#CuseCamp17: Scrimmage I Recap

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange football team held its first preseason scrimmage Friday morning on Schwartzwalder Field. The scrimmage was broken into two halves with the majority of the second half situational in nature.

The Orange ran 163 plays in 1 hour and 43 minutes. Head coach Dino Babers was pleased with the physicality on both sides of the ball Friday and plans to use the remaining two weeks of camp to finalize the depth chart.

"What we need to do now is to secure the depth and underbelly of the football team," said Babers. "We have a really good idea of who the starters are going to be after this, but there are a couple of battles that aren't solidified yet."

Quarterback Eric Dungey threw three touchdowns, including two to receiver Jamal Custis. Rex Culpepper and Clayton Welch each finished with a pair of TD passes. Sophomore Moe Neal recorded the scrimmage's only rushing touchdown on a 6-yard scamper in the second half.

Defensively, the Orange forced two turnovers and scored a touchdown of its own when safety Evan Foster returned a fumble for a score on the scrimmage's first play. Kingsley Jonathan recorded the defense's other fumble recovery. Brandon Berry finished with 1.5 sacks, while Justin Ellis logged one sack and a pass breakup. Kendall Coleman also logged half a sack.

Defensive coordinator Brian Ward's unit set the tone early as cornerback Scoop Bradshaw stripped Custis on the first play resulting in Foster's scoop-and-score.

A few drives later, the offense found its footing. A 13-yard reception by Devin C. Butler and a pair of long runs by Tyrone Perkins set up a 42-yard Cole Murphy field goal. Murphy's kick helped turn the momentum, as the offense found the end zone on three consecutive possessions, including a 62-yard touchdown pass from Dungey to wide receiver Sean Riley.

The pendulum swung back to the defense as the first half wound down. The Orange defenders made stops on five straight possessions, including three on fourth down.

In the second half, a 20-yard reception by K.K. Hahn set up a Culpepper scoring pass to running back Markenzy Pierre. Culpepper also threw a TD pass late in the period during red-zone work.

Syracuse is approximately halfway through fall camp. The Orange will participate in the Preferred Mutual 'Cuse Fan Fest Saturday at Manley Field House and will hold 11 more practices before starting preparation for the Sept. 1 season opener versus Central Connecticut State.

Season tickets, partial plans and group tickets for Orange football are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). Season tickets start at $125.

Single-game tickets are also on sale now. Tickets start at $25 for non-conference games against Central Connecticut State, Middle Tennessee and Central Michigan, $30 for ACC matchups with Wake Forest and Boston College, $35 for the Oct. 7 Pittsburgh game on Orange Central Weekend, and $45 for the Clemson game on Oct. 13.

For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Brandon Berry

Scoop Bradshaw

Devin C. Butler

Kendall Coleman

Rex Culpepper

Jamal Custis

Eric Dungey

Justin Ellis

Evan Foster

K.K. Hahn

Kingsley Jonathan

Cole Murphy

Moe Neal

Tyrone Perkins

Markenzy Pierre

Sean Riley

Clayton Welch

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