Hayes' Kick Gives Gold Team 17-14 Overtime Win in Blazer Day Scrimmage

Willie Quinnie

Sophomore kicker Nick Hayes booted a 42-yard field goal in the first overtime to lift the Gold team to a 17-14 win over the Green in UAB's Blazer Day scrimmage, Saturday afternoon.

Hayes winning kick came on the Gold team's first play of overtime. Leroy Harris recovered a Brian Buckner fumble on the Green team's first play in the overtime period.

Darrell Hackney hit Chico Cleveland on a 15-yard touchdown pass with three seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game. That capped a 65-yard drive that took 2:26.

Hackney finished the day 18-of-33 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Thomas Cox, first on the depth chart and the starter for the Green, rushed for 108 yards on 12 carries. He was 12-of-18 for 143 yards passing, and threw for a touchdown. He was intercepted four times, however.

"We had a very physical spring practice," UAB head coach Watson Brown said. "This was the most hitting we have done in any spring since I've been here.

"Today we had some good plays and some bad plays, which is indicative of how young a team we have. Really, the only disappointing thing I saw were the turnovers we had on offense. We haven't had those this spring.

Overall there were five interceptions and one lost fumble. Harris added an interception to his fumble recovery. Alan West, Carlos Hendrick and Gaylon Black each intercepted one pass.

"The cornerback play has been a big plus for us this spring," Brown said. "I think we are going to be a better cover secondary than we were last year. We will have to wait and see what kind of tackling team we will be."

Cleveland caught four passes for 56 yards. Fellow Gold teammate Willie Quinnie had six catches for 58 yards. Starting tailback Theron Dudley has seven rushes for 33 yards.

Kendall Gibson rushed for 42 yard on nine carries and scored on a two-yard run with 2:29 left in the game to put the Green team ahead 14-7. Roddy White caught three passes for 57 yards. That included the first score of the game on a 25-yard touchdown reception with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

The Green team appeared on its way to another score just before halftime, but Thurman Pearson intercepted a Thomas Cox pass and returned it 61-yards to the Green 27-yard line.

On the second play following the interception, Hackney hit Kenny Borders for a 27-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining in the half.

"I'm very excited about our skill people. I think we've got a chance to be more multiple than we have been on the offense. We have two big backs and we need to be able to run the ball at people. I think with the receivers we've got, we will be able to throw and catch.