Georgia State Makes First Preseason Appearance at Dome

It was college football, but not as most know it.

There were tackles, fans clad in blue, a brass band, even pinstriped officials. And the smoke of grills wafted the air of the Georgia Dome's tailgate row Thursday night.  

A closer look at the on-field set up during the action, however, revealed an unusual sight: head coach Bill Curry lined up on the turf for every play, just yards from players.

But in scrimmage football -- a pre, preseason curtain raiser ahead of a long, grueling summer of hard training -- cutting procedural corners is allowed. For the record, the all-defensive Blue team beat their teammates on the other side of the ball, the White team, 41-27.  

For all the foregone formalities, the event was, for some, an eagerly anticipated glimpse of the Panthers' spring practice form.

"I want to see what kind of progress the team has made from last year," said Panthers fan Michael Fuller, who was manning a grill yards from the Dome. "It's just a teaser to the home opener."

The biggest question of the night: who will be starting quarterback for that Sep. 1 home opener against Clark Atlanta?

Number one Drew Little is suspended for the first four games, leaving Kelton Hill and Bo Schlechter to battle it out.

Both saw plenty of snaps, but Hill made a strong claim with a fourth-quarter, 70-yard scoring run.

"I'm going to take advantage of it and I'm going to play my heart out," he said of the opportunity to secure the starting slot. "Practice has been going great and we've been picking up the tempo a lot."   

After the game, Curry was leaning towards Hill.

"Kelton's clearly ahead, not because he's athletic and has a great arm but because he's learning the system," said the coach, who believes his players have been progressing during the spring. "I'm pleased with it."     

The White led 14-6 after the first quarter but by halftime were hanging on, 19-17. Blue went in front early in the third quarter, 24-19, and never lodged back. 

"The most important thing is proper hitting technique, hustle, running toward the football, those kinds of things which have been the hallmark of our team, and I think we showed those things tonight," said Curry. "By no means was it polished or pretty but there was a lot of zip out there."