http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
Lehigh coach Andy Coen said he was hoping to see good things from quarterback Nick Shafnisky during Saturday's Brown and White Game.
It took awhile, but Coen got his wish.
Shafnisky, the rising sophomore from Whitehall, started slow but finished strong as the White (offense) rallied past the Brown (defense) for a 37-35 win in the modified scoring system at Goodman Stadium.
Expected to compete with Matt McHale, among others, for a starting job once training camp begins in August, Shafnisky was plagued by tendinitis in his shoulder through the 14-practice spring session. He returned to action in the past week and was hoping to have a breakout performance in Saturday's final padded scrimmage.
Things didn't go as well as he'd hoped with a couple of interceptions, but he rebounded to throw a pair of touchdown passes -- a 10-yarder to Stefan Sansone and a 15-yarder to Derek Gaul.
Shafnisky finished 15-for-26 for 113 yards and the two TDs and two interceptions.
He rotated with senior A.J. Visconti, who completed 13 of 28 tosses for 107 yards and one touchdown.
The defense actually had the better of the play for the most part, but Lehigh's offense finished the session strong by going 50 yards for a touchdown on the final series.
Shafnisky completed five of seven passes on that final drive.
"It still wasn't good," Shafnisky said. "The score showed we won, but it shouldn't have been what it was. We need to come together ... receivers, backs, line ... much better. We didn't run the ball as much as we thought. We passed it a lot and we did become more efficient at the end. But it was really sloppy.
"I didn't do as well as I had hoped. We picked it up toward the and started clicking more, but I can play a lot better. We're going to work on a lot this summer and improve a lot for the fall."
As for the whole spring, Shafnisky said: "We're coming together. We're young. We have a young line. The spring was not as good as we had hoped, but we're improving and a lot of guys will be staying around all summer. The big thing thing is for the receivers and the quarterbacks to get our timing down and getting the routes down."
This was Shafnisky's first spring practice session at Lehigh and his first lengthy stint under new offensive coordinator Drew Folmar.
"I was used to listening to [former offensive coordinator] Cecchini say something and now it's totally different," he said. "I never threw the ball as much as in my life, but since I'm a quarterback, it's a good thing. We had some drives going today and moved the ball, but the turnovers killed us a little bit. The big thing is we improved and we're coming together."
Coen's evaluation of the offense: "I thought we ran the ball fairly efficiently during the spring and I thought today we'd threw it a little more and it was kind of 'the good, the bad, the ugly' with that. We had some drops on good throws and some drops on some bad throws. But I was pleased with the drive at the end. Nick made some good throws and when he didn't make good throws, some guys stepped up and made some catches. There were positives to take from that last drive."
As for Shafnisky, Coen said he was determined to get the former Lehigh Valley Conference MVP going and build some confidence before calling it a day.
"There were some lost opportunities for Nick because of his shoulder soreness," Coen said. " Of the 14 practices, there were probably five where he didn't do anything because he was hurt. Our whole quarterback situation is still pretty much in flux. I was hoping to have Matt and Nick come out and really get a nice competition going in the spring, but that hasn't happened.
"So, like many times before, we'll come out here in August and have guys competingto be our starting quarterback. But it was good to see Nick some good things out there today."
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