Spring football in college is a lot like spring training in the MLB; don’t worry about the results, just watch the action and enjoy it.
Last season the Bearkats excelled at the wide receiver position and with the arrival of Jason Madkins, a 6-foot-6-inch wide receiver transfer from Navarro Junior College, the Kats look to further solidify their strength at the position.
Madkins was the star Saturday, catching two touchdown passes, one a fade from potential backup quarterback and transfer Ryan Hinojoza and another from Jordan Williams on a dazzling 61-yard play.
“I thought he had a good outing,” SHSU head football coach Todd Whitten said of the transfer wide out. “He’s had a good spring. He’s a big target and does a good job of competing for the ball when it’s in the air. I think he was just outstanding on Saturday.”
The Orange team, led by freshman quarterback Jeff Welch, took an early 7-0 lead when Welch took a QB keeper in to cap a nine-play, 56-yard drive.
Following a Welch interception, Hinojoza got his team going with a play action roll-out to the right side before completing a pass over the middle to tight end John Clark for a 20-yard touchdown strike to tie the game at 7.
Welch orchestrated another drive capped off by a goal line run by running back TyMagic Robinson to give the White team a 14-7 lead. In the following drive, one of the highlights of the day occurred when junior offensive tackle R.C. Fairchild caught a deflected pass and ran for a first down.
Hinojoza’s touchdown pass to Madkins helped give them a 14-point lead, but right before the half, Welch managed to find tight end Paul Mansfield close in on a seven-point deficit.
Though with five minutes to go in the third quarter, Madkins’ highlight reel 61-yard touchdown reception effectively ended any hope of a comeback.
Absence from the game was last year’s starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, who is still unable to play from the knee injury he suffered Nov. 3 in the Kats’ game against Nicholls State. Despite his absence on the field, Bomar’s job as starter isn’t in doubt as he will be ready to go long before the season begins. Whitten acknowledged that Hinojoza is currently the leader in the backup quarterback competition.
Spring football is over, but the 2008 season starts in a little over four months with the Bearkats scheduled to open the year at Bowers Stadium against East Central Oklahoma on August 28.