by Thomas Thortvedt

Pack football concluded the spring season by splitting and drafting teams in the annual red versus white squad in the spring game, Friday, April 21, at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl.

The event started off at 5:30 p.m. with the Pack welcoming kids of all ages to come stretch with the team before kicking off the game between the Red and White team at 6 p.m. Before taking the field the team had the opportunity to meet Pack football alumni.

The two teams were put together by a draft that took place Thursday morning. Darius Williams, junior cornerback, said that having a draft take place makes the game much more competitive.

“Having a draft to separate teams makes the teams that much more hungry to win,” Williams said. “We’re all one team but the draft definitely brings out more competition.”

The game between the White and Red squad was close all throughout. The White squad was able to head into the final period with a 10-7 lead after a field goal by sophomore, Nathan Taylor.

As the fourth quarter loomed, second and third string players were able to close out the game and gather reps.

The game came down to the final drive where the Red squad had the ball placed on their 20 yard line. Redshirt freshman quarterback, Cody Braesch, drove the Red squad down the field and with only seconds remaining, threw a touchdown to freshman tight end, Brian Nichols.

The final score of the contest was 14-10 and both teams came together as a collective at the 50 yard line to hear the final spring ball speech given by head coach John Wristen.

After players were set free to go change in the locker room, Coach Wristen said he can’t wait to have everyone coming back healthy this upcoming fall. “Spring is tough on our guys,” he said. “We had many players injured throughout spring ball and to have our guys come back healthy in the fall gives us a lot of optimism,” Wristen said.

After concluding the spring ball season, the Pack now await the start of the fall season where they’ll take on Colorado Mines at the Thunderbowl, August 31 to start the 2017 campaign.