Bulls Play Annual Blue & White Scrimmage

Offense holds off defense, 46-44

Brandon Thermilus

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo football team completed its spring drills on Saturday afternoon with the annual Blue and White Scrimmage at UB Stadium. Using a scoring system that allowed both the offense and defense to score points, the offense (white) defeated the defense (blue), 46-44, in front of over 1,500 fans.

UB fans were anxious to get a sneak peek of the 2009 Bulls, especially the quarterback position. Buffalo will have to replace Drew Willy, who holds nearly every school passing record. Sophomore Zach Maynard took the majority of the snaps on the afternoon. In a pass-oriented game plan, Maynard went 15-of-35 for 129 yards. He led a 75-yard scoring drive in which he completed 6-of-8 passes and culminated the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.

Redshirt freshmen quarterbacks Jerry Davis and Cory Jorgensen also saw action in the game. Davis went 5-of-13 for 30 yards and rushed for 18 yards and Jorgensen went 5-of-8 for 30 yards.

Brandon Thermilus led the running backs with 44 yards on eight carries. He had a 14-yard touchdown scamper for the offense's second touchdown. Mario Henry had six carries for 16 yards. All-MAC running back James Starks sat out the scrimmage recovering from offseason surgery, but is expected to be 100 percent by the start of camp.

Naaman Roosevelt had five catches for 49 yards, while Brett Hamlin and tight end Michael Marr each added four grabs. Jesse Rack had three receptions for 31 yards.

The UB defense was led by sophomore linebacker Scott Pettigrew who had 10 tackles (seven solo), a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Imani Chatman added six tackles and Sherrod Lott had five stops. The defensive line was sparked by the play of redshirt-freshman Steven Means, who had four tackles, including a pair of sacks and sophomore Richie Smith who had three tackles for loss and two sacks.

"I love what we are all about right now. I think our team has come together," head coach Turner Gill said. "I was very pleased to see the community come out and have a sneak preview of our football team and I think that is another aspect of proving that our program is moving forward."

Buffalo will begin the defense of its 2008 MAC Championship on September 5th when it kicks off the season at UTEP.