By

The University of Louisville football team ended the 2011 spring season with the annual Wendy’s Wonderful Children red-white scrimmage on April 15.

This inner squad scrimmage provided an opportunity for Cardinal fans to get a look at how the team is performing in hopes for a successful 2011 fall season. The game was divided into four 15-minute quarters. In the first half there were regular game stoppages, but in the second half the clock was continuous.

The few hundred Cards fans who came out on that chilly spring evening were able to walk out of Papa John’s Stadium feeling confident with the team’s play. The red squad, which consisted of starters, were led by junior quarterback Will Stein who put on a show in front of his hometown. Stein completed 10 passes out of 14 attempts, throwing for 123 yards as well as scoring two touchdowns.

Stein didn’t march on alone, though. Victor Anderson, a senior running back, rushed for 72 yards on six carries with two touchdowns, including a 58-yard run in the second quarter. These are promising numbers from Anderson, especially after the team said farewell to 2010 senior running back Bilal Powell, who was arguably one of the Cardinals’ best ball carriers in school history.

The red team offense was able to outscore the white team’s defense to a score of 31-14. In a game that was meant to be won by the first squad, it was nice to see the depth of the team shown by how the second squad fought and competed against the first squad.

After last year’s critics considered the Cardinal defense to be porous at times, this year’s defensive line looked nothing of the sort during the scrimmage. The first team defense tallied seven sacks led by junior defensive tackle Randy Salmon, who tallied two. Junior safety Agyei Williams marked three interceptions while redshirt freshman corner back Jordon Paschal notched one.

Maybe the cold Friday night made it a bit unappealing for fans to attend the April 15 scrimmage, but the faithful few that attended were fortunate enough to witness the beginning of a new Cardinal team. I think I can speak for the fans who attended when I say that the confident swagger of this year’s Cardinal squad seems to indicate a winning Cardinal season on the horizon.