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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Miller Passes Ole Miss Blues Over Reds, 20-3
6/21/1999 | Football
April 17, 1999
OXFORD, Miss. - Quarterback Romaro Miller tossed two touchdown passes and Carlisle McGee and Phil Luchesse booted field goals here Saturday afternoon to pace the Blues to a 20-3 victory over the Reds as spring football practice came to an end for the Ole Miss Rebels.
"I thought that the execution on both sides of the ball was crisp," said head coach David Cutcliffe. "You worry when you split your sides up that execution is going to suffer. It was evident that the running backs were making plays. I thought that Romaro played well. Kendrick Clancy showed up out there, and he shows a lot of promise."
With a crowd of 14,000 looking on in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Miller opened the scoring with a 27-yard TD toss to fullback Charles Stackhouse with 6:31 remaining in the first quarter. McGee's PAT gave the Blues a 7-0 lead.
McGee's 27-yard field goal with 6:38 remaining in the second quarter ended all first half scoring as the Blues led 10-0 at the break. The Reds finally got on the board late in the third stanza when junior college transfer Les Binkley booted a 35-yard field goal, which cut the deficit to 10-3.
The Blues scored the only points in the fourth quarter as Phil Luchesse booted a 23-yard field goal with 10:40 left and Miller connected with tailback Joe Gunn for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:06 remaining in the contest. Luchesse's PAT made it 20-3.
"This is an enthusiastic squad," Cutcliffe said. "This is the best attitude of a squad that I've been around. I think that shows up out there every day. They are willing to go to work and they're fun to be around."
Miller, the Most Valuable Offensive Player in last year's Sanford Independence Bowl, completed 12 of 21 passes for 166 yards and two TDs while Gunn was the leading rusher with 56 yards on 16 carries.
"We've made some big improvements this spring," Miller said. "It is not nearly the whole package (on offense), but we are getting ready. "Anytime you have Deuce (McAllister) and (Charles) Stackhouse in the backfield running over people, it is going to create some opportunities for the deep play. Today we hit some of those and missed some, but we've got time to work on that next season."
Wide receiver Mike Salters and Stackhouse each caught three passes to lead the Blues. Wide receiver Maurice Flournoy and tight end Doug Zeigler had two catches each.
The Reds were led by quarterback David Morris, who completed 10 of 16 passes for 83 yards, and Tim Gallahan's five for nine for 33 yards.
Tailback Deuce McAllister had 15 yards rushing on 10 carries. McAllister, Ronnie Letson, Todd Campbell, and Sheldon Morris each caught three passes for the Reds.
Defensively, Kenny Woods led the Reds with eight tackles. Ronnie Heard, the Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner for 1999, and Michael Boone each had quarterback sacks.
Heard, who was given a standing ovation by the Ole Miss fans pregame when he was announced as the Mullins winner, said it felt the same when the game got underway, having switched from No. 2 to No. 38 on his jersey.
"I know I have larger responsibilities," he said. "I have to be more outspoken on and off the field. I'll try to be like Chucky."
The winning Blue defense was paced by linebacker Eddie Strong, who had six tackles, including three for losses, while recording three QB sacks and one pass break-up.
Ole Miss will open the 1999 season in Memphis on Sept. 4 when the Rebels take on the University of Memphis Tigers.
"One of the things that tells the tale is how the team handles the summer and how much carry-over we have in August," Cutcliffe added. "What we do in the summer and what we do in two-a-days is going to be critical for this football team."
Ole Miss Sports Information
Blues 7 3 0 7 -- 20Reds 0 0 3 0 -- 3INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Blue - Stackhouse, 27 pass from Miller (McGee kick) 6:31 1QBlue - McGee, 27 FG 6:38 2QRed - Binkley, 35 FG 5:09 3QBlue - Luchesse, 23 FG 10:40 4QBlue - Gunn, 15 pass from Miller 1:06 4Q
TEAM STATS RED BLUEFirst Downs 8 15Rushing (Net) 11 100Passing (Net) 116 166Total Offense 127 266Passing (A-C-I) 25-15-1 21-12-0Punts-Average 3-45.0 3-35.3Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0Penalties-Yards 1-5 4-30Possession Time 21:05 26:55
Rushing - Blue: Gunn 16-56, Stackhouse 6-34, Chandler 8-21 Red: McAllister 10-15, C. Brown 3-11
Passing - Blue: Miller 12-21-0-166 (2 TD) Red: Morris 16-10-1-83, Gallahan 9-5-0-33
Receiving - Blue: Saulters 3-44, Stackhouse 3-32 (1 TD) Red: Morris 3-24, McAllister 3-22, Campbell 3-22, Letson 3-17
