BEAUMONT, Texas — Junior transfer Nick Yockey completed 18-of-23 (.783) passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman Damashja Harris carried the ball six times for 135 yards (22.5 ypc) and one score as the offense had a much stronger effort Saturday night at Provost Umphrey Stadium.
Harris broke off four runs of at least 18 yards, including a 40-yarder and a 54-yard scamper (the 54-yard run went for the touchdown), and he was one of 16 Cardinals who carried the ball Saturday. All told, Big Red finished the night with 61 carries for 466 yards and three touchdowns. LU’s backs produced 15 rushes of at least 10 yards during the scrimmage.
Yockey was one of six quarterbacks that took the field during the scrimmage. As a team, the Cards finished the night completing 33-of-56 (.589) for 426 yards and four touchdowns. In addition to Yockey’s two scoring strikes, UTEP transfer Jakolby Longino also threw two touchdown passes. He finished the scrimmage completing 9-of-15 passes for 163 yards.
“Obviously, we had a lot of guys coming in and out but until we watch the tape it’s going to be hard to determine how we played,” said LU head coach Blane Morgan. “The one thing that was clear tonight is that we’re not in game shape yet. We’ve got eight practices remaining and we need to take advantage of those remaining workouts – that was the message to the team tonight.
“We didn’t have any turnovers, so that is a positive note for the offense, but our defense has to get the ball out and turn them over. We still have to kick off some of the rust – getting plays, getting lined up quicker, and things like that, so we still have work to do getting ready for the season opener,” added Morgan.
After struggling to start the first scrimmage – with several three-and-outs to start – Big Red’s signal callers came out on fire converting five of their first eight attempts and never looked back.
Three different receivers caught touchdown passes led by two from Devyn Gibbs (22 and 37 yards). The scoring strikes were hauled in by Nederland freshman Kyndon Fuselier and Nathan Gaskamp. Fuselier ended the night with four catches for 76 yards, while Gibbs added three catches for 66 yards to go along with the two scores.
Blake Gotcher led the defensive effort with a team-high 11 tackles and one quarterback hurry. Vencent Rockwell added eight tackles, including one for a loss, and a hurry and Canden Grogan added seven stops to go along with a quarterback hurry.
Classes begin for students on Monday as the Cardinals will now transition into game week prep as they turn their focus to the season opener at Abilene Christian. The first game of the season will kick off at 7 p.m. in Abilene.