San Diego State held its annual Fan Fest scrimmage on Saturday night at SnapDragon Stadium. This marked the team’s ninth practice of fall camp and second in full pads.
“It was a good night and good to be in the home stadium,” Lewis said, reflecting on the scrimmage. “It was a good opportunity for the guys to put on a show and compete a little bit for the community and their loved ones.”
The event allowed fans to spectate the team and where they stand now with less than 20 days until the season’s first game. Head coach Sean Lewis and his staff were also able to see players play and show out under the stadium lights, and pep band rally giving way to a gameday environment.
As the quarterback competition within fall camp has been the biggest story thus far, without a starter being named, Lewis noted the rotation in which redshirt sophomore Kyle Crum, transfer A.J. Duffy, true freshman Danny O’Neil, or redshirt freshman Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson played, shouldn’t be any more looked into.
SDSU played five quarterbacks in the scrimmage, with Duffy completing 7 of 12 attempts for 144 yards, while Johnson finished with 82 yards on 5 for 9 passing. Johnson also threw the lone touchdown pass in the game, hitting wide receiver Jerry McClure down the right side as he fell in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown against the first-team defense.
On the other side of the ball, defense was all over the field in the first half of the game, having two sacks, two interceptions and holding the offense to a pair of field goals.
Cornerback Chris Johnson intercepted Crum on the Aztecs’ opening possession. Cornerback Jelani Whitmore added a pick of his own off Duffy later in the second quarter to halt any momentum.
“The interception I had was really early,” Johnson said. “We had one of our base coverages, and it turned into a scramble drill. Coach Sumler preaches that on a scramble to go to the nearest receiver so that’s what happened.”
On the offense’s third drive, running back Kenan Christon burst on a 16-yard run from a third-and-1 situation, while Duffy made a big throw to wide receiver Baylin Brooks for a huge gain of 58 before getting down to the two. The defense settled the offense after a two-yard run loss from running back Jaylon Armstead and two more plays for none resulted in a 20-yard field goal from Gabe Plascencia shortly after to cap off an eight-play, 94-yard drive.
Brooks noted the effect a consistent running game can have on the passing game following the scrimmage.
“It opens up [the passing game] totally,” Brooks said. “The running game makes more people come in the box, which allows me to get one-on-one matchups and other receivers get one-on-one matchups and dominate on top.”
O’Neil led the Aztecs on an 11-play, 63-yard drive highlighted by a 31-yard strike downfield to wide receiver Jordan Napier on a fourth-and-6 situation play while running back Cam Davis went upfield for a seven-yard run. Kicker Nick Lopez knocked a 29-yard field goal to cap off the drive.
In the second half, San Diego State’s offense came full swing as they put together three touchdown drives. In addition to the score by McClure as mentioned earlier, Armstead rushed downfield through a seam on the left side of the field to go 40 yards to the end zone. The final touchdown for SDSU came from running back Lucky Sutton, who ran four times for 37 yards on the drive, and capitalized on a seven-yard rushing touchdown.
The Scarlet and Black totaled 223 yards on the ground of 58 rushing attempts, led by Sutton’s 79 yards on 15 attempts and Armstead’s 45 yards on eight rushes. McClure led the Aztecs in receiving, grabbing five passes for 100 yards, while Brooks hauled six catches for 92 yards.
Defensively, edge rushers Ezekiel Larry and Trey White led the team in sacks with two apiece, while Larry and safeties William Nimmo Jr, and Dalesean Staley finished with six tackles. Chris Johnson also finished with five solo tackles.
The Aztecs will open the season on Aug. 31 against Texas A&M University-Commerce at 5 p.m.
