QBs connect in Ohio State game
The Scarlet beat the Gray, 20-7, before an announced attendance of 76,346.
COLUMBUS (AP) — If spring practices are a springboard to the regular season, then Ohio State’s intrasquad scrimmage Saturday couldn’t have been much more successful.
“It’s a good time to see where everyone stands,” safety Kurt Coleman said. “The sky’s the limit.”
Todd Boeckman and his backups at quarterback, Antonio Henton and Joe Bauserman, each completed a long pass that led to a touchdown as the Scarlet beat the Gray 20-7.
The announced attendance was 76,346, but that appeared to be inflated on a gray and rainy day.
Shortly before the kickoff of the football game, it began to rain and it continued in bursts the rest of the afternoon.
Boeckman said no matter how many were on hand, it was still encouraging.
“The fans are really eager to see what we’ve been working on throughout the whole spring and check out the younger guys and the older guys to see how they’re coming along,” he said after completing 12-of-18 passes for 145 yards. “It’s always nice when you come out here and see some fans screaming for you.”
Boeckman had an up-and-down day, throwing interceptions to Coleman and Ross Homan, but setting up his own 1-yard touchdown plunge for the Scarlet with a 48-yard completion to Brian Hartline. The Scarlet squad also scored on field goals of 48 yards by Aaron Pettrey’s and 24 yards by Mike Mattimoe.
Hartline said the Buckeyes, coming off a 12-1 season that ended with a 38-24 loss to LSU in the BCS title game, had a good spring.
“We made a lot of progress,” said Hartline, who had six catches for 82 yards. “A lot of guys witnessed what it takes to compete at this level. Some young guys got to see how hard it is to come in and play. There’s a lot of experience earned through the spring. That’s how spring practice should be — to get us started going into the fall.”