Blue Defeats White In Low-Scoring A-Day Game - AuburnTigers.com - Auburn University Official Athletic Site

Blue Defeats White In Low-Scoring A-Day Game Brad Lester, David Irons and Kody Bliss earn MVP honors.

David Irons makes an interception against Courtney Taylor

March 18, 2006

AUBURN, Ala. - The defense controlled most of the action at Auburn's A-Day spring football game, as the Blue team emerged with a 7-0 victory over the White squad Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. A crowd limited to 9,923 fans by ongoing construction at the Stadium watched the contest which was played in regular game conditions with the exception of no kickoffs or returned punts.

Junior quarterback Brandon Cox connected with redshirt freshman tight end Tommy Trott for a 53-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter for what proved to be the game's only points, as both the Auburn offense and defense limited their approaches and both sides substituted freely.

"It was a good day," said Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville. "It was a typical spring game. A lot of guys were anxious to get it over with. We have five months to get this thing where we want it. We have a lot of work to do."

Sophomore Brad Lester earned offensive MVP honors after rushing for 62 yards on 10 carries, seeing most of the action with the first-team offense as Kenny Irons received most of the afternoon off. Cox took all of the snaps with the starting offensive unit, completing 12 of 21 passes for 104 yards and the TD to Trott, who finished with team highs of 112 yards receiving on four catches.

Freshman Ben Tate added 34 yards on the ground on 14 carries, while the defense did not allow any other player to rush for more than 25 yards or gain more than 12 yards receiving.

"The defense knows the offense pretty well," said Tuberville. "They know where the running plays are going. We made a lot of progress on defense. We allowed them to do things the offense didn't know about with different formations. It will be good to see on film how guys reacted. It is always a concern when the offense doesn't score points."

Senior cornerback David Irons was the defensive MVP, recording five solo tackles and intercepting a pass. Redshirt freshman Antonio Coleman had a game-high eight tackles for the White team including two sacks, while senior Marquies Gunn had a pair of sacks for the Blue squad. Senior Montavis Pitts also had an interception.

The Blue team offense totaled 118 yards and eight first downs during the contest, while the White team collected 146 yards and 10 first downs.

Kody Bliss was the special teams MVP, averaging 46.8 yards on six punts, including a long of 56 yards while placing three inside the 20-yard line.

Saturday's A-Day game concluded spring practice for Auburn. The Tigers will open the regular season Sept. 2 when Auburn hosts Washington State at Jordan-Hare Stadium.