April 8, 2002
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University's Hilltopper football team staged its first scrimmage of spring practice today (Saturday, April 6) at L.T. Smith Stadium and came away with the feeling that the Toppers are making progress.
"We made a ton of mistakes out there today, but there were enough good things happening to show us that we are making progress," said Hilltopper Head Coach Jack Harbaugh, who will be fielding his 14th Western football team next fall.
With Jason Michael (Sr., Louisa, Ky.) taking nearly 60 percent of the snaps at quarterback, the Toppers scored 10 of the 17 points in the scrimmage. The first counters came on a 29-yard field goal by Peter Martinez (Sr., Nashville, Tenn.) followed by a 23-yard touchdown run by Ronnie Lilly (Jr., Detroit, Mich.) that put the Michael-led Hilltoppers up 10-0.
The final points of the day came on a 9-yard run into the left of the line by Thomas Wilkins (Jr., Louisville) on a fourth-and-two play late in the scrimmage.
Michael completed six of 16 throws for 82 yards and added 77 yards on the ground (on 19 carries).
Redshirt Antone Towns (Fr., Louisville) got in 30 percent of the snaps in his first scrimmage action since high school and completed three of nine throws for 16 yards and added five yards on the ground. Casey Rooney, a transfer from Memphis, got in 20 snaps and was 0-1 throwing the ball, but 38 yards on three carries, including a 33-yarder.
Defensively, the Hilltoppers came up with 10 turnovers - six recovered fumbles and four interceptions. Two of those by picks were by Brian Lowder (Jr., Bowling Green) and Tyreese Lawless (Sr., Nashville, Tenn.) was credited with a pair of fumble recoveries. Antonio Veals (Jr., Louisville), converted from wide receiver to safety, and Anthony Bates (So., Milan, Mich.), each totaled nine tackles and Kody Kappes (Jr., Morehead) was in on eight stops.
"Offensively, I thought Jason (Michael) was outstanding running the option," Harbaugh added. "And, it was the first time 'live' for Antone (Towns) and I know his heart must have been really pumping out there. He had a rough day out there today, but he's athletic and he's got one of the best arms I've seen here at Western. He'll be alright. And, we need to develope some more consistency in our blocking.
"On the defensive side, we saw a lot of good things," he added. "But, we need some work, especially to make some improvements with our technique."
The Hilltoppers are coming off an 8-4 year that saw Western earn a berth in the NCAA I-AA championship playoffs for the for the third time in the past four seasons.
WKU's annual Spring Game is scheduled to be played Saturday, April 20.
