SAN ANTONIO — Freshmen Loren Koehler and Trent Langley combined for 20 tackles and the UTSA defense stepped up in the second scrimmage on Wednesday night at Dub Farris Stadium.
Freshman quarterback Kam Jones led a sound rushing attack for the offense, which ended up with three touchdowns after two late scores, racking up 62 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Sophomore running back CheRod Simpson added 38 yards on eight totes, while freshman quarterback Cole Hubble was 10-for-13 passing for 67 yards and a score to go along with 26 yards on six carries on the ground.
"This scrimmage was a lot more physical," head coach Larry Coker said. "Last week was a lot like touch football, where this week we played as if it was real football. Tonight was good and physical and there were some good hits from the secondary, front line and linebackers. I was really pleased about what we did this week and, most importantly, we're pretty healthy. I definitely see some bright spots in the defense as well as some bright spots on offense. All we need now is consistency and that's what we strive for every day."
Jones had a key, 26-yard run on an end-around on the first play from scrimmage to kick-start an eight-play, 74-yard scoring drive for the offense. Freshman running back David Glasco II capped the march by turning a screen pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Eric Soza into a 16-yard scamper down the right sideline for the first points of the evening.
The defense then controlled things for the majority of the scrimmage.
The next drive came to a halt after a bad snap thwarted a 38-yard field goal attempt. Koehler then picked off a pass near midfield to stop the next march, while the defense held again on the next possession after a 44-yard field goal attempt by freshman Hunter Boehlauf into a 15-20 mile-per-hour wind banged off the crossbar.
"Coach (Neal) Netherly has been telling us to play hard-hat defense with a lot of emotion," said Koehler, who racked up nine stops on the night. "The first team is really good at showing that and our second team can go out there and mirror that intensity. It’s definitely a good sign that our defense is picking up the tempo."
The defense ended up stopping eight consecutive drives before two late scores with the benefit of a short field capped the scrimmage. Hubble found Simpson on an 11-yard pass to the left sideline to cap a 39-yard drive, while Jones struck paydirt from six yards out on the final possession.
"We opened up by scoring on our first drive and knew we had to close it by scoring again," freshman wide receiver Nick Garza said. "Our defense was tough and they are very powerful and vocal. We end up feeding off of their intensity to help us on offense. There will always be little things we have to work on, but I think it was a good scrimmage overall."
The Roadrunners will take next week off from practice before returning the field the week of Oct. 3-6.
