The defense provided many highlights during Saint Augustine's College's intrasquad football scrimmage at Emery Field on Saturday morning, Aug. 18.

The biggest play was a 60-yard fumble recovery for a score by defensive end Marcus Crump (Pittsboro, NC). The defense, led by Crump and defensive tackle Marcus Kennedy (Georgetown, SC), made numerous tackles in the backfield and held the offense to few first downs.

An arm injury forced Alex Hall, an All-American defensive end, to sit out the scrimmage, but the Falcons are loaded on defense including a veteran front line featuring Crump, Kennedy and defensive tackle Phillip Stevenson (Statesville, NC).

"Our strength should be our front four," Falcons coach Michael Costa said. "We should be OK there."

Though the defense was strong, the offense had its moments including a 44-yard touchdown run by Walter Sanders (Baltimore, MD), who burst through the hole on a draw play and shook off several would-be tacklers before scoring. The offense also scored on a 20-yard screen pass from quarterback Brandon Franklin (Kannapolis, NC) to wide receiver Cedric Pittman (Fairmont, NC), and a one-yard touchdown run by running back Arnold Mullins (Philadelphia, PA).

Overall, Costa was pleased with the scrimmage which featured officials.

"They played a little better with officials on the field instead of coaches blowing the whistle," Costa said.

"They seemed to listen to the officials. It is always good to have officials. They let you know what is right and what is wrong."

Next Saturday, the Falcons will hold its final scrimmage on Meet The Falcons Day. The scrimmage, which starts at 1:30 p.m., will be free to the public. The regular season starts Sept. 1 versus Mars Hill at Broughton High School beginning at 1:30 p.m.