The UNM football team's final spring practice finished in stirring fashion, with the Cherry-Silver scrimmage coming down to a last-minute field goal.
In contrast to last year's 35-7 Cherry win, this year's game highlighted a balanced mix from both squads. Silver won 24-21.
Head coach Mike Locksley's no-huddle offense put on a show.
"I wanted a really competitive scrimmage," Locksley said. "When it comes down to a field goal at the end and both sides of the ball trying to get the ball back - we got the competition we wanted."
Locksley said the scrimmage was no more important than any one of the team's 14 practices so far.
With the score tied at 21 late in the fourth quarter, swing quarterback Tate Smith, who took reps with the Cherry and Silver squads, completed a 35-yard pass to Daryl Jones, which set up a 32-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Zach Zamora.
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Zamora's game-winning kick made up for a muffed extra point early in the game. Silver had to go for a two-point conversion, which it converted, to tie the game.
"I was happy to see our backup kicker come in and knock one down for the Silver team," Locksley said.
The Silver team was led by Smith, B.R. Holbrook and Emmanuel Yeager at the quarterback position. They were a combined 17-for-33 for 263 yards. Smith, who went 8-for-17 for 152 yards, led three of the four Silver scoring drives and completed the only touchdown pass for his team.
"I think right now where we stand is really well," Smith said. "Our offense is high-powered, and people saw that today."
The first of four scoring drives came with 9:39 left in the first quarter on a 7-yard handoff to James Wright. The extra point dinked off the goal post and was no good.
It took about 10 minutes for Cherry to score its first points. After a dry first quarter that saw a series of three-and-outs under Cherry quarterback Brad Gruner, Donovan Porterie helped Cherry score its first touchdown, making it 7-6.
"This offense is built for a lot of playmakers to touch the ball, and my job is to find out what the D is going to give me and get (my players) the ball," Porterie said.
Porterie went 15-for-24 for 125 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He was also sacked six times, but he doesn't attribute that to his knee injury.
"I really don't make excuses about it any more," Porterie said. "I'm a competitor, so when I touch the field, I'm a warrior. If I am nervous, then the rest of my team is nervous, and I can't do that."
The teams split touchdown drives midway through the second quarter. Holbrook scored on a 4-yard sneak, diving headfirst to the goal line for a Silver touchdown. Cherry battled back with 5:22 left in the half compliments of a 16-yard pass from Porterie to Roland Bruno, who led Cherry in receptions with five for 72 yards. The score gave Cherry a 14-13 lead.
But with less than a minute left, Silver squeezed in one more touchdown in the half. Smith aired out a 38-yard floater down the left
sideline for Quintell Solomon, who beat his defender on a fly and snagged it in the end zone, making it 21-14
Silver. Solomon finished with four receptions for 89 yards.
The second quarter was packed with scoring, bringing in 28 of the combined 45 points. The nature of the clock allowed for this. The first half was standard NCAA time. In the second half there was a running clock, which made for a less eventful 30 minutes, with a single touchdown coming early.
Gruner led Cherry on the opening series of the second half with a 65-yard drive. A 48-yard Gruner pass to Bruno pushed the team close to the opponents' red zone.
But on an option keeper, Gruner, whose mainstay is the scrambling, went headfirst into a Silver defender, leaving him stunned on the turf. He was helped off the field and ended his day on that note.
Locksley said it was nothing serious.
"He took a shot," he said. "He had an opportunity to probably pitch the ball. I think that some great learning can come out of that. He was knocked out on his feet. Obviously, he had a chance to pitch the ball, and I thought he probably should have. That is the nature of the beast when they are live."
Porterie didn't miss a beat. Filling in for Gruner, he completed a five-yard pass to Lucas Reed, tying the game at 21 with 12 minutes left in the game.
Cherry had a few chances to take control of the lead late in the game but couldn't capitalize. Porterie marched his team into field goal range twice in the fourth quarter, but veteran kicker James Aho pushed two almost-identical 42- and 43-yard field goals left.
