passes.

"Antonio is really a good player," Stoops said. "He really showed up today. I am very pleased with him."

The Sooners played a 15-minute first quarter, then 12-minute periods in the second, third and fourth. Stoops ended the contest with 1:50 still showing on the clock.

The only negative to come in the scrimmage was a knee injury to redshirt freshman linebacker Rufus Alexander. He will undergo further evaluation, ligament damage in his right knee is suspected.

OU Spring Game Statistics

Rushing White - Hickson 11-23, Estus 6-23, Thompson 2-21, Allen 2-(-1), Rawls 2-0, Wilson 1-(-4) Red - Jones 9-28, Works 6-24, White 1-(-7), Rawls 1-(-8), Thompson 2-(-11), Hickson 1-2, Allen 1-4

Passing White - Thompson 2-8-1, 17 yards; Allen 4-12-1, 79 yards; Rawls 7-10-1, 77 yards. Red - White 7-13-2, 70 yards, Rawls 4-7-0, 61 yards; Thompson 3-6-0, 32 yards; Allen 0-2-1 Combined - White 7-13-2, 70 yards; Rawls 11-17-1, 138 yards; Thompson 5-14-2, 49 yards; Allen 4-14-2, 79 yards.

Receiving White - Moses 4-43, Wilson 2-56, R. Allen 2-16, Rankins 1-20, Hickson 1-13, B. Jones 1-10, Agupong 1-9, Ford 1-6. Red - Clayton 4-58, K. Jones 4-31, Works 2-16, Peoples 1-20, Runnels 1-17, Chester 1-15, B. Jones 1-6.

Punting Blake Ferguson (both teams) 13 punts, 43.1-yard average

Tackles White - Strait 4, Nicholson 1, Pool 6, Perkins 3, McCoy 1, Dennison 1, Latimer 2, Allen 5, Jackson 2, Dvoracek 3, Mcgruder 1, Harris 2, Birdine 4. Red - Bradley 2, Miller 1, Carter 2, Shelby 5, Bassey 3, Thompson 2, Richardson 4, Alexander 3, Latimer 2, Allen 1, Chidi 6, Thibodeaux 1, Hallock 1, Sacheck 3, Crump 1, Sublet 3, Dvoracek 1, Hulsey 1.

Interceptions White - Perkins 1-39 (TD), Pool 1-0. Red - Thompson 1-19 (TD), Poteat 1-21, Bradley 1-0, Stephens 1-0.

Passes Broken Up White - Perkins 4, Strait 1, Nicholson 1, McCoy 1. Red - None

Sacks White - Thibodeaux 1, Latimer 1 Red - Klein 1, Richardson 1