Crabtree, Britton make big plays

Lincoln Riley inherited no returning starters when he was hired recently as Texas Tech wide receivers coach. Yet, that doesn't keep him from smiling these days.

Even though their Red-clad offensive team lost Saturday's spring game 46-35 to the Black-wearing defense, it wasn't for a shortage of playmaking by young wideouts Mike Crabtree and Edward Britton.

Crabtree caught passes of 43 and 52 yards, scoring a touchdown on the first, and Britton had a 66-yard touchdown as a few thousand looked on at Jones AT&T Stadium.

"Other defenses, they're going to give them a run for their money," Tech cornerback Jamar Wall said. "They're so fast and mobile that it's going to be tough for guys to cover them. Eddie B has speed. Mike's got good speed and he's real shifty, and they catch everything."

Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree, 5, tries to shake off defender Darcel McBath.

Jodi Miller Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

In the middle of the first quarter, Crabtree caught a tunnel screen pass, stepped out of a tackle attempt by linebacker Blake Collier and was off to the races for the second straight week. The Saturday before, he turned a short pass into a 60-yard TD at the beginning of a scrimmage.

In the middle of the second period, Britton ran a turn-in route, bounced off cornerback Marcus Bunton right after catching a pass at midfield and took off for a TD.

The Red Raiders knew going into spring that they would need some people to replace the big-play element that 2006 seniors Joel Filani, Jarrett Hicks and Robert Johnson provided.

Filani was especially tough after the catch. Players such as Crabtree, Britton and L.A. Reed (six catches, 58 yards) also will give Tech a chance to get more than minimal yardage out of the short-passing game.

"Every guy that we have right now is pretty good after the catch as far as making things happen," Riley said. "That's exciting, knowing that if we can get completions and make routine plays, those guys have a chance to take it the distance."

Crabtree finished with three receptions for 112 yards, and Britton with three for 93.

It was a day of big plays for both sides of the ball, though. Quarterback Graham Harrell passed for 317 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions that went all the way back. Cornerback Pete Richardson stepped in front of a pass for Britton and returned it 93 yards, pulling the Black within 21-17 at 8:29 before halftime.

On the last play of the third quarter, cornerback Nathan Stone snatched a pass for Reed along the home sideline and raced 43 yards, giving the Black a 38-28 lead.

The Black took advantage of a one-day-only scoring system that rewarded the defense for more than touchdowns. They piled up 15 points for five turnovers; 10 for 10 sacks; five for a pair of three-and-outs; and two for turnovers on downs.

"We get two and three points for little things,'' said Wall, a sophomore from Plainview, "so that made us work harder to get fumbles, interceptions and things like that."

"I think it did get us more into it," said Stone, a sophomore from Roosevelt. "Rather than having the joy of stopping them on fourth down, it gives us the joy of winning the scrimmage outright."

As they did the week before, Harrell and Taylor Potts shared time at quarterback with the first and second teams. Harrell's scoring strike to Crabtree, and his own zone-read keeper for a touchdown had the Red in front 14-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Then Potts led an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped by a 3-yard Kobey Lewis touchdown that made it 21-9.

The Black trailed 28-17 after Britton's TD from Harrell, but outscored the Red 29-7 the rest of the way. Cornerback De'Shon Sanders started the comeback, intercepting a Potts pass that safety Jordy Rowland from Nazareth tipped. Sacks by Ra'Jon Henley, Collier and Jake Ratliff and a three-and-out - all with Potts in the game - got the Black within 28-26, and linebacker Julius Howard put the defense ahead to stay with a fumble recovery good for three points.

Harrell pulled the offense to 38-35, throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Reed with 9:11 left in the game. But the Black pulled away when third-team quarterback Steven Sheffield came in to finish up for the Red. The defense sacked Sheffield twice, and DBs Trent Nickerson and LaShawn Vation picked off two of his passes.

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RED-BLACK SPRING GAME

at Jones AT&T Stadium

BLACK (DEFENSE) 46, RED (OFFENSE) 35

Black 9 17 12 8 - 46

Red 14 14 0 7 - 35

First Quarter

BLK-Three-and-out, 2-0, 14:07.

BLK-Yenzer sack, 3-0, 12:35.

BLK-Riley sack, 4-0, 10:10.

BLK-Turnover on downs, 5-0, 9:20.

RED-Crabtree 43 pass from Harrell (Trlica kick), 7-5, 7:31.

BLK-P.Jones sack, 7-6, 7:00.

BLK-Duncan fumble recovery, 9-7, 5:29.

RED-Harrell 1 run (Trlica kick), 14-9, 0:14.

Second Quarter

RED-Lewis 3 run (Trlica kick), 21-9, 10:05.

BLK-B.Williams sack, 21-10, 9:13.

BLK-Richardson 93 interception return, 21-17, 8:29.

RED-Britton 66 pass from Harrell (Trlica kick), 28-17, 6:32.

BLK-Sanders interception, 28-20, 5:40.

BLK-Henley sack, 28-21, 4:20.

BLK-Collier sack, 28-22, 2:20.

BLK-Ratliff sack, 28-23, 0:45.

BLK-Three-and-out, 28-26, 0:45.

Third Quarter

BLK-Howard fumble recovery, 29-28, 13:00.

BLK-Riley sack, 30-28, 3:44.

BLK-Turnover on downs, 31-28, 3:00.

BLK-Stone 43 interception return, 38-28, 0:00.

Fourth Quarter

RED-L.Reed 10 pass from Harrell (Fowler kick), 38-35, 5:49.

BLK-T.Nickerson interception, 41-35, 4:00.

BLK-P.Jones sack, 42-35, 2:30.

BLK-Bettenhausen sack, 43-35, 0:30.

BLK-Vation interception, 46-35, 0:00.

Missed field goal: Trlica 55 (WL).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Red, Hayes 7-34, Lewis 6-28, Morris 2-14, Woods 5-4, Harrell 3-(-11), Sheffield 2-(-12), Potts 8-(-35).

PASSING: Red, Harrell 16-25-2-317, Potts 16-27-1-139, Sheffield 4-8-2-56.

RECEIVING: Red, Amendola 6-71, L.Reed 6-58, Leong 4-44, Crabtree 3-112, Britton 3-93, Reese 3-43, Hildebrandt 2-21, Morris 2-17, Hoefer 1-25, S.Jones 1-15, G.Walker 1-4, Brinker 1-3, Lewis 1-2, Hayes 1-(-3).

PUNTING: Red, James 3-40.0 average.