Offense Shines at Spring Scrimmage

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange football team wrapped up spring ball Saturday, April 2 with its annual spring scrimmage at the Carrier Dome. Head coach Dino Babers unveiled his up-tempo spread offense to the public for the first time and the 4,037 fans in attendance did not leave disappointed. The Orange ran more than 150 plays and scored 13 touchdowns, including 10 through the air.

The scrimmage lasted approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes and featured the offense squaring off against the defense with drives starting at either the 20-yard line or the 40-yard line. Syracuse also did several periods of red-zone work.

"I think it was a balanced scrimmage, and I'm tying in the Thursday night scrimmage that we had in front of the student body," Babers said. "I thought the defense was absolutely outstanding and almost pitched a shutout in that scrimmage. I think the offense balanced it out a little bit [today]. Overall, I'm happy with the performance."

Quarterback Eric Dungey had a stellar day Saturday, completing 27-of-33 passes for 296 yards and seven touchdowns. Zack Mahoney, Austin Wilson and Rex Culpepper also threw TD passes for an offense that racked up 764 total yards, including 482 yards through the air.

Dungey's favorite target was Alvin Cornelius, who led the Orange with five catches for 85 yards and three scores. Kenterius Womack and Brisly Estime tied Cornelius for team-high receiving honors with five catches apiece. Womack totaled 82 yards and a touchdown, while Estime finished with 68 yards and two scores.

George Morris led the SU ground attack with 99 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. In addition to Morris, Moe Neal and Jordan Fredericks also ran for scores. Neal finished with 76 yards on a team-high 15 attempts. Dontae Strickland also had a productive day running the football, logging 84 yards on 12 carries.

Kielan Whitner, Rodney Williams, Cordell Hudson and Troy Henderson paced the defense with seven tackles each. Whitner also recovered a fumble on the first play of the scrimmage.

Chris Slayton continued his excellent play this spring. The defensive tackle recorded six stops Saturday, including three for a loss, and one sack.

Now that spring practice has concluded, Syracuse will turn its attention to summer conditioning.

The team reports to preseason camp in August and the 2016 season gets underway Friday, Sept. 2 at home against Colgate. This year's schedule features six home dates, including Atlantic Coast Conference games against Louisville, Virginia Tech, NC State and Florida State.

Season tickets are on sale now online, by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). Tickets start at $99 ($16.50 per game) with lower-level seats in the end zones available for as little as $125.

SPRING SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
PASSING (Cmp-Att-INT Yds)
E. Dungey 27-33-1 296 7TD, Z. Mahoney 9-14-0 113 TD, A. Wilson 3-8-0 38 TD, R. Culpepper 3-5-0 35 TD, B. Estime 0-1-0

RUSHING (Att-Yds)
G. Morris 11-99 TD, D. Strickland 12-84, M. Neal 15-76 TD, J. Fredericks 9-33 TD, Z. Mahoney 4-(-3), E. Dungey 11-(-7), R. Culpepper 1-0

RECEIVING (Rec-Yds)
A. Cornelius 5-85 3TD, K. Womack 5-82 TD, B. Estime 5-68 2TD, S. Ishmael 4-55 TD, E. Philips 5-43, T. Perkins 3-41, J. Custis 3-10 TD, J. Fredericks 2-21, D. Strickland 3-18, K. Moore 2-18 TD, C. MacPherson 1-18 TD, J. Parris 2-18, J. Hill 1-4, C. Austin 1-1

TACKLES (UA-A-T)
K. Ruff 4-1-5, J. Thomas 1-3-4, K. Whitner 5-2-7, K. Samuels 1-0-1, R. Williams 5-2-7, C. Scissum 3-3-6, C. Hudson 2-5-7, T. Henderson 2-5-7, W. Morgan 3-0-3, T. Taylor 5-0-5, S. Cullen 1-4-5, A. Cordy 0-1-1, K. Kleinberg 1-4-5, M. Hodge 0-5-5, E. Anthony 3-1-4, P. Bennett 2-1-3, J. Pickard 2-0-2, H. Laguerre 1-1-2, A. Perry 1-0-1, C. Winfield 2-0-2, S. Clark 0-4-4, J. Dowels 2-0-2, A. Giudice 0-1-1, C. Slayton 4-2-6, Z. Franklin 0-1-1, T. Drayton 1-2-3, D. Ellison 3-3-6, T. Cross 1-0-1, T. Dunkelberger 3-2-5

SACKS (No.-Yds)
K. Ruff 1-9, H. Laguerre 1-5, C. Slayton 1-6

INTERCEPTIONS
A. Cordy 1

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Syracuse University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Alvin Cornelius

Rex Culpepper

Eric Dungey

Brisly Estime

Jordan Fredericks

Troy Henderson

Cordell Hudson

Zack Mahoney

George Morris

Moe Neal

Chris Slayton

Dontae Strickland

Kielan Whitner

Rodney Williams

Austin Wilson

Kenterius Womack

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