SAN ANTONIO — Junior defensive end Marlon Smith recorded five tackles, including four for loss, and freshman defensive back Jeremy Hall returned an interception 26 yards to lead the UTSA defense to a strong showing in the Roadrunners' fourth scrimmage on Wednesday night at Dub Farris Stadium.
Freshman linebacker Cody Rogers added four stops, while freshman defensive lineman Caleb Hundley registered two tackles, one for loss, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal attempt.
“There was some hitting going on tonight,” head coach Larry Coker said. “I thought our defense really set the tone and played very well. That was expected since they added some new wrinkles in the past week. They really played physical and tough out there. I was very pleased with what I saw on that side of the ball tonight.
“The offense did struggle a little bit because of how the defense played, but I saw some bright spots. We broke some long runs and had a couple of nice pass plays, but I thought the defense really stepped up tonight.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Eric Soza, who completed 7-of-20 passes for 117 yards and a pair of touchdowns, led the offense to three points on the first possession, completing a 25-yard pass down the left sideline to freshman wide receiver Earon Holmes to help set up a 48-yard field goal by freshman Hunter Boelhauf.
Hall got his pick on a long pass attempt by freshman quarterback John Simmons to put a halt to the next drive, while Hundley’s block negated a 47-yard field goal try by Boelhauf on the next possession.
The defense forced a three-and-out and sophomore linebacker Steven Kurfehs then recovered a fumble on the first play of the next drive to give the defense four consecutive stops.
Freshman quarterback Kennedy Jones led the offense on a 46-yard scoring drive for the first touchdown of the night. Jones found freshman wide receiver Noe Garcia over the middle for 38 yards on a slant route, which took the offense down to the 2-yard line. Jones then reached paydirt on a keeper three plays later.
The ground game keyed the next scoring march, as freshman running back Brandon Armstrong’s 32-yard scamper helped set up a 2-yard scoring pass from Soza to freshman wide receiver Jake Wanamaker.
After the defense forced four consecutive punts, the offense finally broke through on the final two possessions.
Armstrong, who finished the night with a team-best 58 yards on eight carries, and freshman running back David Glasco II combined for 32 yards on a 44-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 2-yard scoring run by Glasco II. The touchdown was set up by a pass interference call in the end zone.
Soza then found Holmes in stride on a post route for 58-yard touchdown on the final play of the night. The San Antonio native hauled in three passes for 88 yards to lead the receiving corps.
The Roadrunners' next scrimmage tentatively is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at Farris Stadium.
