Morehead State football put the finishing touches on spring ball Saturday with an energetic game, highlighted by a pick six and a few electric plays with the offense too.
Starting four weeks ago, head coach Rob Tenyer's squad held 14 workouts before putting everything together for the spring game on a cold day at Jayne Stadium.
"It's been 16 weeks out here, even starting back in January, with these guys, and we had great energy out here today," said Tenyer. "We did some really nice things today on both sides of the football. For the most part we stayed healthy this spring and that's important. I could hear the energy today."
Highlights included a 79-yard touchdown connection from redshirt freshman quarterback Mark Pappas to freshman slot receiver Ian Holder early on. Holder took a short crossing pass and sprinted away down the middle of the field for the score.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Hardin tossed two touchdowns, one to redshirt sophomore slot Kyle Gilbert for nine yards and the other to redshirt freshman tight end Jacob Peters for three yards.
From the backfield, redshirt sophomore running back Earl Stoudemire and freshman Mario Convenuto combined for more than 100 total yards.
"The tempo the backs played with today was outstanding," said Tenyer. "We have been talking with the backs about times when you need to run the play, but you need to run it with the right tempo. They did a really nice job of that today. Ultimately the offensive line did outstanding today too. We only played six guys there, and they were impressive"
The defense also picked up its play late in the scrimmage, including a 60+ yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore defensive Brandon Barbee.
"The defense got some stops late in the game on short down situations, and that was good for them as well."
Morehead State will return to action on the field in August for fall camp, getting prepped for the 2019 season opener on Aug. 29 at home against Union (Ky.).
