BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University football team closed out the second week of preseason camp with a scrimmage at Provost Umphrey Stadium Saturday morning. The closed scrimmage began at 8 a.m. and lasted nearly 90 minutes before the coaches wrapped up the workout focusing on the two-minute offense.
Although the depth chart has not been set in stone for the season opener at North Texas, the LU coaching staff got an opportunity to look at the roster in numerous game scenarios.
The offense finished the day with three touchdowns and two field goals, but had an opportunity for more points. The Cardinals turned the ball over inside the five yard line and missed two field goals (misses came from 47 and 48 yards).
“We’ll know more once we take a look at the film from today, but I was pleased with some of the things the offense did,” said LU head coach Mike Schultz. “We’re going to sit down and take a look at the film. There were some mistakes but we will get those corrected. The quarterbacks were not live, but there were some things they did run wise that were decent. We also has some moments where we pushed the ball down the field, but again we want to get in and breakdown the film.
“We had too many penalties and some missed tackles, but that is to be expected in your first scrimmage. Our communication also has to get better on the field,” added Schultz.
The LU quarterbacks completed 14-of-32 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Adam Morse finished the day 5-of-7 (.714) for 136 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Andrew Allen completed 4-of-9 passes for 77 yards a score. Transfer Darrell Colbert was 3-of-7 for 27 yards but also threw an interception.
The offense was slow getting started, but after having four consecutive passes fall incomplete the quarterbacks connected on four of their next six, including a 45-yard touchdown from Allen to tight end Jarod Wood.
The Cardinals’ second scoring strike of the day came from Morse. The Port Neches-Groves product connected with true freshman Myles Wanza for a 65-yard touchdown – the longest of the day. One of two receptions for Wanza, he finished the scrimmage with 71 receiving yards. Wanza also proved himself a threat out of the backfield carrying the ball four times for 30 yards.
In a throwback to their days at PNG, the final touchdown pass came when Morse connected with high school teammate Caisen Sullivan for a 16-yard touchdown near the end of the scrimmage.
The offense also carried the ball 28 times for 232 yards. In addition to Wanza’s performance, transfer quarterback Darrell Colbert proved his ability as a dual threat carrying the ball seven times for 48 yards, while sophomore Kendrick King had six carries for 70 yards.
Despite the offensive highlights, the defense made things tough on the Cardinals’ offense. The defense finished the scrimmage with seven tackles for losses, six sacks, two fumbles – including one inside their own five yard line, two pass deflections and an interception. The Cardinals also blocked a kick on special teams.
Junior Chaston Brooks led the defense with four tackles, while Beaumont freshman Reggie Boseman added three stops and a sack. Boseman was one of six Cardinals to record a sack Saturday morning. Sophomore Daniel Crosley was also credited with three stops.
Junior college transfer Nate Jones recorded the interception. A transfer from Tyler Junior College, Jones finished the day with two tackles and the interception.
On specials teams, the Cardinals converted 2-of-4 field goals. Freshman Elvin Martinez connected on two 37-yard attempts. Senior Manasseh Miles was responsible for the blocked kick.
-LU CARDINALS-
