Spring Game Close but Red Dominates White

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Red team scored the winning touchdown with 3:58 left in Arkansas’ spring game on Saturday, but it wasn’t really that close.

The White team was spotted seven points a quarter and that was enough to keep the backups in the game, but big-play capability of the Red won out in the end.

Although the tailbacks for the Red, which featured most of the first and second-teamers, were down on contact rather than actually being tackled, Felix Jones and Darren McFadden reminded fans of what they accomplished in the fall.

Jones, an All-American kick returner, and McFadden, an honorable mention tailback, accounted for 216 total yards.

Down 7-0 to start the game, McFadden, who was split wide at receiver, caught a 35-yard pass on the game’s first play and Jones followed with a 27-yard touchdown run.

Trailing 14-7 in the second, Jones sprinted for an 88-yard score on first down to tie the game at 14-14 at the half.

In the third quarter, Peyton Hillis’ four-yard touchdown tied the game at 21-21 with 9:23 remaining, capping an 11-play, 80-yard drive. The drive lasted 5 minutes, 10 seconds after the Red’s first two scoring possessions took a total of 1:57.

On its next possession, which carried over into the fourth quarter, Jones tied the game at 28-28 with a 14-yard scoring run.

After forcing a three-and-out on the White’s possession, an 18-yard punt return by Hillis gave the Red a first down at the White 35 with 4:54 left.

On first down, Robert Johnson found Hillis for a 23-yard gain to the 12 down the left sideline. On second down, Johnson hit Marcus Monk for a 12-yard touchdown in the right corner.

The score gave the Red its first lead of the game.

The Red generated 377 yards of offense with 227 coming on the ground and 150 through the air. The Red averaged 9.1 yards per rush and 10.7 per completion with six runs of 10 or more yards and four completions for 15 or more.

Defensively, the Red limited the White to just two total yards. The White had 16 carries for 18 yards and missed on all 10 pass attempts.

Jones finished with 137 yards on five carries. McFadden had 49 on nine rushes, freshman Michael Smith 34 on three and Hillis 12 on three.

Casey Dick started at quarterback and was nine-of-16 for 95 yards with an interception. Johnson was five-of-six for 55 yards with a touchdown.

Monk had five receptions for 58 yards and a score. McFadden had three catches for 30, Hillis two for 30 and Cedric Washington two for 20.

End Antwain Robinson led the defense with four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Desmond Sims, Michael Grant and Keith Jackson had three tackles each.

For the White, redshirt freshman Hezekiah Smith had seven carries for four yards. Alex Mortensen was zero-of-seven passing and Nathan Emert zero-of-three. Cornerback John Johnson and linebacker Brandon Sturdivant had six tackles each.

The game drew a crowd of 23,000 while RazorFest drew a total of 30,000.