TicketsAug. 17, 2006
August 27 is Meet the Team Night
GoBEARCATS.com set for August 24 Launch
WEST HARRISON, Ind. - The University of Cincinnati football team ran approximately 120 plays in its first full scrimmage of the 2006 preseason.
"We tried to make this scrimmage feel as much like a game situation as we could," Head Coach Mark Dantonio commented. "We have some good skilled players, but our offensive linemen were pretty sound with their assignments today. The offensive line has many complex positions. It takes a combination of power and knowledge. We have our older guys playing and younger players are coming into the mix."
Dantonio's squad scrimmaged for more than two hours at Higher Ground Conference Center with many individuals auditioning for positions. The scrimmage was the first opportunity for evaluation since spring practice. Dantonio added, "It's hard to make statements on the field immediately after a scrimmage. The goal was to make sure everybody got repetitions, so our staff can evaluate the film and grade our performances."
Dustin Grutza completed 9-of-14 pass attempts for 156 yards. The sophomore signal caller threw two touchdown passes and three interceptions. Senior Nick Davila was good on 12-of-18 passes for 161 yards through the air. Tony Pike completed 5-of-11 attempts for 39 yards.
Butler Benton paced the Bearcats on the ground with 12 carries for 50 yards. Fellow junior Greg Moore rushed the football 12 times for 48 yards. Freshman John Goebel tallied five rushing attempts for 40 yards. Senior tight end Brent Celek snagged three passes for 44 yards, including two for touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Earnest Jackson caught three passes for 80 yards. Freshman wideout Jamar Howard made three catches for 41 yards.
Sophomore strong safety Cedric Tolbert led the Red and Black defense with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Delbert Ferguson collected seven tackles and forced a fumble. Brad Jones registered six stops while Haruki Nakamura collected five tackles and an interception.
The Bearcats return to the FieldTurf at Higher Ground for a pair of practices on Friday.