Northwestern University Athletics
Spring Game A Success, With A Hitch
4/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 27, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Mother Nature was not in the mood to cooperate Saturday, but that did not stop the Northwestern football team from getting its Spring Game Presented by Yellow Book USA off the ground. The Wildcats moved into Trienens Hall and were able to go about their paces as originally planned.
"We really wanted to play outside today," said Jason Wright. "When we heard the news, a big 'Boo' went up in the locker room. But all in all, it went pretty well."
The goal was to run approximately 80 plays, giving everyone a fair shot on the field. And that seemed to be the case when the day was done -- the running backs got nearly equal shots to establish themselves, as did the quarterbacks. On defense, you definitely needed a program to keep track of the all the youthful players seeing reps.
"I'm excited," said Jeff Backes, one of several running backs who saw significant action. "I think we showed everybody that we have a lot of talented running backs that are dangerous, and that's going to make us competitive in the fall."
Tony Stauss ran with the first unit to start the day and got off to an inauspicious start, throwing a pass that deflected off a receiver and into the hands of Marvin Ward on the first play. However, he recovered to lead the offense on a seven-play drive that culminated in a 23-yard touchdown to Ronnie Foster.
Brett Basanez got the next chance and immediately showed his wares, scooting 43 yards to a touchdown on his second play. Two plays later the offense was again in the end zone, as Backes went left for 28 yards.
The defense came up with a stop on the next drive, before Alexander Webb got his first shot with the offense. Helped by strong running from Noah Herron, the offense again landed in the end zone. Webb completed all three of his passes and ended the drive with a 4-yard TD run.
Stauss was up next, and led a drive that advanced 26 yards. However, at that point he threw a pass that was intercepted by Braden Jones and returned for a defensive touchdown. The play seemed to inspire the black uniforms, who proceeded to stop the offense on consecutive series after that.
The offense recovered, though, and scored another TD with Webb under center. The drive was highlighted by a superb run from Backes, who went right and then cut back left to make a 9-yard gain on a play that seemed sure to lose yardage. He followed that up that scintillating effort with a 2-yard scamper to paydirt.
Matt Danielson took his first snaps on the next drive, which got off to a roaring start when Jonathan Fields went 25 yards on a double-reverse. Eight plays later, Danielson found Louis Ayeni for a 12-yard score. Stauss then led a seven-play drive that ended when Torri Stuckey ran it from five yards out.
The next drive was highlighted by a 42-yard connection from Basanez to Eric Batis. Three plays later, Basanez found Bob Holsen in the end zone for a 4-yard score.
The defense got the momentum back on the next series, when Doug Szymul intercepted a Danielson pass. The defense then held on the next series, which was quarterbacked by Webb and then Basanez. But Basanez had the day's last laugh, leading a six-play drive that culminated in a 5-yard pass to Foster for another score.
Rushing
Wright 9-24, Herron 7-45, Backes 7-64 (2 TD), Stuckey 7-20 (TD), Fields 1-25, Dawson 3-13, Basanez 8-62 (TD), Stauss 4-9, Webb 5-23 (2 TD), Danielson 1-(-3).
Passing
Stauss -- 7 of 12, 95 yards, TD, 2 INT
Basanez -- 5 of 11, 72 yards, 2 TD
Webb -- 6 of 7, 51 yards
Danielson -- 3 of 5, 34 yards, TD, INT
Receiving
Wright 3-31, Jordan 3-22, Batis 2-49, Essex 2-31, Foster 2-28 (2 TD), Ayeni 2-15 (TD), Herron 1-25, Fields 1-14, Backes 1-11, Witherspoon 1-10, T. Jones 1-7, Patrick 1-5, Holsen 1-4 (TD).
