April 8, 2006
Senior quarterback Shawn Bell threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns to highlight Baylor's Green & Gold Spring Game Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium. After an alumni flag football game for the game's first quarter, the Baylor varsity played the final three periods, but no score was kept.
"I thought the defense ran around pretty good, especially in the red zone," said four-year Baylor coach Guy Morriss. "I thought they were really moving around to the ball pretty good. We've got some good speed over there. It took us a little while to get anything going offensively. I'd like to see us be a little more consistent in our offense and move the sticks a little bit. We did hit some big plays, which is good to see."
For the afternoon, Bell completed 24 of 34 passes for 239 yards and three scores with one interception. He threw scoring strikes of 9 yards to senior running back Paul Mosley, 41 yards to sophomore wide receiver Mikail Baker and 65 yards to senior wide receiver Dominique Zeigler. Senior wide receiver Trent Shelton caught six passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, an 82-yard pass from Zeigler.
"You are dialing (plays) and sometimes it is feast and sometimes it is famine," Morriss said. "We were just fortunate enough to get the ball up and out of the pocket and the receivers made some nice catches. This offense is really a ball-control offense and like I said earlier, I'd like to see us become more consistent in our execution. I thought we had too many drops and sacks. But, we can clean all that stuff up."
All-told, 15 Bears caught passes as Baylor's offense completed 38 of 60 passes (63.3 percent) for 391 yards and five touchdowns. Nine of the Bears' 38 completions went for 11 or more yards on the afternoon.
While much of the attention during spring ball was directed at Baylor's move to the spread offense, the Bears' defense turned in another strong performance Saturday. The defense limited the Baylor run game to 43 yards on 30 carries for the afternoon, while producing seven sacks. Senior defensive tackle Quincy Jenkins recorded three sacks, while senior outside safety Maurice Linguist had two sacks, with junior linebacker Nick Moore and redshirt freshman defensive end Jason Lamb each had one sack.
Senior cornerback Anthony Arline recorded an interception, which he returned 26 yards, and two pass breakups, while senior cornerback James Todd recorded the scrimmage's only other turnover with an interception of his own. Junior cornerback Josh Bell blocked a field goal during the red zone work period.
"They (the defense) were pretty gassed up, which was good to see," Morriss said. "They are going to have to carry us early in the season next year. I hope there is some carryover there that every time they step on the field, they are going. There are some young kids who are moving into starting roles, so it is just a matter of them getting seasoned.
"I looked up today and it seemed like Antonio Jones was all over the field. So, that's good to see from him," he added. "I thought Arline (Anthony) had a good day with the pick and run back. It is good to see your defense playing so well."
The Bears now move into their off-season program before returning to work with fall camp in August in preparation for the Sept. 2 season-opener in Waco against TCU, the 2005 Mountain West Conference and EV1.net Bowl champions.
"I feel like we had a good spring," Morriss said. "I was pleased with today's work. I liked what they (the team) had to say in the huddle today at the end. They dedicated themselves to everything they are going to do over the next three of four months to be ready to play against TCU. I'm happy about that. They'll come out ready to play in September, I'm sure of that."
Scrimmages Notes: Prior to the game, the Mathew Dove Letterwinners' Plaza on the east side of Floyd Casey Stadium was formally dedicated ... Dove is a Waco attorney who lettered for coach Grant Teaff's 1974 Bears as a defensive back ... Former Bear and current Chicago Bear Fred Miller, a 10-year NFL veteran, was also honored before the scrimmage for his recent contribution of $300,000 to Baylor athletics and the Baylor "B" Association ... The Bears reported no injuries from today's scrimmage ... A crowd estimated at 3,500 was on hand for the game.
BAYLOR 2006 GREEN & GOLD SPRING GAME FINAL STATS
ALUMNI GAME SCORING (First Quarter)
Green -- S. Faucher 13 pass from O. James, 18:10
Gold -- J. Haddock 21 pass from O. James, 17:04
Gold -- S. Sepulveda 2 pass from O. James, 14:08
Green -- S. Faucher 1 pass from O. James, 12:21
Gold -- S. Sepulveda 12 pass from O. James, 10:01
Green -- C. Mavity 14 pass from O. James, 7:47
Gold -- P. Tran 10 run, 6:14
Green -- S. Faucher 2 pass from O. James, 2:10
Gold -- S. Sepulveda 10 pass from O. James, 0:50
Green -- C. King 50 pass from O. James, 0:23
QUARTERS 2-4
Gold -- FG R. Havens 36
Gold -- FG R. Havens 30
Gold -- FG R. Havens 35
Gold -- S. Bell 1 run (C. Allen kick)
Gold -- FG R. Havens 31
Gold -- J. Adams 6 pass from B. Szymanski (C. Allen kick)
Gold -- T. Shelton 82 pass from D. Zeigler (kick failed)
Gold -- P. Mosley 9 pass from S. Bell (R. Havens kick)
Gold -- M. Baker 41 pass from S. Bell (R. Havens kick)
Gold -- D. Zeigler 65 pass from S. Bell (R. Havens kick)
Gold -- J. Jones 1 run (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--J. Jones 5-37 TD, M. Price 2-26, C. Smith 5-17, P. Mosley 4-9, T. Parks 1-1, B. Whitaker 4-0, D. Zeigler 1-(-3), S. Bell 3-(-14), B. Szymanski 3-(-15), C. Dane 2-(-15).
PASSING--S. Bell 24-34-1 239 3TD, D. Zeigler 1-1-0 82 TD, B. Szymanski 10-19-1 47 TD, J. Lovvorn 3-4-0 23, C. Dane 0-1-0 0; C. Sims 0-1-0 0.
RECEIVING--T. Shelton 6-133 TD, D. Zeigler 4-72 TD, B. Whitaker 4-36, T. Parks 3-16, P. Mosley 3-10 TD, J. Adams 3-7 TD, M. Baker 2-46 TD, C. Munn 2-21, J. Bennett 2-19, A. Heard 2-19, C. Smith 2-5, M. Price 2-4, J. Thompson 1-2, T. White 1-2, J. Jones 1-(-1).
