Reserves make most of chances

By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor

Carl Buergler and Jim Guidos probably won't get much playing time for the Purdue football team next season.

But at least the pair of backups will have memories from Saturday's spring exhibition game to keep themselves happy.

Guidos, a wide receiver, caught a touchdown pass and Buergler, a quarterback, threw one as the Gold Team beat the Black Team 28-16 before a crowd of 7,500 Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Buergler, a junior who has directed the practice team for the last two years, led the Black Team on a touchdown drive that ended with a 42-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Taylor Stubblefield and made the score 14-9 in favor of the Gold Team.

Buergler was 7 of 11 for 75 yards after filling in for the injured Ben Smith in the second quarter after Smith got hit by two defenders so hard that his helmet came off. He did not return after that.

"I'm feeling really fuzzy," Smith said after the game. "I can't even focus on who I'm talking to."

Buergler, who came in with his team down 14-2, said he knows his place on the team.

"That's the kind of thing you've got to do as a backup quarterback," Buergler said. "You've got to be ready when you're not ready."

Guidos, who isn't high on the depth chart at wide receiver, said his only priority is catching the ball.

"You just do your job and hope everything falls into place," said Guidos, a sophomore walk-on from Granger, Ind., who attended Penn High School.

Guidos caught a pass from Gold Team quarterback Brandon Hance and sprinted up the left sideline for a 34-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to end the scoring.

The quarterback for the Gold Team, Hance, performed well enough to get the backing of his teammates and coaches for next season.

"Brandon's had a very good spring and he understands what we want him to do," offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said.

Hance completed 9 of 23 passes for 142 yards and the touchdown to Guidos. He also rushed for 46 yards on 10 carries and scored on a 7-yard run to put the Black Team up 14-2.

He started the game by directing the Black Team on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a five-yard touchdown from junior running back Sedrick Brown. Brown scored on an 8-yarder in the second as the Gold Team took a 21-9 lead into halftime.

"I feel like I have improved a lot this spring," Hance said. "I know I have a lot of work to do and my job is not set in stone, but I feel good about things."

Because he took a redshirt year last year, Hance has all four years of eligibility remaining. However, Kyle Orton, a 6-foot-3 recruit out of Altoona, Iowa, is expected to challenge Hance for the starting job this fall.

But teammates have confidence in the 6-1 Hance, who graduated high school in December 1999 and joined the Boilermakers last spring.

"The offense is too complex to come in and learn in the fall," said Tim Stratton, who caught seven passes for 57 yards.

Hance's only mistake was when he held the ball too long and got sacked by sophomore tackle Craig Terrill for a safety after his team started from the 1-yard line.

Terrill is one of 10 starters returning on defense for Purdue. With those starters spread equally among the two squads, the Gold Team was held to only 287 yards of total offense while the Black Team had 270.

"Defensively you really can't tell how good we are because we had the team split up and not a whole unit," said defensive end Akin Ayodele, who had eight tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack. "That was our goal this spring — dominating as a unit. We're going to need to do that next year."

The special teams were consistent. Senior Travis Dorsch averaged 46 yards on four punts with a long of 60 for the Black Team and neither team missed an extra point.

Stubblefield returned two kickoffs for 41 yards and took a punt 12 yards. Stubblefield also caught six passes for 93 yards to finish with 150 all-purpose yards for the Black Team.

NOTES: Stu Schweigert, who led Purdue in tackles and interceptions last season, sat out with a hip injury. … Defensive tackle Matt Mitrione, who sat out of several recent practices with a hamstring injury, played for the Black Team. … Tyler Moore, a 6-7, 273-pound tackle who is likely to be in the starting lineup next fall, sat out with an ankle sprain.

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SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111 ext. 251

Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Anne McLaren

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