Soccer | April 20, 2024
Los Angeles – The Trojans' defense recorded four interceptions in USC's spring game, sealing a 43-28 victory over the offense. lincoln rileyThe third spring football game will be played at USC on Saturday (April 20).
“It was a fun day and there was a lot of great competition,” Riley said. “Defensively, I think we saw some flashes of what we've seen on the practice field. The defense did a great job of creating turnovers, and that was probably the story of the day. The defense turned into the offense. We made them pay for their mistakes.'' There's a lot of really good individual play on both sides of the ball that we're really looking forward to…I would say we're evenly growing across the board right now. I think today's match was a bit of an expression of that. ”
The game's scoring system allowed the Trojans' defense to start with a 24-0 lead and add three points on turnovers, fourth-down stops, and missed field goals, and seven points on defensive touchdowns and safeties. Ta. The attack was scored as a regular game.
All three Trojan quarterbacks were redshirt juniors in the scrimmage, which was broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. mirror moss Redshirt sophomore completed 16 of 21 for 133 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. Jaden Maiava 15 of 17, 172 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, redshirt junior jake jensen He completed 6/8 for 91 yards and gained 1 INT.
2nd year WR Makai Lemon As a rookie running back, he led the offense with six receptions for 52 yards and one TD. brian jackson He had a team-high 10 carries for 13 yards and 1 TD.
Defensive freshman LB Elijah Newby And a redshirt freshman CB Maliki Crawford Each recorded a team-high five tackles, and redshirt freshman DL dijon lafitte Recorded 1 sack. Senior LB Rajon Davis A forced fumble and one redshirt senior cornerback were counted. DeCarlos Nicholson2nd year student S christian pierce And redshirt senior CB jacob covington Each had 1 PBU.
The defense quickly picked up points with three interceptions by cornerbacks Nicholson, Crawford and the freshman. marcells williams. The Trojan defense led 33-0 in the first half.
Despite the successful interception, Riley's confidence in the quarterback room remained shaky. If anything, he showed defensive development.
“A good defense makes it difficult for the offense. A good defense preys on the offense's mistakes, and they did that,” Riley said. “If you think about the four interceptions, three of them weren't terrible calls to be honest. There were some bad throws, there were some just competitive plays, but that's what happens. is”
The offense reached the end zone with two minutes left and WR Lemon scored on a 17-yard pass from Maiava.
Freshman RB brian jackson He scored on a 4-yard run to end the first half. The defense entered halftime with a 33-14 lead.
Second half, red shirt junior CB prophet brown He intercepted a deflected pass from Moss and ran 100 yards back to the end zone.
“I think it's the last time a running back ran that far since high school,” Brown said with a smile after the game.
On offense, Jackson scored again off a 3-yard pass from Moss.
Junior DE garrett pomerantz Jackson's fumble was recovered and the defense scored three more points.
Redshirt freshman RB Amarion Peterson The day ended with a 6-yard TD run, giving the offense its final score.
The spring game concludes USC's 15 spring ball practices, and Riley said he is pleased with the team's progress.
“I think what I’m most excited about is the atmosphere on this team,” Riley said. “I really like the team. I really like coaching the team. I liked the way they interacted with each other. I liked the way they competed against each other. I really like the way they compete with each other. I think the future and everything will happen.''Whether I can say I'm positive remains to be determined, but it feels different.''
