Chalich passes for 299 yards in Vandal scrimmage
MOSCOW - Paul Petrino had reason to be happy Saturday afternoon in the wake of a spirited, productive scrimmage for the University of Idaho football team. But, he is quick to note, happiness to a football coach is a relative thing.
"I never feel like I'm really happy during practice," he said. "When I go in and watch tape, it's always a little better.
"No matter what, we're getting tougher. It was good to see some big plays made on both sides of the ball."
What he'll see on tape this time is something he saw all morning - hard hitting, particularly by junior transfer running back Kris Olugbode. Not only did Olugbode cover 108 yards and score four touchdowns on 22 carries, he made his presence known with collisions that reverberated over the standard noise of a football practice.
"He made some great runs," said Petrino noting Olugbode's fellow transfer at running back, Jerrel Brown, also made his presence known with 54 yards and two TDs on 20 carries. "I love that (hard-hitting mentality). It's great to see and it inspires everyone else."
The battle at quarterback continues with redshirt freshman Chad Chalich, the former Coeur d'Alene High standout connecting on 21 of 32 passes (65.6 percent) for 299 yards and two touchdowns, and senior Taylor Davis good on 15 of 25 (60 percent) for 186 yards and one TD. Two receivers - Jahrie Level and Marquan Major, tallied 89 yards worth of passes each with Level pulling in 12 and Major six. Roman Runner had eight catches for 78 yards.
Deon Watson, a redshirt freshman wide receiver from Coeur d'Alene High, caught two passes for 20 yards.
Not to be outdone, the defense had three interceptions - one each by junior college transfer Juan Martinez, junior safety Tom Hennessey and redshirt freshman Russell Siavii. Junior defensive end Jesse Davis accounted for four quarterback hurries while linebacker Marc Millan, a junior college transfer, had 11 tackles from his linebacker position.
"There were some great efforts out there," Petrino said. "There was some good hitting going on.
"It was a fun day; good to get out here."
SCORING
Olugbode 1 run
Olugbode 5 run
Olugbode 1 run
Brown 3 run
Martinez 59 interception return
Level 2 catch
Chalich 1 run
Manley 6 catch
Runner 22 catch
Brown 7 run
Williams 1 run
Olugbode 8 run
RUSHING - Olugbode 22-108, Brown 20-54, Chalich 7-2, DeCoud 8-34, Davis 3-6, Williams 2-5.
PASSING - Chalich 21-32-0-299, Davis 15-25-0-186, DeCoud 7-11-3-47.
RECEIVING - Level 12-89, Major 6-89, Runner 8-78, Lovett 3-73, Olugbode 4-62, LaGrone 3-61, Trotter 1-32, Watson 2-20, Homme 1-17, Manley 1-6, Brown 2-5.