Vandals continue to progress

MOSCOW - Continued progress is what coach Paul Petrino has been wanting to see all spring, and he saw just that during Monday's two-hour scrimmage at the Kibbie Dome.

Despite 14 scores - albeit some in short yardage situations by the offense - Petrino said he saw a balance in the University of Idaho's third spring scrimmage. Underscoring that were the defense's first two TDs of the spring - interception returns by Dorian Clark and Isaiah Taylor.

"It was about 50-50 today," Petrino said. "There were a lot of plays made - there were some good plays by the defense.

"It's been a really good spring. It's been by far the best we've played since I've been here. We just have to keep getting better."

Sophomore Matt Linehan connected on 58.3 percent of his passes (21 of 36) for 329 yards and three touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Jake Luton was 20 of 44 for 295 yards. Each was intercepted once. Senior Dezmon Epps again was the leading receiver with 14 catches for 273 yards and two scores. Junior Jacob Sannon also eclipsed the 100-yard mark with 143 yards on seven catches.

On the ground, sophomore Aaron Duckworth had 24 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns, while Isaiah Saunders also scored twice and totaled 15 carries for 49 yards.

In addition to the two interceptions, the defensive tallied six pass breakups and eight hurries in addition to one sack and seven tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman linebacker Ed Hall had 13 tackles with grayshirt linebacker Kaden Elliss adding 11 and junior defensive end Kevin Shelton adding 10.

The Vandals practice again Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. with the spring finale Friday at 6.