March 16, 2013

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -The University of San Diego football completed its annual spring intrasquad scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Torero Stadium in front of Toreros fans, alumni, and family members.

The Toreros, who are coming off their second consecutive PFL championship, were drafted in to two teams (Blue & White) and competed in two 40 minute halves. The Blue team, led by Kyle Miller's two passing touchdowns, defeated the White Team 24-14.

Michael Ruffino returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown

"We wanted to see who could play in game conditions. It's different than practice. You can't feel the same way about a mistake in practice as you do in a game," first year Head Coach Dale Lindsey said after the game. "Today it actually counted and I wanted to see who could function under stressful situations."

Both offenses marched down the field on their opening drives to score touchdowns. The White team scored on a nine yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mason Mills to freshman wide receiver Adam Winterling. The Blue team answered with a 17 yard touchdown pass from Kyle Miller to Sam Hoekstra, who also caught a 52 yard pass on the play. Hoekstra led all receivers with seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.

"We had some guys like Adam Winterling show up today," Lindsey said. `Last year we abused him as a freshman receiver on the scout team, and he hadn't done a lot this spring, but he showed up quite well today."

David Last connected on a 33 yard field goal for the Blue team to give them a 10-7 lead at halftime. Last, who is in his first year as the Torero starting kicker, also connected on all four of his PAT attempts while also handling punting duties for both teams.

"I thought our kicker David Last did a great job of punting the ball, which was something we were worried about going into this fall," Lindsey said. "If he can do what he did for us in the fall what he did for us today, that will be really good." The defense shined in the second half as each team returned an interception for a touchdown. Michael Ruffino returned a Mills interception 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Blue team a 17-7 lead. The White team responded with a 51 yard interception return for a touchdown by Garret Slate off a John Perona errant pass.

The Blue Team's other touchdown came on a three yard fade pass from Miller to Brandon White, who had four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown in the game. It was Coach Lindsey's first spring game as the Torero head coach after taking over for Ron Caragher, who is now the Head Coach at San Jose State.

"I'm trying to be me. I can't be Ron. I think everyone knows how much I think of Ron Caragher and what a great person and coach he is, but I can't be Ron," Lindsey said. "I'm just trying to be me and do what I want to do based on how I see the game. Yes, there is a lot of Ron Caragher still around here with the tradition and practice habits he established. We still follow those."

Mason Mills, who is returning for his third year as the Toreros starting QB, went 23-35 for 305 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Kyle Miller went 13-18 for 185 yards and two touchdowns.