University Southern California Trojans
Van Raaphorst, MacKenzie, Abrams Highlight USC Football Scrimmage
June 21, 1999 | Football
August 19, 1998
LOS ANGELES - USC sophomore quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst threw 2 touchdown passes, sophomore tailback Malaefou MacKenzie rushed for 2 more scores and senior placekicker Adam Abrams nailed a pair of field goals in an intrasquad scrimmage in the Coliseum on Wednesday.
Van Raaphorst's TDs went 47 yards to junior wide receiver R. Jay Soward, who had 5 catches overall for 133 yards, and 16 yards to junior tailback Petros Papadakis. On the day, Van Raaphorst was 8-of-10 passing for 126 yards. USC's freshman quarterbacks were equally effective, as Carson Palmer hit 11-of-15 passes for 166 yards and Jason Thomaswas 6-of-10 for 108 yards, including a 71-yard TD bomb to walk-on freshman wide receiver Jason d'Autremont.
MacKenzie, who had 78 yards on 5 carries in the scrimmage, scored on runs of 3 and 10 yards. Junior tailback Jabari Jackson added a 1-yard TD run. Freshmen tailbacks Frank Strong (3 carries, 39 yards) and Sultan McCullough(8 carries, 36 yards), plus soph fullback Ted Iacenda (2 carries, 61 yards) and junior tailback Chad Morton (5 carries, 17 yards), also ran well.
Abrams' field goals were from 38 and 34 yards. Defensively, junior tackle Darren Collins and sophomore linebacker Zeke Moreno had 5 tackles each, while junior linebacker David Gibson, soph linebacker Jason Steen and redshirt freshman cornerback Kris Richard added 4 stops apiece.
"The offense obviously felt the repercussions from last weekend's scrimmage (when it was ineffective) and played well today," said new USC head coach Paul Hackett. "The running backs stepped up. I was pleased with the play of the quarterbacks. And the defense did well in spots. I liked our effort, tempo and spirit, there was some great running and passing, and some great hitting. But we have miles and miles to go, and we're a tired team right now."
This was the Trojans' final scrimmage prior to their Aug. 30 Pigskin Classic opener against Purdue in the Coliseum.
