‘Circus’ atmosphere can’t distract Rebels

Kids weaved through an inflatable obstacle course, the band played the fight song, and an emcee interviewed coach Bobby Hauck and some administrators.

All while UNLV's football team played its spring-ending scrimmage.

"I thought we actually got some decent work done, maybe better than I anticipated considering the circus," Hauck said after Saturday's scrimmage at Rebel Park.

"I like the focus of the guys. Sometimes, especially with a young group of kids, you get people watching them and some things going on, and they don't concentrate. We didn't have mental lapses."

About 750 fans turned out to watch the Rebels' first-teamers play the backups.

The starters won 10-7 thanks to a 31-yard field goal by sophomore Nolan Kohorst, a Green Valley High School graduate, and a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore Bradley Randle.

Junior Sean Reilly provided the second-teamers' only score with a 15-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Jordan Butler, a Cheyenne product.

"I was a little disappointed that our second offense scored on our first defense," Hauck said. "That was not very good."

Reilly, though, wasn't about to give that touchdown back.

"We can go in the locker room and hold that over them until we come back in August," he said. "It's always good to play above the competition."

Reilly and sophomore Caleb Herring are in direct competition to be the next starting quarterback, and this scrimmage was their final statement before training camp.

Herring, who ran the first-team offense, completed 7 of 13 passes for 65 yards. Reilly was 8 of 12 for 73 yards.

"During the offseason, I want to keep the work that we did over the spring up," Herring said. "You want to come back in the fall right where you left off in the spring."

Sophomore end Ian Bobak, who went to Bishop Gorman, was the defensive standout after breaking up two passes and registering a sack for an 8-yard loss.

"My motto that I've kind of been living by is be good today, but be even better tomorrow," Bobak said. "I think I did some good things today, but there are also some mental errors we can definitely fix."

Senior Deante Purvis led the running backs with 24 yards on three carries. Randle rushed for 20 yards on nine attempts, sophomore Tim Cornett for 16 yards on four tries and freshman Dionza Bradford for 12 yards on five carries.

Junior Eric Johnson led the receivers with four catches for 31 yards, sophomore Mark Barefield caught three passes for 15 yards, and three others had two receptions apiece.

"I thought we moved the ball pretty well today," Hauck said. "I thought we moved it too well today, frankly, in terms of being a defensive coach."

This is Hauck's second spring at UNLV, and he said he generally was pleased with how the 15 practices played out.

"The attitude and effort were almost 100 percent," he said. "We had one day where it wasn't good enough, but 14 out of 15 isn't too bad, and I thought we improved. We're awfully young, we look young, and it's going to cause us some fits at times, but it was good."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.