Aug. 18, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF football team closed out its fall camp under the lights on Saturday as more than 300 fans packed the sidelines at the practice fields to watch the Knights. The team's primary focus of the final practice was a 70-play scrimmage that lasted for close to an hour and a half.
Head Coach George O'Leary was pleased with the effort both sides of the ball gave during the scrimmage. "I think both sides made some plays and I was glad to see some of the freshmen make some big plays," O'Leary added. "That is what we are counting on with them. We made some mistakes, but I thought overall it was a good effort on both sides of the ball. We played a lot of kids tonight and that is what we wanted to do."
Junior running back Kevin Smith scored a pair of rushing touchdowns during goalline situations, while freshman Ronnie Weaver also added a touchdown. Freshman defensive back Darin Baldwin forced a fumble that rolled through the back of the endzone for a would-be touchback during the same drill.
Sophomore linebacker Alex Thompson had the only interception of the scrimmage and ran it back nearly 50 yards for a defensive score. Sophomore tight end Corey Rabazinski and true freshman Khymest Williams scored on touchdown passes from senior Kyle Israel.
"We made some good throws and made some that we should have caught," O'Leary added. "I thought overall with the schedule we have had and the last practice like this, I thought the players fought through it and it was a good way to end preseason. Now we'll get ready for our first game."
Senior wide receiver Javid James scored a touchdown on a pass from freshman Joe Weatherford on the final play of the scrimmage. The play came on a fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line and brought a lot of loud cheers from both his offensive teammates and the crowd on hand to watch the Knights for the final time before practices are closed to the public.
The Knights open the 2007 campaign on Sept. 1 at NC State. The team will make its home debut in Bright House Networks Stadium vs. Texas on Sept. 15. Season tickets for the first season at the on-campus stadium are still available and can be purchased by calling 407-UCF-1000.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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