On a rainy and gray April afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium, it was hard to tell if the weather fit the game or the game fit the weather.
Either way, the sloppiness on the field seemed well matched to the dreary skies as the football team closed out its spring practice with a loosely-structured, error-filled intrasquad game in front of a few hundred brave fans.
Not that it mattered, of course. A spring football game is somewhat akin to a lit fuse with no bomb. Go ahead and watch it if you enjoy the sparks; just don't expect it to lead anywhere.
At best, a spring game can give an indication of a new direction or a new philosophy from the coaching staff. At worst, it can be a good chance to injure your starting quarterback. Neither of the two happened Saturday.
So the fact that the Blue team held on for a 10-6 victory over the White wasn't exactly big news; the real story was supposed to be the debut of recently-hired offensive coordinator Les Koenning.
Koenning, who came to Duke from Jimmy Johnson's Miami Dolphins, is the Blue Devils' third offensive coordinator in four years. He has promised that his new scheme will involve a variety of formations, including the shotgun, a set rarely used by Duke in 1997.
But a spring game isn't the right place to show off a brand-new wardrobe. So fans who came to see the new Duke offense went home a bit disappointed; Koenning and head coach Fred Goldsmith kept things simple, running both squads out of mostly one- and two-back sets, just as the Blue Devils did last fall.
Unfortunately, the results were not much different from last fall's, either.
Blue team quarterback Bobby Campbell looked shaky for much of the afternoon, tossing two interceptions and connecting on just 9-of-19 passes for 179 yards. Kevin Thompson fared similarly for the White, completing 10-of-19 for 109 yards.
Spencer Romine, reported to have the slight edge for the starting quarterback position, attempted only six passes for the White team. Romine is still recovering from injuries which limited him to six games last fall.
The scrimmage did have its bright spots, even on such a gloomy day. Redshirt sophomore Richmond Flowers kept busy, hauling in five passes for 159 yards. Flowers was the center of attention for much of the afternoon, benefiting from the shortage of healthy wide receivers and more pass-happy play calling.
Since potential starters Reco Owens and Scottie Montgomery were injured, Goldsmith allowed Flowers and backup wide receivers Bryan Ament and Tom Brady to play for both the Blue and the White squads. Campbell and Thompson made Flowers their favorite target, throwing the ball to him on nearly every possession.
The other good news Saturday was a visibly improved defense that kept both quarterbacks on the run. Nose guard Nick Wilkerson's interception and rumbling return set up a field goal by backup placekicker Matt Mapes to give the White team a 6-3 lead in the third quarter. Earlier, All-America candidate Sims Lenhardt booted a 47-yard field goal for the Blue, in spite of the poor conditions.
With such an inexperienced offensive line, it was hard to tell whether Duke looked bad on offense or great on defense; of course, such is the nature of an intrasquad game. For whatever reasons, the first three quarters were ragged enough that Goldsmith ordered the fourth quarter to be lengthened from 10 to 15 minutes. Apparently, he hadn't seen enough yet.
The change seemed to work: Campbell led the Blue team on the only touchdown drive of the day, late in the fourth quarter. The redshirt sophomore connected with Flowers on a 51-yard bomb to set up Letavious Wilks' two-yard scoring run.
Later, the White team had a final shot to win when Thompson completed a pair of long passes to tight end Joey Bachstein with under a minute to play. But strong safety Darius Clark, inserted at wide receiver for the White, couldn't hold on to a Thompson pass at the goal line with five seconds to play. Thompson's completion to Flowers on the game's final play fell short of the end zone.
The dramatic ending rewarded the die-hards in the stands who fought through the rain. Goldsmith, meanwhile, was just happy that no one got hurt.
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