Springing into fall

MOSCOW — Other than a couple of fumbles and an injured running back, Idaho coach Paul Petrino was all smiles after Friday night’s Silver and Gold football game at the Kibbie Dome.

“I think we’re going to be a physical team,” said Petrino, who will be entering his sixth season as Vandals coach. “I’ve thought that every time we came off the field (this spring) after live contact.”

The Gold team, made up mostly of starters, beat the Silver, consisting mostly of backups, 55-16. But because of injuries and whatnot during the spring, some starters saw action with the Silver, and vice versa.

Tyrese Dedmon, a sophomore defensive back, recovered two fumbles in the first half, both by wide receivers after catches. One of them he returned 28 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.

“I wasn’t happy with the fumbles early,” Petrino said. “We’d done a good job all spring taking care of the ball.”

Redshirt sophomore running back Dylan Thigpen showed some nice quickness and speed, until he was shaken up in the second quarter and helped off the field, after running for 52 yards on three carries. Petrino wasn’t sure of the severity of his injury.

That, combined with senior Isaiah Saunders out with an injury, opened things up for more carries for Roshaun Johnson, a redshirt freshman running back. Johnson rushed for 124 yards on 33 carries and scored three touchdowns.

“My workload definitely shot up in the beginning,” Johnson said. “I’m just trying my best to fit into this offense.”

Petrino divvied up the quarterback workload between junior Mason Petrino, sophomore Colton Richardson and freshman Dylan Lemle.

Richardson threw for 256 yards and one touchdown, Petrino passed for 208 yards and two scores (and also ran for two more), and Lemle threw for 120 yards and a TD.

All but one of the TD drives were directed by Petrino and/or Richardson, who quarterbacked the Gold team. On the last half-dozen or so Gold drives, Petrino and Richardson alternated plays, and the offense didn’t seem to miss a beat.

“I’m happy with all three quarterbacks; I think they all got better,” said Paul Petrino, who doesn’t plan to name a starter until fall. “Our goal is, by the end of fall camp, we’ve got to be able to win with all three.”

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Cutrell Haywood made a couple of nice touchdown catches late in the first half, the first one a sprinting grab in the back right corner of the end zone on a 7-yard pass from Petrino.

“I think we’ve got some playmakers,” Paul Petrino said.

Senior two-way player Kaden Elliss impressed with a heavy workload on both sides of the ball. At tight end he caught five passes for 141 yards, including a 72-yard TD from Richardson. But he’ll also be counted on as part of a strong linebacking unit.

“I’ve got to get in a little better shape,” Elliss said with a laugh. “When you’re playing one position you don’t feel like you can impact the game as much, but to be able to impact the game in other ways is exciting.”

Paul Petrino said his task is to figure out how much to use Elliss on offense and defense, though he said he would not use him so much on offense that it hurts the defense.

“He’s unstoppable on both sides of the ball,” Petrino said. “You can’t block him, and you can’t cover him.”

Cade Coffey, the sophomore punter/kicker from Lakeland High, made all of his PATs, but missed a 29-yard field goal try wide left.

Senior David Ungerer caught most of his 13 passes from Petrino, his teammate at Pullman High, for 146 yards and a score.

Notes: A pair of former Post Falls Trojans, redshirt freshmen Nate DeGraw and Bradley Noesen, saw quite a bit of time on the defensive line for the Silver team. Both broke through for tackles on running plays, and Noesen had a “sack” of Petrino to end a Gold drive late in the first quarter … DeGraw was honored at halftime as last year’s defensive scout team player of the year … Kyle Perry, a redshirt freshman from Sandpoint, saw action at linebacker for the Silver … Carlos Collado, a redshirt freshman from Sandpoint, saw some action on the offensive line … The Vandals open their first season as an FCS team since 1995 on Sept. 1 at Fresno State.

SCORING PLAYS

G — Mason Petrino 1 run (Cade Coffey kick)

S — Tyrese Dedmon 30 fumble return (kick failed)

G — Kaden Elliss 72 pass from Colton Richardson (Coffey kick)

G — Roshaun Johnson 1 run (Coffey kick)

G — David Ungerer 18 pass from Petrino (Coffey kick)

G — Cutrell Haywood 7 pass form Petrino (Coffey kick)

S — Haywood 30 pass from Dylan Lemle (no attempt)

G — Johnson 1 run (Coffey kick)

S — Jack Bamis 4 run (Coffey kick)

G — Johnson 6 run (Coffey kick)

G — Petrino 11 run (no attempt)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Roshaun Johnson 33-124, Jack Bamis 22-63, Mason Petrino 5-25, Dylan Thigpen 3-52, Dylan Lemle 9-(minus 16), David Ungerer 1-(minus 1).

PASSING — Mason Petrino 22-28-0-208, Colton Richardson 13-22-0-256, Dylan Lemle 8-14-0-120.

RECEIVING — David Ungerer 13-146, Jeff Cotton 9-105, Cutrell Haywood 8-104, Kaden Elliss 5-141, D.J. Lee 4-87, Harrison Ashby 2-12, Micah Hamilton 1-19, Joe Wysocki 1-4.