GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Both teams scored a pair of receiving touchdowns on the field in Saturday's annual Green-White Game at the Alerus Center, but six points garnered by the Green team's fans in the special scoring between quarters catapulted that squad to a 20-14 victory.
The air show during the four quarters of play kept the approximately 2,000 fans in the stands entertained throughout the four-quarter contest as the North Dakota football team concluded spring practices with the annual intrasquad matchup.
The Green Team got things going early behind junior quarterback Joey Bradley (Issaquah, Wash.) and classmate Greg Hardin, who orchestrated a pair of first-quarter touchdown plays to put their team ahead 14-0.
The first connection came from four yards out, while the second was a 58-yard pass play on the second snap of the Green team's second drive.
Those would be the only two scores the Green Team's offense would muster in the contest as they got three points from a fan in between the first and second quarter thanks to a punting competition, then added three more points from their fans during a passing accuracy contest during halftime.
Bradley finished with a 12-for-24 effort for 240 yards and those two touchdowns to Hardin. He also threw the game's only interception when Chavon Mackey (Jacksonvill, Fla.) picked him off in the endzone midway through the third quarter.
The White Team finally got on the board after their opening drive after halftime when senior Braden Hanson (Charlotte, N.C.) connected with Blair Townsend (Coon Rapids, Minn.) on a 48-yard scoring strike after a nice pump fake allowed the tall receiver to get free behind the defense. Hanson finished 5-of-6 for 97 yards in the contest.
Fellow senior signal caller Marcus Hendrickson (Perham, Minn.) then found a streaking Townsend down the sideline on a 40-yard bomb that the junior wideout hauled in with an acrobatic one-handed grab for his second touchdown of the game. Hendrickson went 5-for-7 on that final drive.
Townsend's catch would be the final play of the scrimmage. He finished with five catches for 109 yards and two scores. Junior R.J. McGill (Phoenix, Ariz.) led all receivers with six catches for 110 yards for the Green Team.
GREEN-WHITE GAME STATISTICS
GREEN TEAM
Quarterbacks
6 Joey Bradley: 12-for-24, 240 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
14 Chris Comes: 0-for-3
Running backs
28 Mitch Sutton, Five rushes for 26 yards, One reception for 26 yards
2 Jer Garman, Six rushes for 27 yards
Receivers
84 Greg Hardin, Four receptions for 99 yards, 2 TDs, one rush for 0 yards
5 R.J. McGill, Six receptions for 110 yards
47 Seth Wisthoff, One reception for 5 yards
Defensive Leaders - Team had four total sacks
51 Will Ratelle, Four tackles
52 Ben Peters, Three tackles (one TFL)
10 Rumeal Harris, Two tackles, 2 Pass Breakups
85 Seth Stanchik, Two sacks
91 Spencer Cummings, One sack
59 Ryan Nelson, One sack
WHITE TEAM
Quarterbacks
18 Braden Hanson: 5-6, 97 yards, 1 TD
13 Marcus Hendrickson: 6-11, 85 yards, 1 TD, Two rushes for 17 yards
Running backs
3 Jake Miller, Five rushes for 12 yards, Two receptions for 21 yards
20 Ramon Bridges, One rush for -2 yards
Receivers
23 Ethan Magstad, One reception for 20 yards
83 Jameer Jackson, Three receptions for 32 yards
86 Blair Townsend, Five receptions for 109 yards, 2 TDs
Defensive Leaders - Team had two total sacks
9 Dillon Olson, Six tackles, One pass breakup
57 Brian Otto, Three tackles (one TFL)
17 Chavon Mackey, Two tackles, 1 INT
34 Cordero Finley, One sack
45 Jay Nelson, One sack
