University Southern California Trojans
Pierson TD Run Highlights Scrimmage
March 31, 2000 | Football
March 31, 2000
LOS ANGELES - Senior quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst completed 10-of-16 passes for 104 yards and sophomore fullback Chad Pierson had a 47-yard touchdown run to highlight a 50-play intrasquad scrimmage by the USC football team on Friday (March 31) at Howard Jones Field on campus.
Van Raaphorst shared the snaps with sophomore quarterback Carson Palmer, USC's returning starting quarterback who redshirted last year after suffering a broken collarbone against Oregon in the third game of the year. Palmer completed 4-of-8 passes for 28 yards on Friday.
USC was without a number of offensive players, including sophomore receivers Kareem Kelly and Marcell Allmond and sophomore tailback Sutlan McCullough, who sat out the scrimmage while resting for USC's four-way track and field meet on Saturday (April 1) at Cromwell Field.
"It was good today," said USC Coach Paul Hackett. "We're coming together offensively. The kicking game got better. For being halfway through spring practice, we're about where I expected us to be."
Junior tailback Malaefou MacKenzie had eight carries for 25 yards. Pierson, whose scoring run was the only touchdown of the practice, finished with two carries for a team-high 52 yards.
Senior fullback Brennan Ochs had a scrimmage-high four receptions for 31 yards while senior receiver Matt Nickels had three catches for a team-best 63 yards, including a 38-yard strike from Van Raaphorst.
The defense finished with five sacks and nine tackles for losses. Junior safety Frank Strong had a team-high seven tackles and sophomore safety Troy Polamalu had five. Junior defensive lineman Bobby DeMars had four tackles, including two sacks for 12 yards and three tackles for losses for 14 yards.
Senior defensive end Sultan Abdul-Malik blocked one field goal. Senior David Bell attempted five field goals, making two (40 and 39).
USC, which opens its season against Penn State in the Kickoff Classic on Aug. 27 in Giants Stadium, continues spring practice through Saturday, April 15.
