ORCHARD PARK, NY - The University at Buffalo football team wrapped up spring practices on Saturday with a spirited scrimmage at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park.

In a modified scoring format, the White team (offense) scored a 44-16 win over the Blue (defense). However, the offense got 21 of those points in goal-line situations and the defense made nine stops out of 18 possessions, including a pair of fourth-down stops.

"I liked all the work we got done," said head coach Jim Hofher. "I like what we got done with the script, I liked the situations we got to practice and I liked the fact we got some stops. As a head coach you don't root for one side or the other, but both sides did well. We made plays and we made some stops."

The Bulls' offense was evenly distributed, as the Bulls threw for 113 yards and ran for 120 yards on

Steven King

the afternoon. Sophomore Steven King (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale) led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 41 yards and a pair of scores, while junior Dave Dawson (Camp Hill, PA/Bishop McDevitt) also had 41 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. Sophomore Jared Patterson (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) added 36 yards on 15 carries and also scored.

Sophomore Stewart Sampsel (Howard, PA/Bellefonte) saw the most work among the Bulls' four quarterbacks, completing 4-of-10 passes for 60 yards and two scores. He hooked up with junior wideout Gabe McClover (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Coconut Creek) on the game's longest play, a 45-yard pass early in the scrimmage. Senior Randall Secky (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) completed 2-of-4 passes for 27 yards, junior P.J. Piskorik (Swoyersville, PA/Wyoming Valley West) was 3-for-5 for nine yards and freshman Chris Moore (Highland Village, TX/Flower Mound Marcus) was 2-for-5 for 14 yards.

Bulls' tight ends accounted for the rest of the scoring as senior Brian Miller (Santa Clarita, CA/Valencia) and freshmen Trevor Scott (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam) and Greg Vrantsis (Hamilton, Ontario/Barton) all hauled in touchdown passes.

Defensively, the Bulls got strong play from several individuals while limiting the offense to 3.1 yards

Ramon Guzman

per play and registering 11 tackles for loss. Sophomore linebacker Ramon Guzman (Bronx, NY/DeWitt-Clinton) led the charge with seven total tackles (five solos) and a sack. Freshman defensive end James Judges (Pickering, Ontario/St. Marys) led an aggressive front four with four tackles, one for loss, and a half-sack, while junior defensive ends Phil Jacques (Farmington Hills, MI/Brother Rice) and Ken Soltis (Boca Raton, FL/Coconut Creek) each added four tackles. Senior safety J.J. Gibson (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) contributed four tackles, one for loss, junior cornerback Antwan Cunningham (Orange, NJ/Clifford J. Scott) had three pass breakups and freshman linebacker Ollice Ervin (Vero Beach, FL/Vero Beach) added a sack.

The Bulls will open the 2004 season at Mid-American Conference rival Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 2 at 7 pm.