Georgia Tech football concludes practices with spring game

Release from Georgia Tech Athletics:

Behind a game-high 77 yards from junior B-Back Marcus Allen, the White team shut out the Gold squad 21-0 in front of a rain-soaked crowd of 4,000 at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Friday night’s Spring Game capped off Georgia Tech’s spring practice.

Quarterback Justin Thomas saw action in just three series under center for White, completing his only pass for 21 yards. Thomas added seven yards on four rushes. A-Back Dennis Andrews added 37 yards on three rushes, including a 23-yard touchdown run. Isiah Willis also rushed for 27 yards on three carries.

Allen added a 1-yard rushing touchdown for White, while Micheal Summers caught an 11-yard pass from Tim Byerly for White’s third and final score.

“You know, it was a typical spring game – at least we got it in and the weather cooperated,” head coach Paul Johnson said. “Nobody got hurt that I know of – or at least seriously – which is what you hope for.

“I was proud of Marcus Allen. I thought he played hard, did some good things, and made some plays. So (it was a) good (night) for Marcus.”

White jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Allen’s run, capping off a 12-play, 82-yard drive. They would tack on two more scores in the second quarter to take a 21-0 lead into the five-minute halftime period.

A continuous clock was used in the second half. Gold held the White team out of the end zone, while also forcing one turnover. White evened the turnover battle with a Shaun Kagawa interception.

For the White team, B-Back Brady Swilling led with 20 yards on seven rushes; quarterback Matthew Jordan added 19 yards on the ground.

“In the first half, the first-team offense looked pretty good, and second-team defense looked pretty good. In the second half, we tried to throw the ball around, run the clock some and the defense played a little better.”

Defensively, 2014 Freshman All-American KeShun Freeman had six tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. Demond Smith also added six stops for the Gold team. Jabari Hunt-Days tallied two tackles for loss, while Francis Kallon recorded five tackles and two sacks.

RUSHING LEADERS

GOLD – Brady Swilling 7-20, Matthew Jordan 17-19, Qua Searcy 6-8, Brandon Oliver 1-8.

WHITE – Marcus Allen 14-77, Dennis Andrews 3-37, Isiah Willis 3-27, Justin Thomas 4-7.

PASSING LEADERS

GOLD – Matthew Jordan 2-5-0-8, Chase Martenson 0-1-1-0.

WHITE – Tim Byerly 3-11-0-46 1 TD, Justin Thomas 1-1-0-21.

RECEIVING LEADERS

GOLD – Bennett Barton 2-8.

WHITE – Marcus Allen 2-42, Ricky Jeune 2-35, Micheal Summers 1-11.

PUNTING

GOLD – Grant Aasen 6-40.3 (Long 42)

WHITE – Ryan Rodwell 4-38.0 (Long 47)

TACKLES

GOLD – KeShun Freeman 6, Demond Smith 6, Lance Austin 3, Tyler Merriweather 3, Chase Alford 3, Anthony Harrell 3, Jabari Hunt-Days 3.

WHITE – Tre Jackson 5, Francis Kallon 4, Shaun Kagawa 3, Jalen Johnson 3, Kenderius Whitehead 3, Lawrence Austin 3, Antonio Simmons 3.

SACKS

GOLD – KeShun Freeman 2, Kenderius Whitehead 1, Francis Kallon 1.

WHITE – Francis Kallon 1, Zach Matthews 1, Mitch Williams 1.

TACKLES FOR LOSS

GOLD – KeShun Freeman 3-26, Jabari Hunt-Days 2-4, Francis Kallon 1-17, Kenderius Whitehead 1-4, Chase Alford 1-1, Patrick Gamble 1-1.

WHITE – Lawrence Austin 2-7, Jalen Johnson 1-7, Kyle Cerge-Henderson 1-7, Terrell Lewis 1-5, Francis Kallon 1-4, Zach Matthews 1-4, Kyle Cerge-Henderson 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS

WHITE – Shaun Kagawa 1.