Collins considers first scrimmage a success

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado had its first scrimmage of the 2011 fall football camp and the coaches and spectators both saw several positives with three weeks to go before the first contest.

"It was a good day for our first scrimmage," said Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr. "It was good to get some kinks out and see what we had. We have three weeks left and we'll be ready to go. At this time of year, we're trying to find the right combinations and see what people can do and I think we learned some of that today."

The offense scored one touchdown and went 4-for-5 on field goals, while the defense had one interception and eight sacks.

All four quarterbacks threw for at least 50 yards and combined to go 26-for-44 with one touchdown and one interception. The four of them hit 11 different targets, with freshman Dimitri Stimphill catching a day-high five passes. Freshman Dajuan Mack brought in the lone touchdown pass, a 32-yard strike from senior Dylan Orms.

Senior David Deans carried the ball six times for a scrimmage-best 35 yards, while freshman Willie Saunders also ran the ball six times, gaining 27 yards.

"It's a really tight race in several positions," said Collins. "It will be fun to watch who comes out on top."

On defense, linebackers Cameron Friend and Conor Sparacio each had six tackles, while senior VJ Holmes and junior Gavin Miller each had 1.5 sacks. Senior defensive back Chuks Nweke had the lone pick of the day, returning it 30 yards before getting knocked out of bounds by quarterback Seth Lobato.

"Defense put pressure on the quarterbacks," said Collins. "That's what we had and mind. We'll continue to work over the coming weeks and get some more guys healthy and go from there."

The team will continue camp and have the second scrimmage of the year next Saturday.