#CampCuse: Scrimmage I Recap

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse football team held its first preseason scrimmage Saturday morning on Schwartzwalder Field. The Orange defense got the better of the offense, recording seven sacks and forcing three turnovers, including two interceptions. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward's unit allowed points on just six series, surrendering four touchdowns and two field goals.

The Orange ran 150 plays in roughly two hours, with drives starting at various spots on the field. Point-after attempts and field goals were not live. Head coach Dino Babers was pleased by the team's overall effort and physicality, noting the defense's performance in particular.

👀 what happened at scrimmage ☝️ pic.twitter.com/gDA17PiHYQ
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) August 11, 2018

"We got about 150 plays in, and it was good work," Babers said. "I thought the defense played extremely well. We probably got more production on their side of the football. They had some turnovers over there. I thought Coach [Brian] Ward and those guys did a fantastic job. The defensive line was in the backfield, obstructing the quarterback's view and getting their hands up."

Senior Eric Dungey and redshirt freshman Tommy DeVito wore black non-contact jerseys and quarterbacked the first team. Redshirt junior Clayton Welch, redshirt sophomore Rex Culpepper and true freshman Chance Amie rotated series with the second unit and were live targets when they were on the field.

On the opening possession, Dungey hit junior Sean Riley for an 8-yard gain on first down, but redshirt senior defensive back Antwan Cordy quickly ended the drive. Cordy intercepted Dungey on the next play to record the defense's first takeaway.

Cordy's pick set the tone for the morning and sparked the defensive sideline. Two series later, junior Alton Robinson beat his man and got to DeVito for the unit's first sack. Shortly thereafter, junior cornerback Scoop Bradshaw made the defense's second interception and redshirt freshman Eric Coley caused a fumble that was recovered by classmate Tyrell Richards.

Robinson finished the day with a team-high 2.5 sacks. Senior Ryan Guthrie, junior Kenneth Ruff and redshirt freshman Kadeem Trotter each had one sack, while sophomore Kingsley Jonathan and redshirt sophomores Tim Walton and Zack Lesko were credited with half a sack each.

Offensively, the Orange tallied three rushing touchdowns. Dungey threw the only touchdown pass of the scrimmage, finding senior tight end Ravian Pierce for a 5-yard score. Redshirt junior Sterling Hofrichter connected on a pair of 41-yard field goals, including one that was set up by a 55-yard run from freshman Jarveon Howard.

Scrimmage ☝️ in the books.

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Amie, the rookie signal caller from Flint, Texas, flashed his big-play ability. He took off 52 yards up the middle on a quarterback draw to score the scrimmage's first touchdown. Welch followed suit with a 7-yard touchdown run of his own. Howard also found the end zone, capping off a lengthy drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge.

The Orange return to the practice field tomorrow morning and will hold their second preseason scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 18. Between now and then, Babers and the coaching staff will continue to assess the roster and begin piecing together the depth chart.

"We're starting to get ready," Babers said. "We've got to find the young guys that can really make a move to get into the top two.

"Next week is different. We'll go one's versus two's, the two's versus the one's, and we won't let these collisions that happened out here today happen next week. We have to start getting our team healthy, but we also have to solidify who the two's are."

Syracuse kicks off the 2018 campaign in just under three weeks when it travels to Western Michigan. The Orange's first home game is Saturday, Sept. 8 versus Wagner.

Season and individual game tickets for Orange football are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). Season tickets start at $125 for Syracuse's six home games. Single-game tickets start at $20 for the home opener against Wagner and $25 for the Connecticut game on Sept. 22. For Syracuse's four Atlantic Coast Conference games, tickets are available for as little as $35.

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