By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The defending Ohio Valley Conference champion University of Tennessee at Martin football team put the finishing touches on its spring camp with the program’s annual Blue and White Spring Game at Hardy M. Graham Stadium this afternoon. With Blue Team (first team) paired against the White Team (second team), the White squad came away with a 14-3 victory.
Following a successful spring camp which has focused on development and integration, UT Martin capped off its 15-practice slate with its first Blue and White Spring game since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the altered official spring schedule of 2021.
Players and coaches were supported by a strong contingent at Graham Stadium as approximately 500 fans filled the stands along with prospective athletes and their families in conjunction with Junior Day for the Skyhawk program. All in attendance were graced with a beautiful spring afternoon sitting in the mid-80s while a strong breeze pushed across the gridiron with the sunny forecast.
“It was good competition, the best thing is we got out of it in one piece without any injuries,” reigning OVC Coach of the Year Jason Simpson said. “There are a lot of battles for key positions going on and we have a good situation. Now we kind of know the improvements we made, here are the things we got to work on and we will get ourselves a plan for the summer. It was a good job of playing defense – I even limited some of the things they could do today – so I am pretty proud of them for holding both offenses in check. Now we will self-assess and get ourselves a plan to move forward.”
With a standard game format featuring four 12 minutes quarters, the White Team was the first to break through in the scoring column as Jermaine Cooley stripped a fumble which Oshae Baker returned 37 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Following the scoop and score, the Blue team responded with a seven play drive which resulted with a 44-yard field goal by Tyler Larco to make the contest 7-3 heading into halftime.
Neither team found the endzone in the third quarter, but the third-team offense would set up a scoring drive in the final minutes. With the White squad sitting just outside of the redzone as the quarter switched to the fourth, the team quickly punctuated their scoring drive two plays later on a three-yard connection from quarterback Josh Lundy to receiver Deray Lawrence to put the team up 14-3.
The Blue squad would have two final drives to mount their comeback attempt but a missed 40-yard field goal proved costly late before seeing the game end on a 38-yard reception by Colton Dowell as time expired down at the two yard line.
Scoring Summary
Qtr Scoring Play W-B
2nd WHITE – 37-yard fumble recovery by Oshae Baker 7-0
2nd BLUE – 44-yard field goal by Tyler Larco 7-3
4th WHITE – 3-yard touchdown pass from Josh Lundy to Deray Lawrence 14-3
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information