Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2022 17 BY TYLER HORKA S teve Angeli delivered what the doc- tor ordered. So did Jadarian Price. The first touchdown of the Blue-Gold Game went to walk-on tight end Andrew Yanoshak with 50 sec- onds left in the first half. It was a brilliant play call by offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who sent sophomore running back Logan Diggs — and just about everyone else — darting to toward the left pylon with play action. Yanoshak drifted to the right, and junior quarterback Drew Pyne flipped a pass to him for an easy score. Nothing was easy for the offense to that point. The game needed some of- fensive firepower beyond the goal line brilliance drafted by Rees, and a pair of early enrollee freshmen delivered it. Both defenses dominated for most of an unusually warm late-April day in South Bend, which is perfectly fine con- sidering Notre Dame's first-year head coach made a name for himself in the coaching ranks on that side of the ball. The Gold team's 13-10 victory over the Blue squad was an indication defensive coordinator Al Golden's principles are sticking with players right away. But enter Angeli and Price — rookies at quarterback and running back, respectively. As well as the defenses played from start to finish, their touch- downs defined the day. Everyone will have the lasting image of Price taking a 51-yard screen pass from Angeli the distance. They'll also long remember Angeli rolling to his left, tucking the ball and racing to the goal line ahead of crashing defenders. Had Angeli not orchestrated a 10-play, 78-yard drive in the final minutes, the Blue team would have won a 10-7 snoozer that left 33,754 fans at Notre Dame Stadium questioning what they just witnessed. Angeli likely isn't going to compete for playing time in his first season, even after Pyne struggled immensely. Pyne completed 22 of 33 attempts for 185 yards with one touchdown and two intercep- tions. He played for both teams, which was a tall order considering the rosters were jumbled, mixed and matched. Pyne had difficulty generating any type of flow from series to series. He didn't have much rest. We'll never know how much better he could have played had sophomore Tyler Buchner been healthy enough to give it a go to make it a true head-to-head duel. At some point, though, this game will be a distant memory in the context of the quarterback battle. Pyne is still ex- pected to push Buchner for the starting job in the fall, and there are many more months to decide that battle. Something says Notre Dame fans won't soon forget Angeli and Price's he- roics, though. Spring games are meant to provide optimism for the future. Pyne didn't necessarily deliver on that, but the youngsters surely did. "It was awesome," Angeli said. "It was a dream for me and my family for them to watch me play and also for me to be on that turf with a golden helmet." "It was amazing," Price added. "After practices, Steve and I get a lot of extra reps in. It showed on the field today." Here is the breakdown of each series and the scoring. FIRST QUARTER GOLD 0, BLUE 0 Gold Offense From Own 25, 15:00: Pyne was sacked by junior defensive end Rylie Mills on the game's first play result- ing in a loss of 10 yards. Junior running back Chris Tyree gained that yardage back on a second down rush, but the drive ended in a three-and-out after junior defensive end Alexander Ehrensberger broke up a third down pass attempt. Blue Offense From Own 43, 13:18: Pyne completed a five-yard pass to soph- omore wide receiver Deion Colzie. He connected with sophomore running back Logan Diggs, but sophomore linebacker Prince Kollie sniffed out the screen for a loss of a yard. Sophomore tackle Blake Fisher was flagged for a false start, and Pyne couldn't connect with Colzie on third-and-11. Graduate student safety DJ Brown broke up the pass attempt. G o l d O f fe n se Fro m O w n 2 0, 11:21: An end-around to graduate stu- dent wide receiver Braden Lenzy and a completion to junior tight end Michael Mayer netted 20 yards, but the drive stalled at the Gold 39 on an incomplete screen intended for Price. Blue Offense From Own 13, 8:29: Angeli entered the game for the first time, but he handed off to sopho- more running back Audric Estime five straight times. Estime netted 18 yards on the handful of attempts before Blue had to punt. Gold Offense From Own 25, 4:41: Pyne found Lenzy for a gain of 24 yards down the right sideline for the longest play from scrimmage to that point. He connected with sophomore wide re- ceiver Jayden Thomas for 11 yards on the very next play. A 10-yard connection with walk-on tight end Charlie Selna pushed Gold closer to the red zone. A false start penalty on sophomore tackle Caleb Johnson and a two-yard loss on a screen to Price pushed Gold farther back, though. Pyne fluttered a pass on third-and-10 that was intercepted by sophomore safety Justin Walters, but the play was reversed for an offsides penalty on senior defensive tackle Jacob Lacey. That was the final play of the quarter. SECOND QUARTER BLUE 10, GOLD 0 Gold Offense From Blue 24, 15:00: Pyne was pressured by Ehrensberger and was intercepted by senior line- backer Jordan Botelho, who returned it 42 yards to the Gold 40. Blue Offense From Gold 40, 15:00: Pyne overthrew a wide-open sopho- more wide receiver Lorenzo Styles on first down. Blue moved the chains on 10 combined rushing yards from Diggs and Pyne. Styles drew a pass interfer- ence penalty on sophomore cornerback Philip Riley. The drive stalled from there, but graduate transfer kicker Blake Grupe A Fresh Start Early enrollee freshmen Steve Angeli and Jadarian Price led the Gold team to a 13-10 win over the Blue squad Angeli completed 11 of 13 passes for 180 yards with one touchdown. He also scored a 10-yard rushing touchdown on the last play of the game to give the Gold team the victory. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER