PROVO -- A handful of BYU's top players sat out of BYU's Blue- White football game Saturday afternoon at Cougar Stadium as a precautionary measure.
The Blue team sure could have used 'em.Quarterback Kevin Feterik, running back Junior Mahe, linebacker Rob Morris and defensive lineman Byron Frisch watched helplessly from the sidelines as the White squad shut out the Blue, 28-0, marking the end of spring practices.
Even though the final score of the exhibition contest was lopsided, BYU is happy about the momentum it built up heading into the 1999 season.
"I feel good about the spring we've had and the progress we've made," said coach LaVell Edwards.
"It's exciting just to be playing football at BYU again," said receiver Ben Horton, who caught four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.
The outcome of the game doesn't really matter, right? "The teams were divided pretty evenly," Horton said. "We just got some good breaks. But, yeah, I'm glad I was on the winning side."
"We went out and had fun, that's the main thing," said White quarterback Charlie Peterson, who completed 13 of 24 passes for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Peterson was one of four quarterbacks to see action and, as expected, they operated almost exclusively out of the shotgun formation. Combined, the quartet heaved 66 passes -- perhaps a signal of what's to come next fall.
"The passing game is definitely going to be our weapon next year and we're going to put a lot of points on the board," Horton said.
For the Blue offense, though, putting points on the board proved to be a fruitless task. Of course, that had something to do with BYU's inexperience on the offensive line as well as the stingy Cougar defense.
Blue quarterback Brandon Doman is perhaps black-and-blue today after taking quite a beating, getting sacked four times in the first half. Doman also ripped off two long runs, for 18 and 31 yards, respectively, and connected on 9 of 20 passes for 112 yards and an interception.
After a scoreless first quarter, the White notched its first touchdown early in the second quarter on a four-yard scamper by running back Paul Peterson. Sparking the drive was a 39-yard reception by running back Mike Nielsen and kicker Owen Pochman uncharacteristically missed the extra point.
Charlie Peterson guided his team to the end zone again moments later when he hit tight end Tevita Ofahengaue for a 13-yard TD. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the White led 12-0.
Following two sacks of Doman, the White mounted a seven-play drive, highlighted by a 47-yard catch by Horton, that gave Pochman a 31-yard field goal attempt. The kick was blocked by cornerback Rob Warcup, thanks in part to a muffed hold, but what followed was a scene that could only be witnessed in a Blue-White game.
Edwards stomped onto the field and granted the kicking team a do-over. Given a second try, with the coach standing just a few yards away, Pochman split the uprights and the first half concluded with the White ahead 15-0.
Coaches switched quarterbacks to start the second half and redshirt freshman Kevin Gilbride's first series was thwarted by cornerback Doug Henstrom's second interception of the game (he picked off Doman in the second quarter).
In true freshman Bret Engemann's first possession, he led his team on a 61-yard, 11-play drive that culminated with a 19-yard scoring strike to Horton. On the day, Engemann completed 9 of 15 passes for 105 yards while Gilbride was 3 of 7 for 31 yards.
Both Peterson and Doman returned in the fourth quarter and on the final play of the game, Peterson threw a touchdown pass to receiver David Steele to put an exclamation point on the resounding 28-0 victory.
One of the wrinkles revealed during the game was cornerback Brian Gray lining up as a receiver. Gray said offensive coordinator Norm Chow will use him as a decoy on pass plays and fake reverses in 1999. Gray, who played receiver in high school, almost had a touchdown catch on a fade pattern in the end zone.
"I've been talking to Coach Chow for a while about letting me play some offense," said Gray, who is on the academic bubble and may not be back next season. "We had fun today."
Prior to the game, Edwards talked about how much he's looking forward to the 1999 season. "I'm a lot more excited now than I will be in November when we go to Laramie (to play Wyoming)," he said.