The Orange football team finished its spring season Saturday, April 2 with its annual spring scrimmage at the Carrier Dome. Head coach Dino Babers [8] rolled out his fast-paced spread offense for the first time to the 4,037 fans in attendance. The Orange scored 13 touchdowns and ran more than 150 plays.
The scrimmage went for approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes and presented the offense against the defense with drives starting at either the 20 or 40-yard line. Syracuse also worked in the red-zone for a few periods.
"I think it was a balanced scrimmage, and I'm tying in the Thursday night scrimmage that we had in front of the student body," Babers said. "I thought the defense was absolutely outstanding and almost pitched a shutout in that scrimmage. I think the offense balanced it out a little bit [today]. Overall, I'm happy with the performance."
Quarterback Eric Dungey [9] had a solid day Saturday, completing 27-of-33 passes for 296 yards and seven touchdowns. Zack Mahoney [10], Austin Wilson [11] and Rex Culpepper [12]also threw TD passes for an offense that totaled 764 yards, including 482 yards in the air.
Dungey's preferred receiver was Alvin Cornelius [13], who led the Orange with five catches for 85 yards and three scores. Kenterius Womack [14] and Brisly Estime [15] tied Cornelius for team-high receiving honors with five catches apiece. Womack totaled 82 yards and a touchdown, while Estime finished with 68 yards and two scores.
George Morris [16] led the SU running game with 99 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. In addition to Morris, Moe Neal [17] and Jordan Fredericks [18] also ran for touchdowns. Neal finished with 76 yards on a team-high 15 attempts. Dontae Strickland [19] also had a productive day running the football, logging 84 yards on 12 carries.
Kielan Whitner [20], Rodney Williams [21], Cordell Hudson [22] and Troy Henderson [23] paced the defense with seven tackles each. Whitner recovered a fumble on the first play of the scrimmage.
Defensive tackle Chris Slayton [24] continued his excellent play this spring recording six stops Saturday, including three for a loss, and one sack.
Syracuse will turn its attention to summer conditioning now that Spring ball has finished.
Preseason camp begins in August and the 2016 season gets underway Friday, Sept. 2 at home against Colgate. This year's schedule features six home games, including Atlantic Coast Conference games against Louisville, Virginia Tech, NC State and Florida State.
