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Friday, March 29, 2002
FIU Football ends first
week of spring practice with 37-play scrimmage
 ashod
Smith (Miami Northwestern) rushed for 61 yards on 11 carries
and a touchdown and Harold Leath caught three passes for
41 yards and a score in a 37-play FIU Football controlled scrimmage
Friday afternoon at Community Stadium on University Park.
After the offense was stopped on their first two possessions
by an interception and a punt, the running game got on track
with two big plays leading to a touchdown. On a third-and-five
from the 49-yard line, Jerrid Lundstedt (Homestead South
Dade) broke through for a scrimmage-long 39-yard run down to
the 10.
On the very next play, the 5-feet-7 Smith broke several tackles
then carried defenders into the end zone for the first offensive
score of the afternoon.
The offense put up its second score on the last play of the
scrimmage when quarterback David Tabor (Kissimmee Poinciana)
found Leath, a transfer from West Virginia University, at the
back of the end zone for a 15-yard hookup on a fourth-and-five
situation.
"I was impressed with Rashod this afternoon and Jerrid
did a good job at both running back in the single back formation,
and at fullback," said head coach Don Strock.
"For the first week, I can't tell you how pleased I am
with this group. Today they came out and got after one another.
It was a good effort and they've had a great attitude all week.
"Sure we had a some breakdowns this afternoon. We ran
some plays that we didn't have in the fall. A couple of them
looked pretty good, and a couple we'll probably throw away in
the trashcan. But that's what this time of year is for, to see
if we can do it or not."
Overall, the FIU offense accumulated 170 yards (averaging
5.0 yards per play), rushed for 105 yards (5.3 average) and threw
for 65 yards. The Golden Panthers defense had its share of big
plays as well with three sacks, six tackles for losses and two
interceptions.
Defensive back Nick Turnbull (Miramar Flanagan) led
the defense with four tackles, several more breakups and an interception.
Friday's scrimmage concluded the first week of FIU Spring
Football practice. The team takes a two-day Easter break before
returning to the practice field Monday at 3:30 p.m. Spring practice
concludes on Saturday, April 13 with the Blue/Gold Scrimmage
at 1:00 p.m. |