ARKANSAS SPRING FOOTBALL GAME WHITE 39, RED 21

Show of restraint

30,456 soak in sun, ‘sacks,’ nostalgia

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema speaks to his team Saturday, April 23, 2016, during the annual spring Red-White game in Razorback Stadium.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema wanted Saturday's Red-White spring football game to be entertaining without being contrived.

It was a difficult line to straddle.

"I was trying to juggle being on the SEC Network and trying to be a referee," Bielema said, "because I told them I was going to blow the whistle for sacks because sometimes they can't really judge it.

"So it's a give and take. Spring games, as much fun as they are, the spring game itself is really a very frustrating game."

This one -- held in front of an estimated crowd of 30,546 on a 79-degree day at Reynolds Razorback Stadium -- was no different than most.

The first-teamers prevailed, 39-21, in a scrimmage that included a handful near-miss scores and five "sacks" of green-shirted quarterbacks, a source of frustration for Bielema.

"Because we're not sacking the quarterback we favor the defense a little too much in those situations," Bielema said.

The first-teamers, wearing white because there were not enough red jerseys, drove well into Red territory on four first-half possessions, but netted only one touchdown -- a 6-yard run by Denzell Evans -- and a 48-yard field goal by Cole Hedlund on the final play of the half.

"It was a little frustrating out there for us in the first half," said starting quarterback Austin Allen, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 141 yards. "We got in the red zone a few times and didn't capitalize and that just can't happen in the season."

The starting defense got two "sacks" each from Jeremiah Ledbetter and Deatrich Wise, and allowed one field goal, a 51-yarder by Adam McFain late in the second quarter.

Kickers Hedlund, McFain and Lane Saling accounted for 30 points on field-goal sequences after the first and third quarters.

Fans were treated to retro action when Razorbacks Clint Stoerner and Anthony Lucas took the field after the third quarter to recreate their famous 23-yard hookup for a touchdown that led to a 28-24 upset of No. 3 Tennessee in 1999.

Another frustrating moment -- for the fans -- occurred on the scrimmage's fourth play when the crowd and the band thought tailback Rawleigh Williams had broken free for a 45-yard touchdown. However, the play was capped at an 8-yard gain as linebacker Randy Ramsey performed a two-hand hip touch on Williams, who was off limits from live tackling.

Keon Hatcher led the receivers with three catches for 48 yards, but he also had a rough day by coming up empty while on the brink of scoring two touchdowns.

Hatcher took a handoff around right end early in the second quarter and ran 21 yards to the 1, but he lost control of the ball as he stretched for the goal plane and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback.

"That'll never happen again for him," Allen said. "He's great with the football. That was a fluke thing right there. He'll score for us this season."

Bielema said Allen had a solid day.

"He had some miscues that weren't his," Bielema said. "He had a dropped pass by Dominique Reed. He had Keon drop an easy touchdown on the sideline sweep. He had a couple of guys break down on protection which allowed some pressure on him. A lot of things we've got to get better at offensively with the ones.

"Defensively with the ones, I didn't see much [wrong] out there. They broke free on one play, letting a receiver get cut loose, but they ran it down and tackled efficiently. For the most part, they've been doing that all spring."

Hatcher combined with Allen on the day's longest play, a 27-yard pass over the middle that was marked down at the 1 and led to Evans' 2-yard touchdown a couple of plays later.

"Yeah, I thought that was a touchdown," Allen said of the pass to Hatcher. "I think that one would have gone to a booth replay."

Wise notched sacks on each of the first two series, two of the five sacks against the second-team offensive line and quarterback Rafe Peavey.

Tight end Jeremy Sprinkle had three catches for 48 yards, including a 10-yard reception on play-action on the game's first snap. Cody Hollister had 35 receiving yards and Reed added 23 receiving yards, including an 18-yard sideline catch that led to Evans' first score.

Tight end Cheyenne O'Grady had the Red's longest play, a 26-yard catch and run on a Peavey pass late in the second quarter. That gain led to McFain's 51-yard field goal with 49 seconds left in the half.

Bielema waved off a "sack" of Allen on the ensuing two-minute drill, which resulted in a 16-yard catch for Hatcher to the Red 41. A pass interference call against Willie Sykes on Reed put the White within range for Hedlund, who made a 48-yard field goal.

Sports on 04/24/2016