Area fans have lots of reasons to keep up with the Western Kentucky University football team this season.
The Hilltoppers are loaded with talent with local connections. Several of those — former Caldwell County standout Dee Cain, ex-Christian County star Devon Wharton, and Quinton Baker, the son of Trigg County great Al Baker — made key plays Saturday morning in WKU’s first live-action scrimmage of fall camp.
It was clear to head coach Tyson Helton that the defense out-performed the offense.
“I thought the defense did a fantastic job and dominated the whole scrimmage, so as a head coach that makes me feel good on one side of the ball,” Helton said. “My hat’s off to the defense today, they came out, had the right mentality and right attitude and they practiced like pros.
“I thought they dominated the line of scrimmage, then they covered well, confused the QB and things that a good defense should do. At times we had a lot of pressure and a lot of minus yardage on runs and tackles for loss.”
Some of the substantial plays were interceptions by Cain in the open field and Omari Alexander on a deflected ball by the defensive line.
Wharton also jumped on a loose ball for a fumble recovery and third turnover. Lichon Terrell produced a quarterback sack and Damon Lowe racked up a handful of tackles, among other performances for the Hilltopper defense.
“I love when the defense dominates because it’s a good thing if you can hold [the opponent],” Helton said. “But I’m used to coming in and scoring a lot of points, so hopefully we can get the offense where it needs to be.
“Offensively there are a lot of things we need to clean up and a lot of evals that we need to make. It’s a team effort, it’s not just the players, it’s the coaches too. That’s why they call us ‘Coach,’ it’s our job to make sure they perform at a higher level.”
Highlights of the offense’s day were passes of 40-plus yards from Steven Duncan to Jacquez Sloan and Ty Storey to Lucky Jackson, as well as a 20-yard touchdown pass from Storey to Sloan in the back corner of the end zone. Running backs Baker and Jakairi Moses also broke free for a couple of productive runs.
Based on the veteran presence of many defensive players, Helton is not surprised by the way defensive coordinator Clayton White’s crew has performed throughout fall camp.
“From a leadership standpoint, I see Devon Key’s doing a good job,” Helton said. “All of our front four of the D-line as well; all of those guys kind of stand out to me more than anything. They’re older, they’re mature and they’re doing a nice job leading.”
As the 10th practice concluded, the first half of WKU’s fall camp came to a close. The Hilltoppers will be on the Houchens-Smith Stadium turf 10 more times up until Aug. 22, which leads into game week for the team’s season opener against Central Arkansas on Thursday, Aug. 29, in Bowling Green.
(Information from a WKU Athletics press release was used in this story.)