Texas Tech University Athletics
Defense Edges Offense in Annual Red-Black Game
April 14, 2007 | Football
April 14, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raiders held their annual Red and Black spring football game Saturday on the field at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Making good on a new scoring system that accounted for defensive stops and turnovers, the Tech defense was able come up with a number of big plays in the second half, outscoring the offense 20-7, and securing a 46-35 victory.
Offensively, the Red Raiders passing attack did look sharp at times with quarterbacks Graham Harrell and Taylor Potts both completing close to 60 percent of their passes. Harrell, who started all 13 games under center in 2006, completed 16-of-25 passes for 317 yards and three scores, including a 66-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wideout Ed Britton in the second quarter.
Fifteen different receivers caught passes during today's action, including senior Danny Amendola and junior L.A. Reed, who tied for the lead with six catches apiece. Redshirt freshman Michael Crabtree capped off what has been an impressive spring, catching three balls for 112 yards and a touchdown.
The defense was stingy up front, however, allowing just 85 yards rushing while also registering 10 sacks. Junior safety Lance Fuller led the way with five tackles and sophomore defensive ends Philip Jones and Sandy Riley each tallied two sacks.
The secondary managed to come away with five interceptions today, having two of them returned for touchdowns. Sophomore cornerback Pete Richardson's 93-yard return and redshirt freshman Nathan Stone's 43-yarder netted the defense 14 points that proved to be the difference in the final score.
On special teams, freshman tight end Adam James pulled double-duty and served as the team's punter, finishing with three attempts that were good for a 40-yard average. Senior placekicker Alex Trlica missed his lone field goal attempt, a 55-yard try, but was successful on each of his extra points.
The Red and Black game marked the culmination of spring workouts that began on March 21. The team will wrap up spring with a light walk-thru Monday and resume its formal practice schedule this fall in preparation for the season opener September 3 at SMU.
