The 2003 spring football season culminated for the Badgers Saturday as the team squared off in its annual intra squad game. The White squad defeated the Cardinal squad 30-17 in front of 8,569 spectators at Camp Randall Stadium. It’s the second-straight year the reserves have defeated the first-stringers — though being spotted 20 points.

Extra precautions were taken into account to prevent the injuries that cast a dark shadow on the 2002 spring game in which Lee Evans tore his ACL and ended his scheduled senior season. Despite the precautions, starting cornerback Scott Starks fell to the turf in pain on the game’s sixth play from scrimmage.

Wide receiver Byron Brown caught a Matt Schabert pass while colliding with Starks, who immediately hit the ground squirming in pain in what appeared to be a stinger type injury. Starks was down for several minutes but left the field under his own power and returned to play the next set of downs with the Cardinal defense.

“We took every precaution so we wouldn’t get anybody hurt,” a hazy Starks said. “I guess it was kind of crazy that it happened so quick. It turned out okay.”

The Cardinal scored on its first possession as running back Anthony Davis scampered 47 yards for a touchdown despite being tagged by a defender halfway through the run. As means for further the protection of the first team, no tackling was allowed in the first quarter.

Senior starting quarterback Jim Sorgi was erratic in limited action, completing 10 of 18 passes while registering two interceptions. Sorgi seemed to over-throw his receivers on some passes, but his instincts may have been out of sync with the game’s altered format.

“It’s normal in practice when a quarterback can’t get hit,” Sorgi said. “But it’s different playing when nobody can get hit. It kind of messes up our stuff. We can’t really run the ball.”

Nevertheless, Sorgi did play a part in the game’s most exciting play. A soft pass from the quarterback slipped through Anthony Davis’ hands on the White squad’s 7-yard line and fell into the chest of cornerback Levonne Rowan. Rowan took off down the sideline and looked poised to take it all the way. Sorgi, however, got on his horse and ran down Rowan, pushing the corner out of bounds at the Cardinal’s 24-yard line.

“It’s like one of those things where somebody gets trapped under a car and you just get the strength to pick up that car,” Sorgi said. “He was not scoring that touchdown. I was not going to let him reach that end zone, no matter what I had to do, and I just kind of ran him down. I don’t know how I did it. He runs a 4.2, 4.3, and I know I don’t. So I must have had a good angle on him.”

“It tells you a little something about Jim Sorgi,” head coach Barry Alvarez said. “This is the spring game. It doesn’t mean a whole lot, yet he’s competitive enough (to chase Rowan). I think that tells you a little about his competitiveness.”

Despite his subdued performance, the senior quarterback and now team captain seemed pleased with his spring and is looking forward to the fall. He has big shoes to fill, taking over the quarterback duties from Brooks Bollinger, the most successful signal-caller in UW history.

“If I can be half as competitive as Brooks was, we’re going to be a real successful team this year.” Sorgi said.

In general, Alvarez was pleased with his team’s performance and was happy the team got out of the spring season without any major injuries. The one worry Alvarez addressed was the lack of a consistent punting game. R.J. Morse and Adam Wozniak didn’t impress with wayward kicks and botched snaps.

“We have to kick better than we have been,” Alvarez said. “From what I’ve seen, [the incoming punters] seem to be very competitive and have strong legs. They will absolutely have a chance. They’ll have every opportunity.”

Alvarez was very pleased with the placekicking efforts of junior Mike Allen, who connected on both of his afternoon attempts while being consistent and impressive throughout the spring season. Allen kicked a 39-yard field goal for the White squad in the first quarter and a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter for the Cardinal.

“That kick in the bowl game, to win the game, really gave [Allen] a lot of confidence,” Alvarez said.

The game was not without other highlights; wide receiver Brandon White accounted for the only receiving touchdown of the game, nabbing a 26-yard pass from Matt Schabert.

On the defensive side, Rowan nabbed a second interception off an errant pass from third-string quarterback John Stocco, this time taking it to the house with a 55-yard return for a touchdown.

“I was pleased with the day. I thought our guys really were excited to play,” Alvarez said. “I thought they were into it before the game, and the guys played hard and had some fun. I thought we got enough questions answered, we were able to stay healthy for the most part, and we were able to accomplish quite a bit.