April 21, 2008

New Brunswick, NJ (UWIRE) -- As far as head coach Greg Schiano is concerned, the Scarlet-White game Saturday afternoon went off without a hitch.

The Rutgers football team, in front of a record crowd of 14,501, did more than take a victory in a game that they were guaranteed to win - the team stayed healthy.

Senior quarterback Mike Teel displayed what he can do with a healthy thumb and an extra year of experience under his belt. The wide receiver position not only showed the ability to make big plays, but also showed their depth with 11 different players catching passes on the day. Last year's porous run defense shut down the running game, for the most part.

Least importantly, the Scarlet team, comprised of the first team offense and second team defense, defeated the White team, which included the second team offense and first team defense, 28-14.

"I was most pleased to get out of the game without any injuries," Schiano said.

Schiano did not watch the game, for the most part, because he was busy visiting with the large number of recruits in attendance.

The scoring started unexpectedly. With all eyes focused on star wideouts Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt, Teel dumped off a pass to junior fullback Jack Corcoran, who scampered 26 yards for a touchdown that put the Scarlet team up 7-0 in the first quarter.

"Offensively, Jack's one of those guys that's in the mix for most improved player," Schiano said. "He's much more consistent. That was a great throw and a great catch [on the touchdown pass]."

Corcoran grabbed a second catch later in the game for seven yards, showing that he may become more of an offensive weapon this season.

The Scarlet team then went up 14-0 as sophomore running back Mason Robinson punched the ball in from the goal line for his only touchdown on the day. Robinson ended with 38 yards on eight attempts out of the backfield.

The White team got on the board with junior quarterback Jabu Lovelace's most impressive pass of the day. Lovelace aired a ball down the sideline that traveled 40 yards in the air before wide receiver Julian Hayes plucked it out of the air for a touchdown.

Then the receivers started to get involved. The second quarter consisted of Teel throwing bullet after bullet to Underwood and Britt and finding Underwood for touchdowns twice, making the score 28-8 at the half.

Underwood's first touchdown came on a 28-yard pass, and his second came after Underwood caught a pass up the middle and juked three defenders before reaching the end zone.

"I just caught it, bounced off a tackle and I see the end zone and I was just hungry [for my second touchdown]," Underwood said. "I wanted to get in there. That's what it's all about.

"It just happened to be my day today, but we're just trying to become consistent with the offense as a receiving core and help Mike Teel out."

Britt did not reach the end zone in the game but led the team in catches with six and was second in receiving yards with 84. Underwood led all wideouts with 99 yards on five catches.

The coaching staff made the decision to pull Teel at half time, leaving him with 238 yards and three touchdown passes on the day.

"I thought [the offense] was pretty good," Teel said. "We were able to score points and get some touchdown passes. The biggest thing is that no one got seriously hurt which is huge for us."

The defense stepped it up in the second half for both sides. A one-yard run by freshman Joe Martinek was the only score for the rest of the game.

The secondary struggled against the size of the first team offense, but was minus senior safety Courtney Greene, who was held out to prevent injury.

Sophomore safety Joe Lefeged said it wasn't weird playing without Greene because he has been limited all spring and was happy with the run defense.

"I think we did pretty well," Lefeged said. "We limited the big plays on the running game. That's what our goal is. Limit the run. Limit the running backs under 100 yards, and I think we did pretty well today."

The first team defense held the running game to only 64 yards on 18 attempts in the game.

"I thought against the run we did really well," said senior linebacker Kevin Malast, who had seven total tackles. "We gave up some big plays against the pass; we can't do that. That's one of our goals as a defense, but I thought we came along real well on the run today."

The two biggest positives for the Knights were the lack of injuries and the increased fan support.

Reserve quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne wore a sling in the locker room after the game but said that it was nothing serious. Britt was taken off the field in the second quarter but will be fine.

The record crowd of 14,501 made everyone on the team happy, especially Teel, a fifth-year senior who truly appreciated the support.

"I couldn't believe it. It was unbelievable," Teel said. "I was saying my freshman year there were maybe 500 people here for the spring game. That was the most exciting part of the whole day for me was seeing so many people come to the game."

Knight Note: Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano announced yesterday that three members of the Rutgers football team will not be returning this fall.

Wide receiver Keith Taylor and tight end Jeff Minemeyer are leaving due to career-ending injuries, and defensive tackle Vantrise Studivant is leaving the program for personal reasons.

Taylor suffered from groin and shoulder problems and Minemeyer had a career ending neck injury, but both plan to continue to attend and graduate from Rutgers.

Schiano said that the team and Studivant have come to a mutual agreement to part ways.

(C) 2008 Daily Targum via UWIRE