The University of New Mexico football team wrapped up its second week of spring practice with a spirited scrimmage on Friday afternoon. Junior transfer quarterback Tali Ena connected with sophomore wide receiver Hank Baskett for a 10-yard touchdown with under a minute to play to give the Cherry side a 16-10 victory. The Lobos are midway through their spring training season and have eight more practices remaining, including the annual Cherry-Silver game on Saturday, April 19 at University Stadium.
Junior safety Josh Bazinet gave the Cherry team a 6-0 lead when he returned Casey Kelly’s deflected pass 60 yards for a touchdown on the game’s opening series. The two sides traded blows before Cherry blocked sophomore Tyler Gaus’ punt to set up the winning score.
Sophomore running back DonTrell Moore ripped off a few long runs for the Cherry, while junior transfer D.D. Cox was a workhorse for the Silver team. Cox displayed a solid burst inside and outside, and scored on a five-yard TD to give the Silver a 10-6 lead.
Baskett and senior wideout Rashaun Sanders (Silver) both had deep receptions across the middle, while senior tight end Zach Cresap had a pair of nice catches down the sideline.
Redshirt freshman Kole McKamey saw most of the action for the Silver team, while Ena took all the snaps for the Cherry. Both faced steady pressure from a crew of active defenders. Senior defensive end Daniel Kegler was in on several sacks for the Cherry, while junior transfer safety Joel Paoli applied the heat for the Silver squad. Senior safety Terrell Golden was also in on several plays for the Cherry, while senior nose tackle Guillermo Morrison had one of the hits of the day for the Silver with his wrenching tackle on a scrambling Ena. Meanwhile, Gaus continued a strong spring with several outstanding punts on the afternoon.
“We tried to match up the teams evenly and I thought it was a competitive game,” said head coach Rocky Long. “The difference was the turnovers. Cherry got an interception, a fumble and a punt block, but only won 16-10. I’m glad nobody got hurt and that they competed hard.”
POSITION WATCHCornerback: According to coach Long, the starting cornerback battle is still very much up for grabs. Sophomore Aaron Brack and senior Corey Brown have gotten most of the first team repetitions, though junior Curtis Flakes and sophomore Jerrell Malone have also seen plenty of time. Junior transfer Brandon Payne has also shown flashes as he rounds into shape. The cornerback battle will most likely continue into the fall preseason practice period as Long continues his evaluation.
Middle Linebacker: Senior Daniel Gawronski has been a fixture as the starter in the middle for the first two weeks of practice. Charles Moss’ understudy in 2002, Gawronski has brought tremendous intensity and has been a real physical presence this spring. Junior Chrishone Harris has also displayed solid sideline-to-sideline speed and tackling ability, working with the second unit.
Kicker: Junior Wes Zunker appears to have reclaimed his starting job from sophomore Kenny Byrd. However, both are still alternating reps fairly consistently. Zunker and Byrd each connected on medium range field goals in Friday’s scrimmage. The duo will likely continue their fairly equal competion into the fall preseason practice.
Safety: Junior Josh Bazinet has temporarily replaced senior Brandon Ratcliff as the starting wolf safety opposite senior Terrell Golden. Bazinet has enjoyed a strong spring season, while Ratcliff works to get his legs underneath him.
Defensive Line: Senior defensive end D.J. Renteria has started to work more out of the nose guard position. Fellow senior Guillermo Morrison, the projected starter, has had a solid spring as well. However, Renteria brings surprising speed and agility to the middle, where he has been playing between ends Daniel Kegler and Zach Rupp.
COACHING ROTATION Sixth-year assistant Grady Stretz will coach safeties this season for the first time in his tenure at UNM. Stretz’s rotation into the backfield has allowed first year defensive coordinator Osia Lewis to oversee the defensive linemen.
UNM spring football practices are held every Monday, Tuesday (full pads), Thursday and Friday (full pads) from 3-5 p.m. at the practice fields south of University Stadium. The practices are open to the public.