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The Eastern Michigan Eagles punched in their clocks and went to work at The Factory on Saturday morning, participating in the annual Spring Game, which pitted the offense (Green) against the defense (White).
Brogan Roback and Antoine Porter connected on the game’s only touchdown, while Breck Turner led all rushers with 11 carries and 45 yards in Green’s 29-24 victory over White. Stars on the defensive side of the ball included Jaylen Pickett (nine-yard sack), Dion Dawson (tackle for loss) and Clay Holford (recovered fumble).
Paul Fricano also scored three field goals on the day, including one from 48 yards out to push Green’s lead to 25-15.
With the spring game pitting the two sides of the ball against each other, a different sort of scoring system was used. The offense could score in four different ways: on first downs (1 point), on field goals (3), touchdowns (6) and point after attempts (1).
On defense, the defense could earn points in five different ways: a stop on downs (2 points), a turnover (5), a defensive touchdown (11), a point after attempt (1) and a fourth down stop (3).
Fricano opened up Green’s scoring account to give Green the 7-4 lead early after a drive that saw Green get into the White red zone. A couple possessions later, Holdford added 5 more points with a turnover to tie the game at 11 all, stopping Green’s progress on the field.
After Green got the ball back, White stopped all ofensive progress, forcing an out on downs to take its first lead of the game, 13-11. An 11-yard first-down run by Banham and a subsequent march to the redzone that ended in a Roback-to-Porter touchdown gave Green the lead once again 22-15.
Fricano tacked on a field goal on another drive for Green, pushing the lead to 28-22 after a few stop on downs by White, but Green was ultimately able to stave off the comeback to win by a final score of 29-24.
In last year’s matchup, White won the day by a final score of 28-20 over Green.
What that means, we don’t know. But football is back and that’s what really matters.
Here’s what coach Chris Creighton had to say after the game: