By Leland Barclay
Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino equally divided the rosters for the annual Red-White football game that ended spring practice in order to create a competitive atmosphere.
That’s exactly what he got, but maybe at the expense of overall execution.
The White team scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the final dress rehearsal of the spring 31-21 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday night.
Of the nine players returning on offense that started at least half of last year’s 13 games on offense, four each were on the two teams with injured quarterback Ryan Mallett sitting out. Of the seven returning starters on defense, five were in the White team.
“It was a fun spring game,” Petrino said. “When you split the teams up, it becomes more fun. The competitive spirit came out of our players all week long. That’s one of the reasons why I did split the teams. I thought we would practice better and compete against each other in practice better.”
A generously announced attendance of 30,000 braved intermittent showers as well as sporadic play by both offenses.
“When you do split the teams, your execution does go down a little bit,” Petrino said. “We certainly did that. We didn’t execute as much as you’d like. It got sloppy a couple of times. We fumbled the ball and had turnovers.”
The defenses forced eight fumbles, recorded 11 sacks and had 14 tackles for lost yardage. That was good to see from a unit that gave up 5,215 yards a year ago.
“I think it was definitely one of the bright spots of the scrimmage,” said defensive end Jake Bequette. “I don’t know how many sacks we had on the Red and White teams, but we had a bunch. We put pressure on the quarterback and disrupted the running game as well.”
The defenses combined to force eight three-and-outs and three lost fumbles, mostly because of the front four on each defense that was dominant at times.
“They get the advantage when you split the offensive front,” Petrino said. “They certainly put pressure on the quarterback and competed real hard.”
Quarterbacks Tyler Wilson, Brandon Mitchell, Jacoby Walker and Nick Petrino combined to complete 25 of 48 passes for 459 yards and three of the game’s seven touchdowns.
“Certainly, we feel like our passing game maybe took a step back as far as our timing and where it was in the fall,” Petrino said. “Maybe some of that is because were emphasizing so much of the run, and we gave so many reps to all four quarterbacks because Ryan’s not out there. We’re definitely going to have to work on our timing and being precise on our cuts and our routes, and the ball being there.”
The two offenses combined for 113 offensive plays for 766 yards, but 41 plays went for no gain or lost yardage. Last year, the Razorbacks averaged 64 offensive plays a game.
“We moved the ball well at times,” Petrino said. “We struggled sometimes to complete passes. Some of that was the pass rush. The pass rush took the quarterbacks out of rhythm early in the game.”
Both defenses recorded three-and-outs to open the game before the White offense drove to the Red’s 12 but turned the ball over on downs. The Red fumbled on its next possession but finally took a 7-0 lead on the sixth offensive series of the game on Mitchell’s 88-yard run. Cameron Bryan booted the extra point.
The White went 70 yards to tie it on Ronnie Wingo’s 1-yard run behind 343-pound Zhamal Thomas. Alex Tejada added the extra point.
Mitchell hooked up with Greg Childs on a 69-yard pass to the 1, and Mitchell scored two plays later on a bootleg around the left side. Bryan’s extra-point put the Red team up 14-7.
The White scored with 23 seconds left before the half on Walker’s 31-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to Wingo. Tejada’s extra-point try was wide left, bringing back memories of last year.
“The missed PAT wasn’t good,” Petrino said. “We’ve got to step in there and knock that through.”
The White took a 21-14 lead on Walker’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Jarius Wright and Walker’s two-point run, but the Red knotted the game on Tyler Wilson’s 44-yard scoring pass to Cobi Hamilton and Bryan’s placement.
“We can do better in the passing game,” Wilson said. “Our goal is 75 to 80 percent completion rates. This spring, we had around 65 to 70 percent completion rates. So, we have to get better there.”
The White won the game in the fourth quarter, scoring on Tejada’s 38-yard field goal and Nick Petrino’s 3-yard run. The White scored on three of its final four drives while the Red scored on just one of its final eight drives.
Wingo led the White team on the ground with 18 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Mitchell had six carries for 71 yards and two scores, and Broderick Green added eight carries for 53 yards for the Red team.
WHITE 31, RED 21
WHITE 0 13 8 10 — 31
RED 7 7 7 0 — 21
First Quarter
RED — Brandon Mitchell 88 yd run (Cameron Bryan kick), 2:25
Second Quarter
WHITE — Ronnie Wingo 1 yd run (Alex Tejada kick), 13:16
RED — Brandon Mitchell 1 yd run (Cameron Bryan kick), 12:01
WHITE — Ronnie Wingo 31 yd pass from Jacoby Walker (Alex Tejada kick failed), :23
Third Quarter
WHITE — Jarius Wright 47 yd pass from Jacoby Walker (Jacoby Walker run), 9:30
RED — Cobi Hamilton 44 yd pass from Tyler Wilson (Cameron Bryan kick), 1:00
Fourth Quarter
WHITE — Alex Tejada 38 yd field goal, 10:27
WHITE — Nick Petrino 3 yd run (Alex Tejada kick), 2:10
