Purdue football played its first game of the spring under head coach Ryan Walters on Saturday afternoon, with Team Hammer Down defeating Team Boiler Up 17-13 at Ross-Ade Stadium.
The first-team offense got off to a hot start to start the game, as Hudson Card found Jaron Tibbs for a 13-yard gain, moving the starters near midfield. After two fumbles, the Cards connected with a wide-open Andrew Sowinski and scored a 58-yard touchdown on a break in coverage to take the lead and give the Boilers a 7-0 advantage.
Marcos Davila led the second-team offense down the field on the first possession, but was stopped by Yanni Karlaftis penetrating into the backfield twice, one of which led to a sack of the junior linebacker. Team Hammer Down would be forced to punt.
After exchanging turnovers on downs (and an NCAA average 43-yard punt), the boiler-up offense took over at its own 48-yard line and put together another scoring drive. The Cards started things off by acquiring Jayden Dixon-Veal for a 17-yard gain. After Kidran Jenkins forced a team sack on the next play, the Cards gained 11 yards on the ground, putting Purdue back in field goal range.
Ben Freehill made the first of three field goals in the first half, sinking a 45-yarder to give Team Boiler Upload a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
After both teams exchanged punts again, the first-team offense came back strong. The Cards led a nine-play drive inside the red zone on Hammerdown, with connections between Max Clair and Jaron Tibbs. This led to Freehill's second field goal of the day, a 30-yard connection that gave the Boilers a 13-0 lead.
The second-team offense then had its first success on the next drive, when Marcos Davila found fellow freshman Tramar Harris for a 51-yard strike that moved the Boilermakers to the other side of the field. However, that drive stalled as Freehill switched teams and made another 30-yard field goal. This left Team Hammer Down with a 13-3 deficit.
Hudson Card threw for 160 yards in the first half and the aforementioned 58-yard touchdown. Ryan Walters was good enough as the Boilermakers' starting QB played just one series in the second half before being called off.
After a strong offense in the first half, the defense started to settle down in the third quarter. All but one possession resulted in a fake punt, the only exception being a pick-six by Will Helt in the third quarter. The sophomore rush end, who started on defense for the first team, dropped into coverage and intercepted Marcos Davila's attempt, leading to a score for Team Hammer Down.
Ryan Braun suffered a similar fate early in the fourth quarter, taking down Ben Flutney near midfield, and sophomore cornerback Derrick Rogers Jr. was there to pick up yet another interception on defense.
The game ended with a short touchdown pass from Jake Wilson to Ryne Shekelford from the 6-yard line on fourth down, giving Team Hammer Down a 17-13 victory.
