Cardinals Show Balance in First Full Scrimmage
August 19, 2000 | Football
Aug. 19, 2000
LOUISVILLE, KY -- The University of Louisville Football Team participated in their first full scrimmage Saturday morning and performed well on both sides of the football for head coach John L. Smith.
"I'm very encouraged by what I saw today, but we still have some wrinkles to iron out," said Smith. "I'm really pleased with the enthusiasm we played with. We'll look at the film and get better next week."
The Cardinal offense passed for 224 yards on the day but U of L signalcallers were badgered by defenders most of the morning. Seven different Cardinals recorded sacks while the defense also forced a fumble and intercepted a pass.
Sophomore Dave Ragone completed 7 of 13 throws with the No. 1 offense for 93 yards. He opened the scrimmage completing four consecutive passes to drive the Cards to the two-yard line.
However, the defense forced two incompletions and stopped RB Tony Stallings for no gain to force a turnover on downs.
Senior Mike Watkins split snaps with the top two offensive units and completed 5 of 14 passes for 75 yards and the only offensive score of the game.
Watkins connected with sophomore TE Ronnie Ghent on a 43-yard gain late in the scrimmage and followed it up a few plays later with a 10-yard scoring toss to Ghent.
U of L's defense put up six points of their own when walk-on CB Levi Ray stepped in front of a Gerry Ahrens pass and returned it 58 yards for a score.
This morning's scrimmage ends two-a-days for the Cardinals with classes beginning Monday, Aug. 21.
U of L will return to the practice field Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in preparation for their Sept. 2 home opener with Kentucky.
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