Gold Team Takes WVU Football Spring Game 22-21

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The gold team took a narrow 22-21 victory over the blue team in WVU football’s Gold-Blue Spring Game today in front of 12,678 fans.

The first half saw dominant scoring plays from both sides. The first quarter was highlighted by a seven-yard rush from Clemson running back Lyn-J Dixon. Four plays form quarterback Goose Crowder culminated in 75 yards of positive work, and an extra point from Danny King solidified a 7-0 gold team lead.

When Garrett Greene entered the game during the next drive, a combination of passes and Tony Mathis rushing yards propelled the team down the field. Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Kaden Prather both put together solid days, but a pass intended for Sam James got intercepted by Aubrey Burks at the end zone for a 12-0 gold lead.

Sam James redeemed himself in the second quarter, this time lining up with the blue team. He caught a 31-yard pass from Crowder as the cherry on top of a 10-play, 52-yard drive. Casey Legg’s kick went through the uprights and the blue team was on the board.

The blue team continued to dominate the second quarter scoring. QB Nicco Marchiol closed the remaining seven yards on an 11-play drive to add seven points to the blue team’s score, and Legg came in clutch with another extra point.

In the closing play of the first half, the gold team made a quick resurgence. King shot a 19-yard field goal through the uprights to bring the score to 15-14 in favor of the gold team.

The second half saw large-scale scoring slow down, but the plays themselves sped up; both teams tacked on a touchdown.

Greene kicked his pass potential into high gear coming out of the locker room. He connected with Ford-Wheaton on back-to-back blue team plays that cut a 75-yard drive to two plays and a start-to-finish time of 37 seconds. Ford-Wheaton found the end zone on a 31-yard pass, and Florida State transfer kicker Parker Grothaus sealed the deal with his first Mountaineer extra point.

In the fourth quarter, a mixture of Marchiol, Jackson Crist, and Jake Robbins saw the field under center. Robbins handed the ball off to Markquan Rucker, who closed the final 11 yards and added the final gold points to the scoreboard. King’s successful extra point put the gold team above the blue team 22-21.

Between Crowder, Marchiol, Greene, Matt Cavallaro, Crist, and Robbins, the WVU quarterbacks played clean, if vanilla, football, primarily in the middle of the field. Head coach Neal Brown wanted emphasis on clean plays entering today, and a combined 13-for-25 for 193 yards seemed a successful spring game outing for the gold team. When Marchiol, Crowder, and Robbins transitioned to the blue team, they added 18-for-33 for 240 yards and two touchdowns, but also produced a sack of Marchiol and Greene’s interception.

The receivers on both teams had surprising production from names Mountaineer fans aren’t used to hearing. Ford-Wheaton lead the blue team with six receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown, while James added his own 56 yards and a touchdown on five catches. It was the gold team that saw the unknowns step up into the spotlight. Morgantown High’s walk-on Preston Fox ended his gold team experience with 117 yards on five receptions, and a 50-yard long ball that erupted the crowd at Milan Puskar Stadium. Behind him… Reese Smith’s 30 yards on five receptions and true freshman Jarel Williams’ 28 yards on two connections. Collectively, the receiving corps on both sides totaled 443 yards and the pair of touchdowns on 31 receptions.

The defensive stats are limited, and for good reason. Although Brown intended this scrimmage to feel game-like, the thuds were more like two-hand touch. Burks lead the gold team defense with five tackles (four solo) and the Green interception. Behind him: Lance Dixon with four solo tackles and community college transfer MIKE linebacker Lee Kpogba with a trio of solo tackles.

The top two blue team defenders mirrored the productivity. Jairo Faverus lead his team with four tackles (three solo), and Cincinnati transfer Zeiqui Lawton came away with four tackles (two solo). The blue team won defensively outright, forcing 38 total tackles to the gold team’s 26. Blue team’s Naim Muhammad, Taurus Simmons, and Hershey McLaurin also nabbed tackles for loss, one each for a combined five yards.

Now, the team prepares to end classes next week and looks toward fall camp when August rolls around.