First scrimmage termed 'sloppy' by Idaho coach Akey

MOSCOW - Spring scrimmage No. 1 for the Idaho Vandals wasn't quite what fifth-year head coach Robb Akey was wanting to see but he was quick to acknowledge there were obvious pluses and likely to be more once he has a chance to review it.

"It was a little sloppier than I would like to see," said Akey after the 90-minute session Saturday. "I did see some things on both sides of the ball that were good. I just felt like it wasn't quite what I wanted to see."

The defense definitely had the upper hand in the early going - partly on what it was able to do to menace the offense but partly, too, because of bobbles by the offense. The tide turned once transfer Ryan Bass popped a 60-yard TD run that put on display the new dimension his speed brings to the running game. The running game tallied 148 yards, including 12 yards in sacks and/or tackles for loss.

Dropped passes in the early going translated to a lower-than-anticipated percentage by the quarterbacks with Brian Reader connecting on 6 of 14 for 76 yards and Taylor Davis completing 6 of 12 for 36 yards. Preston Davis led the receivers with three catches for 43 yards with Landon Weaver tallying 31 yards on five catches.

"We didn't catch some balls that were catchable," Akey said. "In regards to consistency, it wasn't good enough offensively today. I wasn't really happy in that respect."

Defensively, Gary Walker had seven total tackles with Michael Cosgrove and Ryan Edwards totaling five each. Andre Ferguson had two sacks and Cosgrove had a couple of quarterback hurries.

"Our defense had a chance to do pretty well and it did," Akey said. "We made some good stops. That was very positive."

In one week, however, Akey expects to see more when the Vandals have their second scrimmage of the spring.

"This is the beginning," Akey said. "What matters is we get better next week. It has to be better than it was today."

The Vandals practice Tuesday and Thursday, then scrimmage again Saturday.

SCORING PLAYS

Kama Bailey 1 run (Trey Farquhar kick)

Ryan Bass 60 run (Farquhar kick)

FG Farquhar 29

FG Farquhar 25

FG Farquhar 30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Bailey 6-18, Bass 4-64, T. Davis 3-(-2), McCarty 10-41, Vital 6-12, B. Davis 4-15, Reader 1-(-10), Meade 2-5, Cunnigham 5-12.

PASSING - Reader 6-14-76, T. Davis 6-12 36, Bushnell 2-2-10.

RECEIVING - Bailey 1-0, P. Davis 3-43, Vital 1-1, Washington 1-1, Hatchett 1-12, Weaver 5-31, Veltung 2-24, Hernandez 1-10.