Haddix completed his first five pass attempts en route to finishing 8-of-11 passing on the day. He threw for 110 yards, with 81 of those recorded by Curtis Hamilton. The only Topper receiver to post more than one catch, Hamilton finished with five receptions.
In two mini-scrimmages, Haddix is 17-of-24 passing for 197 yards.
“I’d like to watch the film before giving an official judgment, but I thought there were pluses and minuses on both sides of the ball,” WKU head coach David Elson said. “The offense had some big plays — Lerron Moore really looks good, we’re having trouble tackling him.
“Justin is throwing the ball very well. As a senior quarterback, he understands our defense and is able to identify what they’re trying to do. And, Curtis is playing as good as I’ve seen him play. I’m very proud of his maturity and the way he has worked this spring, both in practice and scrimmages. He has the ability to be a big-time playmaker, we just need him to remain consistent.”
The first situation of the mini-scrimmage had the offense pinned on its own 3-yard line facing 1st-and-10. On the opening series, Haddix ran for 9 yards and completed passes of 8 and 9 yards to Chris Brunemann and Hamilton, respectively, to help the offense pick up a pair of first downs. He later led his unit on a 12-play, 60-yard drive that culminated with Chris James’ 37-yard field goal, and ended the afternoon with a 36-yard pass to Hamilton that helped set up a 26-yard James Field goal.
Those would be the only scoring drives by the first-team offense.
Brad Savko led the second-team to the only touchdown of the event when he found Craig Lanham in the left corner of the end zone for a 22-yard scoring pass to cap an eight-play, 50-yard march.
The defense forced six 3-and-out series on the day, one of which led to a Ben Sowders safety. Five of those came from the second unit as Josh Johnson recorded five tackles, with four coming behind the line of scrimmage including a pair of sacks.
Marion Rumph led all players with six stops — he also broke up a Haddix pass on third down to end a drive — while Jon Hedges added five tackles. Dusty Bear, Johnathan Carter, Dennis Mitchell and Travis Watters all recorded four tackles apiece for the first-team.
Moore had 41 yards on 12 carries during the mini-scrimmage, as he was the only rusher to reach double digits.
“We’re still trying to find out what this team does best, both offensively and defensively,” said Elson. The Hilltoppers will have their next opportunity towards accomplishing that feat Friday when they take part in the first full scrimmage of the spring at 4 p.m. (CDT) at Smith Stadium.
