Hurricanes Produce Entertaining Scrimmage At CanesFest

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CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The Miami Hurricanes had their final major scrimmage of spring football practice before a crowd of 12,352 fans at the Orange Bowl to make the FOX Sports Net CanesFest a huge success Saturday morning.

The Hurricanes offensive units moved for 342 total yards without a turnover while the defense registered five sacks as Miami’s football team treated fans to an entertaining show on a sun-splashed day at the Orange Bowl stadium. Quarterback Ken Dorsey completed seven of 15 passes for 92 yards and running back Willis McGahee rushed for 74 yards on 13 carries to lead the offense.

Junior defensive end Andrew Williams led the defense with two quarterback sacks while reserve linebacker Ken Dangerfield led all tacklers with seven stops (six solos) on the day.

“It was a productive and fun way to end the final full week of spring practice,” said head coach Larry Coker. “I’d really like to thank the fans for this tremendous turnout. This is a great group of kids who have worked very hard in the offseason and I think it showed today. Our offense really was much more productive and efficient today and I was proud of the way our defense attacked the football.”

Utilizing a scoring system that awarded points for both offense and defense, the offense won the scrimmage by a 25-20 count. But the real measure of progress on Saturday was the offensive production after two scrimmages in which the defense dominated play. Miami quarterbacks combined to pass for 135 yards but the real highlight was the 230-yard rushing output led by McGahee’s 74 yards. Running back Najeh Davenport contributed 69 yards on just 10 carries, including a game-best 41-yard burst, and receiver Ethenic Sands got the day started with a 41-yard catch to get the first possession of the game going.

Tailback Clinton Portis capped the opening possession with a two-yard touchdown run for the game’s only offensive touchdown. The only other touchdown scored came when Kevin Beard scooped up a blocked punt and ran into the end zone for a 10-point play for the defense. Placekicker Todd Sievers also contributed a 29-yard field goal.

Points were awarded accordingly: the offense scored one point for each first down, six for a touchdown and one for an extra point. The defense scored 10 points for a touchdown, three points on a turnover and one point apiece for forcing a punt and for stopping an offensive possession without a first down.

Miami will take Sunday and Monday off before resuming practice Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m at the Greentree Practice Field. Spring practice ends with another 3 p.m. practice Wednesday afternoon. All practices are closed to the public.

For ticket information concerning Hurricanes football, contact the UM Ticket Office at (305) 284-2263 or 1-800-GO-CANES. Ticket information also may also be obtained online at www.hurricanesports.com.