Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Conclude Week Two With Heated Scrimmage
4/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 10, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill - Northwestern's football squad finished their second week of spring practice Saturday with a set of 70 live 11-on-11 plays. Both sides looked sharp, with the offense having some long gains, and the defense standing its ground on many occasions. A wide variety of players saw action today, with many of the backups taking the majority of the repetitions. One the whole, head coach Randy Walker was extremely pleased with his team's showing.
"We got a lot of quality work with the right people," Walker said. "We got more work with the two's, which is what we wanted to to. I'm pleased with many of the things I saw go on today."
Junior quarterback Brett Basanez (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator) provided the offensive power as he threw for 105 yards on 12 attempts. Halfway into Saturday's action, Basanez found senior running back Noah Herron (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) open in the flat for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
"I thought Brett played a lot better," Walker said. "The things he is showing me now, is a testament to how hard he has worked in the off-season."
Herron was NU's leading rusher on the day with 30 yards coming on 10 carries. One of those carries saw Herron busting through a pile of defenders, powering his way to a one-yard touchdown run.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior safety Derell Jenkins (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) continued to impress as he had two sacks on the day. On both occasions, Jenkins blitzed from the defensive backfield, sacking the quarterback before he had a chance to get the ball off.
Junior safety Herschel Henderson (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake) also continued his steady improvement as he picked off a Basanez pass and returned it 20 yards before being knocked out of bounds.
"We have a lot of quality defensive players, "Walker said. "As time goes on, and as guys continue to mature, you're going to see that we're going to have a pretty good defense that's going to compete with a lot of the top offenses in the Big Ten."
Walker was especially pleased with the play of NU's three place-kickers, who all booted a 30+ yard field goal each. Senior Brian Huffman (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg), and a pair of sophomores in Joel Howells (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) and Slade Larscheid (Spearfish, S.D./Spearfish) kicked field goals of 47, 35, and 31 yards respectively. Huffman was also 1-for-1 on extra points.
"I thought our kickers did a good job today," Walker said. "I thought it was a tremendous positive in this scrimmage."
The 'Cats will return to NU's outdoor practice fields Tuesday, with practice slated to begin at 4 p.m.
Scrimmage Leaders
PASSING -- Basanez, Brett 7-12-105, 1 TD, 1 INT; Malleo, Chris 7-11-27.
RUSHING -- Herron, Noah 10-30, 1 TD; Shanks, Nathan 13-29.
RECEIVING -- Fields, Jonathan 5-37; Philmore, Mark 3-22.
