Crimson dominates Cream 24-0

With no quarterback hits, no kickoff or punt returns and players routinely switching sides, Friday night's spring football game may not have been an exact showcase of what the IU football team expects next season.\nBut by most accounts, it was a good first step.\n"I think it tells us we're further than we were a year ago," coach Gerry DiNardo said. "Our numbers are starting to come back. Our conditioning is much better than it was. I thought our defense looked better today than it looked in a while. I think we're further along. We're obviously in better shape in all those things. I think we're a better team than we were a year ago."\nThe Crimson squad, consisting of the No. 1 players on the depth chart, defeated the rest of the team, the Cream squad, 24-0 behind the powerful and plentiful running of senior tailback Brian Lewis. Lewis, who last year was second on the team in rushing, ran for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.\n"It's good to go out and carry the ball plenty of times," he said. "I think it's a plus for me to let me know what kind of shape I'm in, and what I've got to do to get better for next year."\nJunior Matt LoVecchio started the game for the Crimson squad, which went three and out on the first possession. The Cream squad, led by freshman quarterback Graeme McFarland, countered with a short drive highlighted by a 30-yard pass to freshman tight end Matt O'Neal. The drive stalled, however, and ended when junior Bryan Robertson's 52-yard field goal attempt fell short and wide right.\nCrimson scored its first touchdown with 24 seconds left in the opening quarter. Lewis carried the ball six times out of seven plays for 45 yards including a 12-yard scoring run. The lone pass play was a 23-yard play action strike from LoVecchio to sophomore fullback John Pannozzo.\nCrimson scored again on its next possession but with a new quarterback. McFarland shifted sides and jerseys and hit junior wide receiver Travis Haney on a 41-yard strike down the left sidelines to set up another touchdown. \n"Anytime you can get Travis on a deep ball, you want to get it to him," McFarland said. "He's got speed, and he's tall. It was a mismatch, so I threw it out there and he jumped up and caught it."\nOn the next play, freshman running back Marlin Lynch scored on an 11-yard touchdown scamper. \nRoberston added a 22-yard field goal late in the third quarter, and Lewis again got into the endzone early in the fourth. On a first and goal play from the four, Lewis started inside and then bounced outside in a quick burst of speed for his second touchdown.\nNeither quarterback threw a touchdown pass as LoVecchio was 7-of-18 for 77 yards for the Crimson squad, and McFarland was 9-of-27 for 108 yards in combined action. LoVecchio did throw an interception though. On a third down play in the third quarter, he scrambled to buy time and eventually threw across his body and across the field. Junior safety Luke Stone stepped in front of the receiver for the pick, which he returned 48 yards. \nDiNardo, though, said he was pleased with the performance of both signal callers, but maintained LoVecchio has the grip on the starting position.\n"We have two good quarterbacks," DiNardo said. "Matt is a little bit ahead because he has the experience."\nLoVecchio said he gained valuable experience from the game and from the entire spring practice. \n"I think tonight was a good experience," he said. "Getting out and playing in front of a crowd and I think it's just going to take us learning from these 15 practices and building on them and take that into the summer."\nDefensively, sophomore defensive lineman Victor Adeyanju had eight tackles and three-and-a-half sacks for both teams while fellow lineman and freshman Kenny Kendal had five tackles and pair of sacks. Junior linebacker Kevin Smith led the Crimson team with six tackles and half a sack.\nSophomore cornerback Leonard Bryant said the game was a successful beginning to what he hopes is a successful season. \n"We split time, and the game really wasn't all that competitive as it should have been," he said. "But overall with our techniques and fundamentals, I think we're sound in that aspect. Come fall, we'll play Connecticut, it's going to be on. We're going to let everybody know what we're talking about. We're trying to go to a bowl game this year. It's the first step."\nStaff writer Natalia Trout contributed to this report.