POCATELLO, Idaho- As
Mike Kramer stood on the sidelines of the first fall scrimmage for his Bengal football team he found himself in awe that for the first time since being named head coach he was able to put first, second and third string units on the field for the offense and defense.
“This was a great start,” Kramer said. “It was a good early season scrimmage. It was wonderment to me to see three sets of offense and defense out there. That is the first time I have been able to say that since I have been here. We are building the program with the numbers we need.”
The defense played well all throughout the scrimmage as the secondary picked off
Kevin Yost and
Justin Arias four times.
Jon Davidson had two interceptions, one that was run back 30 yards for a touchdown while
Anthony Boyles picked off Yost on the first series of the scrimmage and
Phil Pleasant had another interception.
“The secondary was pretty savvy tonight,” Kramer said. “I was excited with the way the defense played.”
One of the highlights offensively came when freshman running back
Xavier Finney scored two of the three touchdowns by the offense in the scrimmage.
He took a shovel pass from Arias and sprinted cross field 30 yards into the end zone and he scored on a six-yard touchdown run after Aria hit
Marcus Reaves on a 29-yard pass.
“He had an exceptional night,” Kramer said. “He was good with the ball in his hands. Everybody got to play a lot of football tonight so this was good.”
Hayden Stout tallied a two-yard touchdown run while
Brendon Garcia converted on field goals of 21, 30 and 27.
Erich Pew kicked a 41 yard field goal.
Idaho State has one final scrimmage on August 22 at 2:35 p.m.
The Bengals open the season September 1 at Air Force. Tickets can be purchased through the Idaho State ticket office by calling 208-282-FANS. ISU plays its home opener on September 8 at 4 p.m. vs. Black Hills State.
