While most spring football games tend to end up as high-scoring shootouts, Pitt’s Blue-Gold game was a defensive struggle.
In the end, honorary captain and former Pitt legend Tony Dorsett’s Blue Team defeated his former Pitt quarterback Matt Cavanaugh’s Gold Team 19-17 in the program’s annual spring scrimmage.
The Gold team received the ball first, as senior quarterback Nathan Peterman led Pitt down the field thanks to big completions to Scott Orndoff and Jester Weah. Incoming freshman and early enrollee Chawntez Moss impressed as well with an impressive seven yard gain.
Their drive ended with a 40-yard field goal by Chris Blewitt, giving Gold the early lead.
On the Blue team’s first drive, Pitt saw defensive end Allen Edwards go down with a non-contact injury. He would not return.
The Blue team would inch closer in the second quarter, as Peterman fumbled a handoff and took a safety, leaving the score at 3-2.
After the safety, Blue had a chance to take the lead, but kicker Alec Schuster missed a 37-yard field goal on their next drive.
Blue finally tallied the first touchdown of the game, as wide receiver Quadree Henderson took a reverse 64 yards for a score, giving Tony Dorsett’s team a 9-3 advantage.
Gold continued to sputter offensively, finishing the half with 51 total yards. Blue extended their lead as time expired heading into halftime, as Schuster converted a 20-yard field goal.
In the second half, Peterman jumpstarted Gold’s offense, completing a 42-yard pass to Weah and then finding Orndoff in the end zone for his team’s first touchdown, cutting the Blue lead to 12-10.
Blue would respond though, as Qadree Ollison capped off an 11 play, 68-yard drive with a two-yard score, as the Blue lead extended to two possessions.
But another long Weah reception led to another Gold team score, as Peterman found Lopes in the corner of the end zone for a seven yard touchdown catch, narrowing the deficit to 19-17 with just under five minutes left in the contest.
Still, thanks to another long rush by Henderson, who finished the game with 4 carries for 107 yards, the Blue team was able to hold on for the victory.
Pitt opens the season on Sept. 3 at Heinz Field, taking on the Villanova Wildcats.