The Duke football team discovered on Saturday night that even intra-squad scrimmages can provide a little piece of football history.
With 1:22 remaining in Duke's annual Blue-White spring football game, freshman walk-on Heather Sue Mercer walked onto the grass of Wallace Wade Stadium with her Blue team trailing 22-21. In her continuing quest to become the first female kicker to ever play Division I college football, Mercer faced a 28-yard field goal attempt. Her kick cleared the uprights--although not by much--lifting the Blue over the White, 24-22. Junior defensive end Orlando Adwaters then gave Mercer her own lift off the field in front of the 1,500 fans in attendance.
"I was defintely nervous," Mercer said. "I was thinking, `Do what I have done in practice.'"
However, the game-winning kick was not Mercer's first outing of the night. She had successfully converted an extra point early in the game. Shortly after, Mercer was put on the spot when the holder mishandled the snap on another extra-point attempt. Mercer picked up the ball and threw it towards the end zone, but it was batted down by Tawambi Settles.
It was only a spring game, and none of the kickers or rusher faced a full rush. Still, head coach Fred Goldsmith indicated that Mercer will join fellow walk-on Ted Post and starter Tom Cochran as kickers next fall.
"[Mercer's field-goal] was something unique and special," Goldsmith said. "She has worked hard and has done well throughout the spring."
Although Mercer served up the game-winner, it was the offenses especially the quarterbacks which provided most of the fireworks. Since the season concluded on Jan. 2 in Tampa, the defense has garnered most of the off-season attention. Returning stars Ray Farmer, John Zuanich and Billy Granville have overshadowed the offense, which lost Matt Williams and All-American Robert Baldwin.
However, starting quarterback Spence Fischer must have missed all of the publicity. Fischer, playing for the Blue squad, opened by connecting on his first seven passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. On his third pass, Fischer went deep, hitting a streaking Corey Thomas--who didn't even have to break stride en route to a 46-yard touchdown.
The offensive coaches gave Fischer free reign of the offense, allowing him to call his own plays. Fischer would call on Thomas' No. 8 one more time before he left the game. With the ball on the 11-yard line, Fischer scrambled to his left and sailed a beautiful touch pass beyond two defenders. Thomas took the short pass and raced down the field for an 89-yard touchdown--giving the Blue team a 13-0 lead after the failed extra point.
"I wanted to concentrate on doing the things that I knew I could make work," Fischer said. "The defense has had a great spring. I was just on tonight."
Not wanting to be outdone by his counterpart, freshman David Green, quarterback of the White, connected with classmate Adam Geis on a 15-yard touchdown.
The score cut the Blue lead to 13-7 at halftime. The key to the drive came two plays before the touchdown, when Green hit sophomore wideout Marc Wilson for 36 yards. Wilson, who may be unfamiliar to most fans, played an outstanding game, recording 136 yards on seven catches.
"Marc is a big receiver, so he is going to go after the ball," Green said. "He is going to be a key element to our offense next year. This spring game tremendously helps out people's confidence."
In the second half, freshman Matt Rader continued playing quarterback for the Blue team. Fischer left the game in the second quarter, after completing eight of 11 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. With 3:56 remaining in the third quarter, Rader scored on a sneak, pushing the score to 19-7. Thomas closed out his impressive game when he caught the two-point conversion from Rader, giving the Blue team a 21-7 lead. Thomas finished with 197 yards on five catches and two touchdowns.
"When you have a receiver as fast as [Thomas] is, you want to take advantage of what he can do," Fischer said. "I think we did that. He played outstanding tonight."
A mere 90 seconds later, Green cut the Blue lead to seven with an 11-yard touchdown scramble. Green set up the run by hitting Wilson on a 51-yard pass. The White team boasted the better running game, though, as sophomore T.C. White led all rushers with 45 yards on 15 carries.
After the White defense held on three downs, Green again connected with Geis to cut the lead to 21-20. With a successful two-point conversion from Green to freshman receiver Joe Opalenick, the White team seized a 22-21 lead. Led by Granville and Farmer, the White once again held the Blue offense to three downs, giving its team the ball with several minutes remaining. However, two plays later, redshirt freshman Kenan Holley intercepted Green and returned the ball 29 yards, setting up Mercer's kick.
Despite the interception, Green solidified his role as Fischer's backup by tallying 14 completions in 21 attempts for 219 yards. Meanwhile, Rader matched the pace set by the other quarterbacks, completing 10 out of 14 throws for 131 yards.
"It was a good competitive game, considering we were a little thin on depth this spring," Goldsmith said. "Our players had fun and nobody got hurt and that's all you can ask. The quarterbacks did well and it makes you feel good that they all did well."
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