A fresh batch of new Buckeyes jumped at the opportunity to showcase their skills at Saturday’s annual Scarlet-Gray spring game, especially on the offensive side of the ball. When all was said and done, Scarlet proved to exhibit enough fire power to out-shoot the Gray squad at Ohio Stadium, 37-29.

“A lot of real young guys, who perhaps redshirted last year, got some valuable experience and a chance to fight for more playing time,” coach Jim Tressel said. “A year ago we had a significant number of offensive personnel out, but today our defense had five or six guys missing. I felt in both occasions, a year ago and today, our kids competed hard, learned some lessons and gained some valuable experience.”

In a game that portrayed a vast difference from OSU’s usual tendencies to pound the ball on the ground, both sides looked to the air for the majority of the offensive output. The Scarlet and Gray squads combined for 88 pass attempts, compiling over 570 yards of production from the quarterbacks and receivers. Although the two redshirt freshmen quarterbacks did not start for their respective sides, Justin Zwick and Troy Smith made a push in their case to be recognized.

“A lot like how the rest of the spring has gone, they both showed they can make some plays,” Tressel said. “Intuitively, they’re both pretty poised and confident guys. They both learned a lot.”

Zwick, who enjoyed most of the playing time under center for the Scarlet, finished 17-of-29 for 217 yards and four touchdowns. Smith led the Gray team with 234 passing yards, completing 19 of his 37 attempts. In addition, Smith completed two passes for touchdown but also threw one interception.

“It was fun being out there playing in Ohio Stadium, but you can’t get caught up in everything that’s going on around you,” Zwick said. “As a competitor you always want to go out and play well, but I’m just trying to do my best to become a better quarterback everyday in practice.”

Zwick’s favorite target of the afternoon, junior wide receiver Bam Childress, welcomed the chance to shine in the spring spotlight. Childress caught four passes for 109 yards, and turned two of those receptions into touchdowns.

On his second end zone trip, after catching a short pass in the flat, he schooled a collection of Gray defenders and galloped 54 yards to the goal line. Childress also helped his team with a tally on special teams, as he raced 94 yards returning a kickoff for the Scarlet’s first score.

“I had a good day and it felt good, but it was all about just having fun out there,” Childress said. “I took it seriously, but if you don’t have fun doing what you love to do, nothing really good is going to happen.”

A noticeable commodity that was lacking last season, but seemed to surface during the scrimmage was the success of OSU’s return teams. Childress’ scamper was preceded by a 79-yard punt return from freshman wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Tressel said it was a big plus to see the return teams clicking on all cylinders.

“The biggest plus, if you dissect the game, was the big play potential of our special teams,” Tressel said.

“Bam Childress and Santonio Holmes showed what they can do with the ball on the field. We’ve worked hard on our returns and we want to be a better return team in 2003.”

The Gray team struck first at 5:49 of the second quarter as junior kicker Josh Huston booted a 21-yard field goal. Soon after, the special teams shined as back-to-back returns from Holmes and Childress made the score 10-7 in favor of the Gray squad. Huston closed out the first half with a 34-yard try that split the uprights, and gave his team a 13-7 cushion.

The second half gave way to an offensive barrage that rudely awakened the 57,200 fans in attendance. Senior quarterback Scott McMullen initiated the raid, finding two-way starter Chris Gamble on a 19-yard slant pattern in the end zone. The notch padded the Gray’s lead to 20-7 at 11:49 of the third.

Trailing by 13, Zwick led the Scarlet back with two straight drives that ended in touchdown strikes. After finding freshman receiver Roy Hall and sophomore tight end Ryan Hamby, Zwick gave his side a 21-20 lead at 4:14 of the third quarter. Huston quickly added his third and final field goal of the day, but Zwick’s third touchdown pass at 6:13 of the fourth gave the Scarlet the lead for good.

Each side added one more aerial score in the game’s waning minutes. The Gray’s final effort with 13 seconds remaining, came after Smith found Holmes wide open in the back of the end zone. The ensuing extra-point was blocked however, by the Scarlet’s Nate Salley. Freshman defensive back Ashton Youboty returned the point-after-attempt for the game’s last score, giving the Scarlet its final 39-27 edge.