The annual spring football game was cut short because of lightning last Thursday night, but that didn’t stop the Skyhawks from shining on the field.

The defense edged out the offense on the last play before the game was called, winning 15-10.

They picked up the win on a big interception by cornerback Jason Coleman.

“JC has become a consistent player and the leader in the group,” said cornerbacks coach Matt Wise. “You know what you are going to get out of him every play. He has begun to really see the big picture on defense. That’s why he made that interception on Thursday night. He doesn’t make that play last fall.”

There were several other big plays made during the weather-shortened scrimmage including a 60-yard punt from freshman Bryan Harris.

“Bryan is just a freshman, but he’s going to be a great kicker,” said head Coach Matt Griffin. “He just has to learn how to practice, but we’re working through that”

There was also a big catch in the flats by fullback Jaymond Perry from quarterback Brady Wahlberg,

“Brady looks good,” said Griffin. “He’s much faster than he’s ever been. And Jaymond, he’s a bowling ball. Once you get a little steam under him, you can’t stop him.”

Missing from the line-up was last years star Donald Chapman, who sat out due to severe allergies.

“I was very excited about the spring,” said head coach Matt Griffin. “It’s been much more competitive than its ever been; much faster than it’s ever been.

“We’re more physical and faster than in the past. The greatest thing is the way our kids have been competing. Some practices start out slow, but any time it’s offense versus defense, it really picks up,” said Griffin.

As far as other positions on the field, the coaching staff was very pleased.

“For the most part, we played really hard,” said defensive line coach Johnny Jernigan. “We had a lot of tackles for a loss, and that was due to the new style penetration that we’re using up front. We had a lot success with that and made a lot of things happen in the backfield. I’m very excited about that."

“I feel that the wide receivers had an outstanding spring practice, said wide receivers coach Kevin Cahill. “With a sophomore and five freshman receivers gained a lot of experience this spring. We saw a lot of good thing from sophomore Abner Smith and freshman Anthony Johnson, Jordan Cain and Brian Kissell. We also had positive things from Robert Moore and Chris Wooley. You can tell they are starting to feel comfortable with the skill and drills we do everyday,” said Cahill.

Defensively, possibly the biggest standouts were sophomore Zach Kleinfelder and junior Chad McMahan.

“Kleinfelder was one of the guys I was most impressed with,” said Jernigan. “He played linebacker last season and had to come down to defensive end. He adjusted well to that position. I expect a lot of great things out of him this fall.”

“McMahan did a great job taking on the responsibility of playing free safety for us,” said defensive coordinator Mark Lister. “The free safety in our defense is basically the quarterback and he did a great job with it.”

“[McMahan] was able to grasp the angles and nuances of the position far quicker than I imagined or hoped he would,” said linebackers coach Dwayne Wilmot.

“As far as the Safeties were concerned the player who stood out the most among the group this spring would be Jack Greenwood because of his consistent playmaking ability”, said Wilmot. “There were a couple of surprises namely Denny Catalano and the way he was able to pick up the defense and become a player who can and will help us in the fall.”

Improvements do need to be made, however.

“JC will be working on not just field skills but film study as well,” said Coach Wise of Coleman. “Being able to recognize receiver routes quicker and which ones to expect from field position and situation will help him to make more plays. The rest of the guys need to keep improving on their footwork and their conditioning for fall camp. They need to be the best conditioned players on the field.”

“The guys all need to continue to get bigger, stronger and faster. We also need to continue to strive to be assignment perfect,” said Coach Wilmot.

“Looking forward to next season,” said Coach Cahill, “the receiving core knows that we must continue to get bigger, faster, and stronger. You can’t catch the ball if you can’t get open, so we’re really focused on winning in the weight room right now.”

“One of the biggest things we need to work on is pass rushing,” said Coach Jernigan. “That’s one of the things tried to do this spring. We made some improvements, but we still need to work on that to be a great defensive line group.”

“I like the way neither side dominated this spring,” said Coach Griffin. “Right now, we’re not worried about Central Arkansas, Tennessee State, or any other OVC school right now. We’ve got to take care of our selves first, and that’s what we’re doing.”

The Skyhawks’ regular season starts up at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1 against the University of Central Arkansas at Graham Stadium. For more information, go to www.utmsports.com or call the Sports Information Office at (731)881-7630.