DEFENSIVE EDGE: Red wins G-Day game in low-scoring affair (w/video)

TYLER ESTEP

Issue date: 4/13/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: JIM DIFFLY

Carlton Thomas led all running backs in the G-Day game with 59 yards and a touchdown.

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Media Credit: DANIEL SHIREY

Defensive end Justin Houston drags down Caleb King.

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If anything, Saturday's G-Day game, a 13-3 win for the Red team, pointed to the struggles Georgia may face as it looks to replace quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno.

Neither offense showed much in the way of brilliance, as three field goals accounted for all the scoring until the final play of the game.

"I think the defense took this game very seriously and was excited about establishing that edge, or continuing what they've established this spring," head coach Mark Richt said.

Two hours of dropped passes, fumbles and tedium were bookended by a pair of exciting plays.

Quarterback Joe Cox and the Red team kicked off the game with a flea flicker that went to A.J. Green for 35 yards, and tiny redshirt freshman tailback Carlton Thomas finally put a touchdown on the board with a 20-yard scamper on the game's final play.

Thomas, a speedster who stands at just 5-foot-7, was glad he could relieve a little bit of the offense's struggles, even if it wasn't until the waning seconds.

"It felt good man, it felt good," Thomas said. "I felt like it showed the offense that we can be successful. Even going through the whole game with no score, it showed we never quit."

Cox was 9-for-16 for 105 yards in his official debut as Georgia's starter behind center. Three of those completions went to tight end Aron White, the first-team's leader with 50 yards receiving.

But both offenses struggled, combining for three fumbles, a number of dropped passes and an interception from freshman Zach Mettenberger.

"We had way too many drops, which was pretty obvious," Richt said. "But I thought each quarterback put the ball on the money most of the time, and it would have been nice to see the receivers hold on to it. It would have been more exciting for the fans I'm sure."

Said Cox: "I was completely comfortable. What a lot of people don't know is for the spring game going against our guys we try and scheme up a lot of crazy plays to try and beat our guys, because they see us run the same plays every day … It wasn't like we were out there running our normal offense."

Redshirt sophomore Logan Gray had a solid performance as the Black team's starter, going 9-of-13 for 91 yards, and junior receiver Marquise Brown stood out with three receptions for 62 yards.

Mettenberger and classmate Aaron Murray combined to go 3-for-8 in their unofficial debut in Georgia jerseys.

With Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno present but on the sidelines Saturday, the Georgia offense was largely lacking in star power. The Bulldogs showed that, outside of Green, they don't have a big-name offensive "playmaker" per se, a void Richt believes will be filled before they take the field in August.

"We didn't see it today, but I think we do," Richt said. "And I think once we get everybody together, everybody healthy and just focus on our first team, I think we'll be fine."

Linebacker Marcus Washington, who missed last season with a shoulder injury, and defensive end Justin Houston, one of only two healthy scholarship ends, both tallied three sacks as a part of a Georgia defense that held both offenses to a combined 329 yards.

It was far from an offensive shootout in front of 42,000-plus at Sanford Stadium and millions on ESPN, but Richt said he didn't mind the low-scoring outcome.

"I feel better with the score that we had than with a 31-30 game, that's for sure," he said.