Williams scores two TDs in Saturday night scrimmage
Washington State football held its second scrimmage of the fall at Martin Stadium Saturday evening. The Cougar defense forced a pair of turnovers and recorded four sacks, special teams blocked a pair of field goals while two young receivers turned in big nights for the offense.
“(The scrimmage) was mostly good,” Mike Leach said. “It was sloppy in places, but we had good energy for the most part on both sides of the ball. Even when we hit periods where we didn’t have good energy, we generated it back. It was good work.”
For the defense, redshirt senior nickel LB Kirkland Parker forced a fumble and junior defensive lineman Logan Tago corralled the recovery. Freshman defensive back Josh Talbott later picked off a pass near the end zone while Nnamdi Oguayo, Isaac Dotson, Will Rogers III and Damion Lee each tallied sacks.
“The defense has been disruptive all (fall camp),” Leach said. “Both sides flew around. I didn’t feel like either side ever got the momentum and held it.”
For the offense, redshirt senior Luke Falk was 12-of-19 for 97 yards and a touchdown while redshirt sophomore Tyler Hilinski went 11-for-22 for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman quarterbacks Connor Neville and John Bledsoe each threw a touchdown on their only drives.
Redshirt sophomore receiver Brandon Arconado broke out with five catches for 108 yards, including four that went 20-plus yards. Redshirt freshman Renard Bell made the most of his two catches, scoring on both, including a 45-yard catch and run. Sophomore Dezmon Patmon and freshman Jamire Calvin each caught a touchdown pass while redshirt sophomore Kainoa Wilson had three catches for 61 yards including a 43-yard score.
“Our receivers were a little spotty early on, but they got better at the end,” Leach said. “They got hotter as time went on. (Arconado) made some good plays. We want to get him in there more too.”
On the ground, redshirt sophomore James Williams scored twice from 25 yards and two yards out. Redshirt senior Gerard Wicks added a 10-yard touchdown run. Redshirt senior kicker Erik Powell hit all three of his field goal attempts (29, 35, 41).
“James has had two good scrimmages. He is doing a very good job,” Leach said. “He just needs to keep rolling.”
Williams said the scrimmage whetted his appetite for the Sept. 2 season opener against Montana State.
“I can’t wait, it’s not coming fast enough,” Williams said. “This was just a little taste of what I feel I can do. In a game situation, everybody is watching and I can make my family proud.”
The Cougars are scheduled to practice Sunday at 8 p.m.
