WSU Football | Cougars offense improving

Offensive improvement marked the second scrimmage of the fall for Washington State.

"We moved the ball better today but not good enough," said coach Bill Doba after the scrimmage in Martin Stadium. "Offensively we moved the ball well, made some nice throws and catches. They started slowly again but then kicked it in."

The offense scored four touchdowns, three through the air.

Alex Brink completed 11 of 17 passes for 129 yards, including an 18-yard TD pass to Michael Bumpus. Backup quarterback Gary Rogers was 4 for 12 for 26 yards.

One of the best drives was a 40-yard march that ended with senior running back Kevin McCall plunging over from the 1-yard line against the No. 1 defense.

Other touchdowns were scored on a 25-yard pass from Cole Morgan to freshman Jeshua Anderson, who is having a sensational camp, and from freshman quarterback Marshall Lobbestael to freshman tight end Aaron Gehring.

The best performance by the defense came in a red-zone drill when it stopped the offense on four plays after the ball was placed at the 8-yard line.

"Defensively, we have to learn to get in and out of the huddle and show more hustle," said Doba. "We put in a lot of things this week, and there was still a little bit of hesitation."

The afternoon ended with the first-team offense successfully completing a four-minute drill designed to protect a late-game lead. The big play was a 23-yard pass on third down from Brink to Benny Ward.

"I thought they did a nice job on the four-minute drill, ate the clock," Doba said. "They took their time and made the first down when they had to."

The offense finished with 283 yards, 205 of it passing. Freshman Logwone Mitz, from Redmond High School, led all players with 46 rushing yards on six carries, including two of 15 yards. Sophomore starter Dwight Tardy added 16 yards and McCall had 12 yards.

Senior tight end Jed Collins led receivers with four catches for 24 yards, and fellow senior Charles Dillon had three receptions for 49 yards. Nine of the 20 pass completions were to tight ends.

Senior kicker Romeen Abdollmohammadi converted all three of his field-goal attempts, with a long of 44.

"Romeen has been doing a good job; he's been money," Doba said.

After practice, the coach said that Abdollmohammadi, who attempted only one field goal at Stanwood High School and missed it, is now on scholarship. This is his second year at WSU.

Freshman Wade Penner also made both of his tries, converting from 37 and 42 yards. WSU's third kicker, Loren Langley, is out with an injury.

The Cougars' third and final scrimmage will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The first game is Sept. 1 at Wisconsin.

Note

• A Whitman County District Court employee said no trial date has been set yet for defensive end Mike Graise, who was arrested for driving under the influence July 1.