Offenses start slow but eventually catch fire

Kentucky’s annual Spring Game started slow for the Blue team—which consisted of the first team offense and defense—but they got things going in the second quarter to cruise to a 31-20 win over the white team.

Drew Barker started the game for the Blue team and only played in the first half, but he finished the game twelve of eighteen for 156 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

The Blue team got a field goal from Austin MacGinnis with 11:57 left in the first half, but the first touchdown of the game came just two minutes later. Barker placed a perfect pass on a rope to senior wide receiver Ryan Timmons for a 64 yard touchdown pass to make it a 10-0 game.

The White team responded on the next possession with a 13 play, 75 yard drive that ended with a five yard touchdown rush from sophomore Sihiem King. White team starter Stephen Johnson was able to keep the drive alive with his feet as he rushed for 46 yards on the drive.

After a punt from the Blue team, the White team drove back down the field and scored on a one yard rush from Ditalian Tobler with 1:57 left.

Barker then executed the two minute drill to perfection, going six of eight for 64 yards and he found tight end C.J. Conrad in the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown strike. It was Barker’s last throw of the game, and he zipped it through three defenders as Conrad held on while taking a shot.

Johnson moved over to the Blue team in the second half to play quarterback, and after fumbling on a snap on his first possession, he found Jeff Badet on a screen and the junior wide receiver did the rest. He made one cut and ran about 60 yards before juking cornerback J.D. Harmon out and completed the 85 yard touchdown.

The backups played the majority of the game after that. Quarterback Davis Mattingly scored the last touchdown of the game for the White team on a three yard rush with 35 seconds left, ending the game at 31-20.

Notes:

-Sophomore Denzil Ware was a dominating force for the first team defense. He finished the game with 15 tackles and four sacks.

You can follow Cats Illustrated reporter Derek Terry on Twitter @DTerryRivals.