After the Bulldogs finished the 2010 football season with a record of 9-4, which is only the fifth time the Bulldogs have finished with nine or more wins in school history, the Maroon-White scrimmage was much anticipated as over 36,000 fans came to Davis Wade Stadium to watch the scrimmage. With the punishment of waking up early the next day to clean the stadium, both squads pushed hard for the victory, but it was the Maroon team who came out on top 23-20.
All eyes were on Chris Relf as he came out the first possession and completed all three of his passes and completed the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Relf did not see anymore of the field after the first quarter as he finished 4-8 with 68 yards and the one lone touchdown run. Heading into the summer, Relf said he understands this is his team, and he said he feels healthy and ready to lead the team.
“There’s no pressure on me,” Relf said. “I’m just going to go out there and lead and try to be vocal at every practice next year, and hopefully, we can take what we’ve learned this spring into the fall and get better.”
On the other side of the ball, Tyler Russell played most of the game and finished 15-26 for 210 yards and one touchdown. However, Russell was sacked four times. Head coach Dan Mullen was pleased for the most part with the play of his first and second string quarterbacks.
“Relf came out crisp and sharp like he’s been all spring and looked really good,” Mullen said. “Tyler didn’t have his best day of the spring; he had some ups and downs, but he always just got up and made the next play.”
However, Relf and Russell were not the only two quarterbacks seen on Saturday. Dylan Favre made a name for himself leading the Maroon squad the final three quarters. Favre was the leading rusher for both sides with 55 yards on 10 carries. In the air, he finished 17-26 with 199 yards. Favre led the game winning drive for the Maroon squad as time was winding down. Favre said he is learning to change mentalities from high school, when his goal was to score a touchdown every time he touched the ball, to just taking what the defense gives him.
“I didn’t throw the ball as well as I had liked,” Favre said. “But with my height, I think my mobility and the ability I have to make plays with my feet compensates for it.”
No Bulldog made a huge impact on the ground game, but Vick Ballard had 22 yards rushing  on the Maroon side, and Adrian Marcus finished with 34 for the White. A few young receivers looked good as freshmen Robert Johnson and Malcolm Johnson each caught a touchdown pass for his team.
The question in everyone’s mind was how the defense would look after losing all three starting linebackers and first team All-SEC lineman Pernell McPhee. But the defensive line was just fine for the Bulldogs as the dynamic duo of Fletcher Cox and Josh Boyd combined for four tackles and each had a sack.
As far as the linebackers are concerned, Ferlando Bohanna tallied eight tackles and two sacks, but Bohanna was not the only linebacker making plays on the field. Matthew Wells, Brandon Wilson, Jamie Jones and Deonte Skinner combined for 19 tackles on the day, and Skinner added an interception.
The secondary looked solid for the Bulldogs led by the likes of Charles Mitchell, Corey Broomfield and Johnthan Banks, who recorded an interception. Mullen said he has high hopes for his defense this year, which starts with getting better in the spring.
“I thought they were pretty solid today,” Mullen said. “It’s tough when you’re mix-matching so many people on the field, but I thought they did a good job.”
Mullen said he was most pleased with the performance of his special teams on Saturday. With a new snapper, new holder and new kicker, the field goal unit did not seem to miss a beat. Derek DePasquale got the White team on the scoreboard with a 54 yard field goal in their opening drive. He followed this up with a 47-yard three pointer in the second quarter. Baker Swedenburg impressed coaches and fans with a 63 yard punt.
As the Bulldogs finish the spring and head into summer, they are looking to continue to improve and come one step closer to Atlanta. Mullen said there is a foundation for the team as they inch closer to September.
“Our older guys have seen improvement, taken the next step and are ready to become prime time players,” Mullen said. “There should be a solid foundation of offense, defense and special teams going into the summer, but we’ve got to pick up right where we left off when we come back this summer; we can’t take a step back.”