WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Led by two touchdowns apiece from quarterbacks Joey Elliott and Justin Siller, with the latter’s coming in the fourth quarter, the Gold team held on to defeat the Black team 28-14 in Saturday’s Black & Gold Game at Ross-Ade Stadium.
The game featured the first-string offense and the second-string defense (Black team) vs. the second-string offense and the first-string defense (Gold team).
“I thought we had a competitive game, which was our goal,” head coach Joe Tiller said. “Your No. 2 offense always is going to have the upper hand on your No. 2 defense because of the multiplicity of formations that you run.
“I didn’t like the way the No. 1 offense started, but I liked the way they came on after their slow start.”
After falling behind 14-0 on a 4-yard touchdown reception by Jeff Panfil in the second quarter, the Black team recovered late in the quarter with two quick touchdowns. The first came on a Jaycen Taylor 35-yard touchdown run with 4:49 left to go in the half. On the Gold team’s next possession, Siller was intercepted by Mike Conway, who then returned it 29 yards to the end zone to tie the score before the half.
The third quarter went scoreless, but the fourth quarter saw the Gold team dominate from the start. Jared Crank scored on a 3-yard reception from Siller 25 seconds into the final frame and Dan Dierking scored on a 12-yard reception from Siller with a little more than two minutes remaining in the contest.
Elliott had the best day passing after splitting time on both teams during the game, completing 21 of his 27 passing attempts for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Curtis Painter finished the day 11 of 19 for 102 yards and Siller went 8 of 14 for 60 yards and two touchdown tosses.
Dierking led all rushers with 88 yards on 16 carries. Teammate Jared Crank had 52 yards on 10 totes and Taylor had 47 yards on six carries and a touchdown.
The leading receivers were tight ends with the Gold team’s Colton McKey catching five balls for 37 yards and a touchdown while the Black team was led by Jerry Wasikowski with five catches for 52 yards.
The only sack of the game came from Ryan Kerrigan of the Gold team. Tyler Haston also had an interception for the Gold team.
Despite missing many key players due to injury, Tiller said he likes the makeup of his team and looks forward to his final campaign on the Purdue sidelines in 2008.
“I will like this team in the fall when we get all our injured guys back,” the 12th-year grid boss said. “We had a good spring. Because of the injuries – the most I think I have had in all my years of coaching – a lot of younger players got a lot of reps they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. That may prove to be a blessing in the long run.”
The Boilermakers will open the 2008 season against Northern Colorado on Sept. 6 at Ross-Ade.
