by Rob Moseley

Editor, GoDucks.com

Photo: Eric Evans

Just one point separated the teams quarterbacked by Dakota Prukop and Travis Jonsen in Oregon's Spring Game on Saturday, a fitting conclusion to a month of practice that saw the signal-callers engage in a spirited duel that will resume in August.

Prukop's second touchdown of the game to breakout freshman receiver Dillon Mitchell put their “Mighty Oregon” team up a touchdown with 4:36 to play. Jonsen got “Webfoots” into the end zone on a QB keeper with 32 seconds left, but a potential game-winning two-point conversion was stuffed by new coordinator Brady Hoke's defensive line, giving Mighty Oregon a 21-20 victory before 35,116 fans in Autzen Stadium.

“That was extremely cool, a great way to end the spring, coming down to the wire like that,” said Prukop, the graduate transfer from Montana State who got the lion's share of quarterback reps in the spring along with the redshirt freshman Jonsen.

The offenses were slow to find traction early, in part to a defense that forced two turnovers — an interception each for Jonsen and his Mighty Oregon teammate, true freshman Terry Wilson — and sacked the quarterbacks 10 times. Jonsen drove Mighty Oregon to two Aidan Schneider field goals, the only scoring until just before halftime.

Webfoots scored on the final play of the half, when Prukop threw a 32-yard pass to the back of the end zone that Mitchell hauled in by leaping over cornerback Ugo Amadi. The second half was similarly slow developing, before Mighty Oregon's Kani Benoit broke two tackles for a 48-yard gain to set up a three-yard TD run on the next play, again by Benoit.

That made it 14-6 Mighty Oregon entering the final quarter, but Jonsen tied it soon after when, on fourth-and-short, he stood tall in the pocket under pressure and found Darren Carrington for a 52-yard touchdown. The score thus was 14-14 before Prukop's second touchdown to Mitchell put Mighty Oregon back in front for good.

Fans Flock to Pharaoh: Among the loudest cheers of the day followed the fourth play of the Spring Game, a three-yard pass from Jonsen to tight end Pharaoh Brown.

Since suffering a devastating leg injury at Utah in November 2014, Brown had set a goal of returning to action in this year's spring game. He ended up catching three balls for 43 yards, the first being the shortest after cornerback Arrion Springs arrived just after the catch.

“I didn't have time to do anything; I got hit right away,” Brown said. “It's not how I wanted my first play to be. But it was great. The fans were loud. I could hear all the love in the stadium.”

Webfoots' first scoring drive relied heavily on the big senior tight end. Brown got free angling toward the sideline and hauled in a 26-yard catch on the run, and on the next play hauled in a 16-yard grab in the red zone despite having safety Fotu Leiato II draped all over him.

That was his final touch on the day, whose symbolism in terms of Brown's recovery was much more important that his statistical line.

“It was good to get out there in front of the fans and everybody and be able to play,” he said. “Now it's getting ready for fall camp and getting ready for the season. It's a long road ahead of us.”

QB Battle Continues: Coaches declined to name a starting quarterback for the 2016 season prior to and following the Spring Game, and there wasn't an obvious gap between Prukop and Jonsen on Saturday.

Prukop finished 20-of-29 for 190 yards, relying primarily on checkdowns to playmakers like Charles Nelson and Royce Freeman. The exceptions were his two touchdown passes to Mitchell, of 32 and 31 yards, on which he entrusted the freshman to go up and make a play. Prukop ran four times for a net of two yards, with a long gain of 13.

“We didn't get to open up the playbook like you would for a game, on purpose,” Prukop said. “But I felt good. I felt comfortable making protection checks. There was a couple balls I would have liked to have back that should have been completions.”

Prukop specifically mentioned a screen pass thrown at the feet of running back J.J. Jones. Jonsen, meanwhile, had two attempts to receiver Casey Eugenio sail a bit high, and he threw an interception to safety Reggie Daniels on the opening possession of the game.

But overall Jonsen, like Prukop, was encouraged by Saturday's performance. He finished 15-of-24 for 188 yards, with the long touchdown to Carrington and the interception.

“It was good to be back out there with the whole atmosphere, really testing myself,” said Jonsen, who was sidelined last fall after foot surgery. “I think I did pretty good. I did some things I can improve on.”

Jonsen also ran 12 times for 21 yards. Wilson finished 4-of-10 for 22 yards, with a pass intercepted by Ty Griffin. Last year's backups, Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie, played Saturday at receiver, with Alie getting sacked on his only pass attempt when Mighty Oregon tried to pull off a double pass from Prukop.

New Defense Debuts: Defensive end Justin Hollins, a converted outside linebacker in Hoke's new 4-3 defense, made the play on the two-point conversion attempt late in the game to stop running back Jarret LaCoste short of the goal.

Hollins ended up leading both teams in tackles with eight. His Mighty Oregon teammates Austin Maloata and Paris Bostick had two sacks apiece, while linebacker Johnny Ragin III led Webfoots with six tackles.

Among the most encouraging defensive sequences came in the third quarter, a four-play stretch that including a sack by Maloata, a tackle by Rex Manu to stop a run play, a sack by Henry Mondeaux and another sack for Maloata.

“We always want to be getting up the field, be aggressive and get to the ballcarrier as much as possible,” Manu said. “That's what our whole spring's been about. Looking back on the game, we did have that one series, but we've got to have more. That's what we're going to work on during the summer.”

Mitchell Fulfills Promise: After generating buzz in practices all spring, Mitchell fulfilled his promise with a two-touchdown performance — once he overcame some early jitters.

Prukop found Mitchell open down the sideline in the first quarter and split two defenders with a pass. Running free, needing only to secure the ball, Mitchell dropped it.

“Being my first rep at Auzten, the ball came at me like 100 miles an hour,” Mitchell said. “It got away from me, but I tried not to think about it after that.”

Mitchell said his teammates helped him bounce back from the drop and stay focused. He ended up leading all receivers with 104 yards on seven receptions, including the two touchowns.

“Not surprised at all by his performance today,” Prukop said. “If anything I should have gotten the ball to him more. I got it there every chance I thought possible, but if I give him the ball five more times, it's probably a couple more touchdowns.”

A handful of receivers were not in pads for the Spring Game, including Dwayne Stanford, Devon Allen, Jalen Brown and Alex Ofodile. That provided Mitchell more reps than he might have gotten otherwise, but there was no doubt that he took advantage of the opportunities he got.

“I feel like I did all I could do to show coach Lubick and everybody else that I should be out there, or at least competing for playing time,” Mitchell said.

Trickery and Double-Cross: The attempted double-pass involving Prukop and Alie was one of a few trick plays the respective coaching staffs tried to spring on each other.

There were also a couple of flea flickers. But the most memorable by far was a tackle-eligible play on which Prukop tossed to Tyrell Crosby, the play before Mitchell's second touchdown reception.

Crosby caught a screen pass that was ruled a lateral, and attempted a stiff-arm of cornerback Chris Seisay that ended up being more of a right cross. Ultimately it took about five defenders to bring down the 305-pound left tackle, after a run for no gain.

“The last couple series we were trying to work it in, and it was cool to be able to do it,” Crosby said. “I felt like I had a good stiff-arm. People were laughing a little bit. It was a good experience.”

Crosby might have run for a bigger gain, if not for some nefarious deeds by a teammate. An offensive lineman on the other team, he said, recognized the play pre-snap and yelled it out; defensive end Torrodney Prevot audibled the front out of a blitz call, in anticipation of the play.

That wasn't the only instance of a play being tipped. Prior to the potential game-winning two-point attempt by Jonsen's squad, Prukop called out the play from the opposite sideline to alert his defense.

Prukop said his unit lost an overtime drill in Wednesday's practice when somebody tipped the defense off to a pass play that ended up being intercepted. There was one problem Saturday — Prukop yelled that the offense was about to snap a run play to the right. It went left.

“I called it the wrong way, so I'm glad everyone did their job,” Prukop said, smiling but also making no apologies. “I'm competitive. I want to win at all costs. I would have suited up on defense for that play if they would have let me.”

Honoring The Troops: Oregon wore throwback uniforms in recognition of the 1916 Rose Bowl team Saturday, but otherwise the Spring Game theme was in keeping with the recent tradition of honoring the military.

Oregon Air National Guard Senior Airman Keeley Speck sang the national anthem. Charles Roffe, the oldest living graduate of the UO Army ROTC program, and a Bronze Star recipient who served under Bill Bowerman in World War II, was the recipient following a flag folding ceremony at halftime.

Also between halves, an acknowledgment was made for Seaside, Ore., police Sgt. Jason Goodding, who was killed in action in February. After the game, the Ducks gave their jerseys to military personnel in attendance.

“A day like today is kind of weird, because for the most part we don't want attention,” said C.J. Hobart, a Marine who received Prukop's jersey. “We do this because it's what we want to do. We serve America. But it's nice to see. To get to meet everybody, and see all the appreciation from everyone, it's awesome.”

In a wild coincidence, Hobart served in Okinawa as a heavy equipment mechanic with a Marine named Alec Paffe — who happened to be Prukop's friend and former high school teammate. Hobart and Prukop had no idea of their connection until chatting after the jersey exchange.

“What are the chances?” Prukop said. “Oh my gosh.”

Notable: Among the alumni on hand were Super Bowl champion safety T.J. Ward from the Denver Broncos, who hung out postgame with Houston Texans safety Eddie Pleasant and former UO defensive end Kenny Rowe. Former UO defensive ends Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner, now reunited as professionals with the San Francisco 49ers, also attended the game. … An estimated 69,000 pounds in donations to Food for Lane County were collected at the gates as admission to the game. … The officiating crew threw seven penalty flags that moved the ball 46 yards, a relatively clean performance for a spring game.