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Spring football officially ended in the Bluegrass today after UK held their annual spring game, where the blue team put on a show to top the white squad 31-20.

Drew Barker got the start for the blue team, which consisted of both first team offense and defense. The sophomore out of Burlington, Kentucky was able to show why Mark Stoops quickly named him starter in the post game presser finishing with 156 yards on 12-18 passing, tossing two touchdowns and one pick in just one half of play.

Both offenses started out of the gates slow, with neither team scoring until Austin MacGinnis drilled a 29-yard field to begin the second quarter to give the blue a 3-0 lead.

Just over two minutes later, Barker put the first touchdown on the board after he slung a 64-yard bullet to Ryan Timmons for the touchdown with 9:34 remaining in the first half to give the blue squad a 10-0 lead.

Throughout spring, Stoops raved about Timmons’ improvement and new level of confidence, and his compliments on the senior continued after the game.

“He’s just been solid. He’s fundamentally getting better and better each day,” Stoops said.

After the blue team extended the lead to ten points, quarterback Stephen Johnson and the white team came right back onto the field and responded with a score of their own.

Johnson scampered to the outside for a gain of 29 for the first and goal, slipping past defenders left and right. Sophomore running back Sihiem King followed up with an impressive five-yard touchdown run up the middle to cut the blue lead to 10-7.

On the following drive momentum swung to the white squad after Jared Tucker picked off Barker’s pass at the 40-yard line on an attempt to Jabari Greenwood.

King immediately darted to right field for 43 yards on the rush into the red zone. Ditalian Tobler then rushed forward for the one-yard touchdown to give the White team a 13-10 lead with 1:57 remaining in the half. White’s score remained at 13 points after a botched snap forced the missed PAT.

Barker started out the 2-minute drill with two consecutive completions and a scramble for the first down to put the blue squad just beyond midfield with under a minute to go.

Two more catches for first downs pushed Barker’s team into the red zone, where he flung a 19-yard strike to C.J. Conrad for the tough grab, scoring a touchdown on the play to give the blue team a 17-13 advantage going into halftime.

Davis Mattingly replaced Johnson for the white team to start out the 2^nd half, where he was immediately met by Denzil Ware for his fourth sack of the game.

Ware had astellar game, where he managed to rack up 15 tackles, including 10 solo, and an astounding four sacks. After Jason Hatcher’s disappointing departure this off-season, Ware showed his ability to step in as a leader on the defensive line.

Johnson replaced Barker for the blue team, and quickly tossed a short pass to Jeff Badet, who juked cornerback J.D. Harmon on his way to an 85 yard and touchdown to give the blue a 24-13 lead with roughly four minutes remaining in the third.

Cincinnati transfer Luke Wright replaced Mattingly for the White team, where he tossed three completions for 38 yards on eight attempts.

True freshman Gunnar Hoak came in for the blue squad, and immediately led the team down the field to the 11-yard line on fourth^–and-one, where he faked the run to the right and lofted a pass into the end zone to Jeff Badet for the receiver’s second touchdown of the day. Hoak’s touchdown extended the blue team’s lead to 31-13 with eight minutes remaining in the game.

With just under a minute left, walk on Mattingly came back in the game and completed an impressive 21-yard pass attempt and scrambled to the end zone for a white touchdown, cutting the lead to 31-20, which became the final score of the game.

Johnson finished the day 4-11 and 36 yards on the White team and 2-2, 99 yards and a touchdown for the blue squad. Johnson also rushed for 49 yards on eleven attempts.

The entire running backs corps was outstanding on the day, as King led all rushers with 84 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts, Jojo Kemp rushed for 66 yards on nine attempts, and Mikel Horton rushed for 22 yards on four attempts.

Badet led all receivers with 107 yards on three catches and two touchdowns, followed by Timmons with 74 yards on two receptions and a touchdown.

Sophomore Chris Westry stood out for the defensive backs, highlighted by an unbelievable deflection on a lob pass from Johnson to Tavin Richardson. 

Though the spring game is not a great indicator on a team’s success during the regular season, it’s evident the team is much improved from last season in most areas.

With several key players out in Saturday’s game including Dorian Baker, Boom Williams, and Mike Edwards, and nearly five months before the season opener on Sept. 3 against Southern Miss, the team will only get better here on out and will hope to fight for a bowl game in their 2016 campaign.