Team Red defeated Team Black by a 25-22 score in front of 66,133 fans at Sanford Stadium in the University of Georgia’s annual G-Day football game to close out spring practice on Saturday afternoon.
A late nine-play drive for the Red team, led by quarterback Jake Fromm, was capped by the decisive 28-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship with just 1:03 remaining in the game to seal the victory for the Red squad.
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Fromm finished the game 14-for-23 through the air for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Jacob Eason, the signal-caller for Team Black, went 16-for-36 for 311 yards and two scores. Prather Hudson recorded a game-high 45 yards on the ground, followed closely by Elijah Holyfield and his 41 yards plus a score. Terry Godwin was the game’s leading receiver with 130 yards through the air while Tyler Simmons led the Red squad with 114 receiving yards and a touchdown.
“I’m really excited about our fan base, to have 66,000 people (at G-Day) makes me proud to be a Bulldog.” said Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart. “I know our kids certainly appreciated it and I wanted to thank our fans for that… Overall I was pleased with today. I’m excited about the growth of our team. We saw some players get better throughout the entire spring, so I’m certainly excited for that.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Black squad opened the second frame with fireworks as Eason connected with Javon Wims for a 47-yard pass to reach the Red seven-yard line. Three plays later, Blankenship split the uprights from 19 yards out to give Black a 3-0 lead and finish off a 15-play, 91-yard drive.
The Red offense countered with touchdowns on its next two drives, cashing in on a 42-yard pass from Fromm to Jeremiah Holloman then a three-yard scamper by Holyfield for its second score to take a 14-3 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half, a lead that was cut to 14-6 on a Blankenship 33-yard field goal at the end of the half.
After a quiet start to the third quarter, Eason once again flashed his arm late in the frame, connecting with Jayson Stanley for a 33-yard strike to reduce the Black’s deficit to 14-13 with 1:30 remaining.
Black claimed the lead with 5:28 remaining in the contest as Blankenship nailed his third field goal of the day from 34 yards out to take a 16-14 lead. After the ensuing kickoff, Fromm connected with Tyler Simmons for a 76-yard quick strike, followed by a two-point conversion on a pass to Holloman, to regain a 22-16 edge in just nine seconds.
The teams then traded scores, with Eason hitting fellow sophomore Charlie Woerner for the tying score on a 36-yard catch-and-run to knot the game at 22 before Fromm led Red to the decisive lead with a nine-play drive capped by a Blankenship 28-yard field goal to give Red a 25-22 win.