How It Happened: White beats Orange 17-14 in Orange & White Game
Tennessee football ended its three-week spring football practice schedule with the Orange & White Game Saturday afternoon, the annual split-squad scrimmage at Neyland Stadium. Here’s how it happened, as the White team beat the Orange team 17-14 in front of a crowd of 58,473:
First Quarter
White 7, Orange 0, 10:40 1Q — Redshirt junior quarterback Gaston Moore was the first Tennessee quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in the game, just as everyone expected. After Joe Milton III and Nico Iamaleava both had their turns on the field, Moore entered on the third possession and drove the offense 82 yards over eight plays, capping the two-minute, 24-second drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Dayton Sneed. Charles Campbell added the extra point to put White up 7-0 with 10:40 left in the first quarter.
White 7, Orange 7, 2:14 1Q — Gaston Moore did it again. This time for the other team. It was redshirt senior tight end Hunter Salmon catching a 9-yard touchdown pass from Moore, his second of the opening quarter. The drive covered 60 yards in 14 plays, taking 7:36 off the clock as the Orange team tied the game at 7-7.
Second Quarter
White 14, Orange 7, 3:06 2Q — Welcome to the party, Joe Milton III. Tennessee’s redshirt senior quarterback got on the board with a 5-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Kaleb Webb, putting the White team back in front. Milton connected with Webb on a long pass down the east sideline to fuel the touchdown drive, with Webb bringing down the highlight catch between two defenders while falling to the ground near the sideline.
White 14, Orange 14, 0:00 2Q — The first half ended on a 24-yard touchdown run from freshman Cam Seldon, tying the game at 14-14 at the break. The drive covered 75 yards on nine plays, taking the final 3:47 off the first-half clock. The highlight play this time came on a 30-yard pass from five-star freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava to four-star freshman tight end Ethan Davis.
Halftime
The announced attendance for Saturday’s game was 58,473, the sixth largest in the history of Tennessee football’s Orange & White Game.
Fourth Quarter
White 17, Orange 14, 3:06 4Q — After four scoreless possessions in the third quarter, kicker JT Carver put points on the board early in the fourth quarter with a 40-yard field goal, following a 10-play, 52-yard drive.
Final Stats
Joe Milton III completed 9 of 13 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown and Nico Imaleava was 8-for-16 for 112 yards and a touchdown. Gaston Moore completed 8 of 11 passes for 94 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Freshman Deshean Bishop led Tennessee running backs with 24 carries for 88 yards. Freshman Cam Seldon went for 43 yards and a touchdown. Kaleb Webb caught three passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. Seldon added three receptions for 43 yards.
