Offense responds with solid outing in third spring scrimmage

USU senior running back Joey DeMartino (28) scores the last of his three touchdowns on the day, during the Aggies final spring scrimmage before their annual spring game on April 20. DeMartino carried eight times for 47 yards to go along with his three scores. 

<strong>LOGAN–</strong> Utah State’s third scrimmage of spring practice was much like its second as both sides of the football performed well during a roughly 100-play scrimmage to conclude the fourth week of drills here Thursday afternoon on Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium.

Offensive highlights for Utah State included senior running back Joey DeMartino who had eight carries for 47 yards with three touchdowns, while junior running back Joe Hill also had eight carries for 49 yards and one touchdown. Junior quarterback Chuckie Keeton completed 12-of-18 passes for 127 yards with one touchdown and sophomore wide receiver Brandon Swindall caught six passes for 87 yards, while senior wide receiver Dwayne Lorick had five receptions for 100 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown.

Defensively, junior safety Frankie Sutera and sophomore linebacker Alex Marsaw each had eight tackles, while freshman defensive end Ricky Ali’ifua finished with three tackles for loss, including one sack. In all, USU’s defense recorded three sacks on the day to go along with 10 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, and a forced fumble and fumble recovery in the red zone.

Utah State’s defense held the Aggie offense in check early on as it managed only a 24-yard field goal from junior placekicker Nick Diaz during its first three series.

On its fourth series of the scrimmage, the No. 2 offense drove 70 yards in seven plays and scored from eight yards out on a DeMartino run. USU’s No. 1 offense then drove 60 yards in six plays, capped by a 6-yard pass from Keeton to senior wide receiver Travis Reynolds.

The defense regained its momentum during the next five series against the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 offenses, as it didn’t allow any points during that stretch.

Utah State’s No. 1 offense then put together back-to-back touchdown drives in a pair of red zone situations as DeMartino scored from 1-yard out to cap an 8-play, 25-yard drive and Hill scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 4-play, 12-yard drive.

Utah State’s longest play of the day came on a 64-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Jordon Brown to Lorick late in the scrimmage, followed by DeMartino’s third touchdown on an 8-yard run to cap a 6-play, 70-yard drive for the second team offense.

Utah State will practice on Monday and Wednesday next week from 6:15 to 8:15 a.m., before concluding spring drills on Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m. with its annual Blue vs. White Spring Game, presented by Orbit Irrigation Products. Admission to the spring game is free.

All practices are scheduled for Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium unless inclement weather pushes them to the Stan Laub Indoor Football Complex. All practice times and locations are subject to change.

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