Football: Defense wins jersey scrimmage

If Saturday's jersey scrimmage was any indication of the intensity and thrill that this weekend's Ohio State spring football game will provide, then thousands of Buckeye supporters will leave the Horseshoe pleased.

Senior kicker Aaron Pettrey misfired on a 35-yard extra point attempt, clinching a 56-55 victory for the OSU defense. With the win, the defense was awarded the heralded scarlet jerseys for the spring game.

In the scrimmage, the defense earned one point for forcing a turnover on downs, two for a safety, two for a negative play, five for a turnover and seven for a touchdown.

The offense was awarded one point for a first down, two for a "big play," three for a field goal and seven for a touchdown with the extra point.

Running back Dan Herron capped the final drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Needing the extra point to tie, the kick was pushed back after quarterback Terrelle Pryor was flagged for a personal foul because of a squabble with defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.

Pettrey's kick sailed wide right, clinching the game in the defense's favor.

"Missing that last one doesn't help me that much," Pettrey said. "That's the first one I've missed to tie or win a game. But I was happy to get a few kicks out there today."

Pryor finished with 89 passing yards and an interception. Herron ran for 44 yards on 12 carries.

The defense racked up its points from strong play by the defensive line. Sophomore Solomon Thomas recorded seven of the group's 13 sacks. Coach Jim Tressel attributed some of Thomas' performance to his exploitation of weak blocking by the offensive line.

"Solomon played better than he's played since he's been here," Tressel said. "He's had a very solid spring. The opposition always has something to do with it, but I wouldn't take anything away from Solomon."

Tight end Jake Ballard credited Thomas' blossoming to his progression and maturation during the offseason.

"He's fast, long-armed and hard to maintain and keep off the quarterback," Ballard said. "With him, he's growing up and learning the plays better and figuring out what his responsibilities are. When he realizes he can keep going hard every play, it's better and better for him. I'm not surprised at how many sacks he had."

The performance by Thomas, projected as one of several backups at defensive end, exhibits the depth among the defensive line, said senior defensive end Lawrence Wilson.

"We're extremely deep at defensive end," he said. "The defensive line in general, we're extremely deep. We can throw in a lot of guys, so that's always a benefit to have a lot of healthy bodies."

When the defensive line pressures the quarterback as it did Saturday, it eases the burden on the linebackers and secondary, Tressel said.

"Football's a game of pressure," he said. "The defensive front is exerting the pressure, the secondary is smart, and they can see that the ball has to come out early. They know what each other is doing. We've got a chance to have a defense that pressures."

Defensive tackle Doug Worthington chipped in 3 ½ sacks, while defensive lineman Cam Heyward and safety Kurt Coleman contributed one sack apiece. The defense built leads of 19-2 and 34-7 before hanging on for the victory.

Running back Brandon Saine paced the offense with 77 yards on 15 carries. Saine, who will be a junior next season, has battled injuries and inconsistency during his first two seasons as a Buckeye.

Tressel said he prefers to judge Saine's performance only when healthy, which includes his solid showing in the scrimmage.

"Brandon's healthy and when you're healthy, that's key," he said. "You never want to evaluate a freshman or a guy that's injured. If you think back to when Brandon's been healthy, he's been very solid. He ran the ball very well today. He showed more free-flowing instinct then he had when he was banged up."

Despite a lack of consistent downfield ball movement, the offense excelled in catching the defense off guard, Tressel said.

"One of the things you try to do is get tempo changes," he said. "They did a nice job of getting lined up and getting a play run before the defense had their cleats dug in. Then they executed, so that's got to give you a little bit of confidence."

While the defense rejoiced after the final kick flew wide of the goalpost, Ballard assured that the group's claim on the scarlet jerseys will be short-lived.

"It stinks, but they're only going to have them for a week," he said. "Then we get another shot at them in the fall, which will be the real challenge."

Saturday's Scarlet and Gray Game will take place at 1:30 p.m. at Ohio Stadium following the men's lacrosse game against Notre Dame.