It was an offensive type of the day for the Bears in the team’s 12th practice of fall camp, as Cody Kirby (Sr., QB, Rogers, Ark.) and Chris Douglas (Jr., TB, Lawrenceville, Ga.) led the first-team ‘O’ to scoring drives on all five possessions , four touchdowns and a field goal, in the morning scrimmage.
Moving the scrimmage from the afternoon to the morning period suited Kirby and his mates just fine. The senior leader did a little bit of everything for the Bears, including completing a pass to himself, albeit off a deflection and for a six-yard loss. Kirby finished the day 10-14 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 38 yards on eight carries. Douglas provided the exclamation points on three drives, scoring touchdowns from seven, one and four yards out. In all, he rushed 12 times for 44 yards with the three TDs. But it was Kirby who stole the show.
“He didn’t put the ball in jeopardy, and that is what we have been harping on all the time” head coach Terry Allen said. “He threw the ball accurately. He could not have been much better.”
Kirby, Douglas and others put up the numbers, but perhaps the most impressive performances came from the veteran, first-team offensive line. In addition to creating daylight for Douglas, the line provided plenty of time for Kirby to spread the ball around to five different receivers, including himself. There were no sacks, and only two pass deflections at the line. The five men in the middle were also able to make room when it mattered most, converting first-down rushes on a third and two and a fourth and one, as well as leading Douglas into the end zone on two goal–line situations, on a third and goal from the one and a four-yard scamper on second down.
“I think that we have to be better rushing the football, but we were able to do a little bit of that today,” Allen said. “But that is a solid group. I feel very comfortable with them, with David Arkin (Sr., LT, Wichita, Kan. ) and Jake Duron (Sr., RT, Springdale, Ark.) is a solid player. I feel good about Erik Dahl (Sr., C, Olathe, Kan.) and Bob Shapel (Sr., RG, Iola, Kan.), and Travis Simmons (Jr., LG, Mexico, Mo.) has done a good job so far.”
The first drive of the day set the tone for the scrimmage. The first-team offense started at its own 25-yard line and went 75 yards in 13 plays. It was mainly the pass that moved the ball for the Bears, with Kirby gaining big chunks of yards via completions to Trevor Wooden (12 yards), Jermaine Saffold (two for 28 yards) and Cadarrius Dotson (eight yards). The only two incompletions came on a jump ball in the end zone to Wooden that he got his fingertips on but could not make the acrobatic catch, and on a throw away thanks to excellent coverage in the secondary. The aerial assault put the Bears first and goal from the four and even a fumbled option pitch on first down could not derail the Bears. After a fortuitous bounce put the ball out of bounds on the seven, Douglas took a handoff up the middle and bounced it outside, beating the defense to the left corner pylon for six.
The second first-team series brought more of the same. The passing game was just as lethal, with a 15-yard completion to Saffold and a big third-and-eight hook up to Dotson for 13 yards and a conversion. The ground game took it from there. Kirby rushed for six yards and after an incompletion intended for Wooden, it was all Douglas. He carried five straight times from the 10 yard-line, picking up a fourth and one on his second carry, and his second touchdown on his final carry of the drive.
Good things came from the passing offense even when throws weren’t completed. Dotson drew a 15-yard pass interference call on the second drive, and match-up nightmare Willie White did the same on the third drive, this one coming on a deep ball in the end zone. Saffold led the way with four receptions for 51 yards, and Dotson followed close behind with three for 39 yards.
“They (the young receivers) are growing up,” Allen said. “Saffold has had a good preseason. It was good to see Cadarrius make some plays. Julian Burton is going to be a good player for us. He is going to play and play a bunch.”
After settling for a 34-yard field goal from Jordan Chiles on its third drive, the first-team offense scored on two straight situational possessions. They needed only two plays to score on drives starting at the twenty and five yard-lines. The wide receivers did most of the heavy lifting for the day, but it was tight end Matt Thayer who caught the scrimmage’s only touchdown pass when he brought in a Kirby throw at the two and walked in for an 18-yard touchdown reception, his only catch of the day. It was big to see Thayer step up as a red zone target.
The final first-team drive ended with Douglas’ third touchdown of the day, from four yards away.
And while it was the first-team offense that provided the fireworks for most of the day, the scrimmage ended on a defensive highlight. The second-team defense completed a dominating performance when Byron Hightower, Jr., (Sr., LB, Raytown, Mo.) scooped up a fumbled center-quarterback exchange and rumbled 95 yards for a touchdown, despite the efforts of running back Vernon Scott (RFr., TB/WR, Muskogee, Okla.) who chased from behind. The big linebacker showed some quicks in eluding Scott, as he sent the fans home on a rousing note.
