Spring football came to an end with Saturday?s annual Green and Gold scrimmage at Fred Anderson Field.

Dealing with the loss of past stars Charles Roberts, Lamont Webb, Ricky Ray, Anthony Daisley, Scott Towne and Tommy Williams, head coach John Volek liked what he saw out of this season?s squad.

“I think the defense, in the first half, was very impressive with the long field,” Volek said. “Then our offense learned how to work the red zone.”

In addition to the normal ways to score points in football, this game added alternative ways to light up the board, including defensive holds, turnovers and first downs. The offense won the game, 51-37.

“The point that we?re trying to make is how taking the ball away creates points for the offense,” said Volek of the scoring rules in the scrimmage.

In the game, junior running back Derard Barton got the bulk of the carries, gaining 64 yards on 13 carries and freshman Ryan Leadingham got the most action at quarterback, completing half of his 18 passes, for 139 yards. He also threw one touchdown and an interception.

Volek, whose coaching record at Sac State is 24-41-1, liked what he saw out of his team, but he is still not satisfied. He feels that they have a lot of work to do before the season opens up vs. Saint Mary?s on Sept.1.

“I think we really made positive progress,” he said. “You?re never where you want to be, but now we want to improve from today and keep progressing. It?s a long process.”

Along with the Saint Mary?s game, Sac State will also host Idaho State, Montana, Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Northern Arizona in 2001. The Hornets will travel to Cal Poly, Portland State, Weber State, Montana State and Cal State Northridge.