Gold Team Dominates In Notre Dame's 92nd Annual Blue-Gold Game
Red jersey, white jersey, green jersey, blue jersey. Jersey colors were irrelevant. Sam Hartman was objectively the best player on the field in Saturday’s Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game. The red jersey clad Hartman was a puppet master pulling all the right strings in his four series on the field in leading the Gold to a 24-0 win in the rain-soaked spring finale.
Hartman hit his first five pass attempts and led 14-0 before the ball hit the ground for the first time on a late first quarter breakup by Benjamin Morrison. The veteran was 13 of 16 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, while running for another touchdown before leaving the game in the first half with one possession to go for his team.
Tyler Buchner was not able to match the play of his counterpart. The junior went 8 of 18 through the air for 44 yards, 40 of it in the first half, and an interception and never led a touchdown drive in his first half action.
Hartman’s Gold team drove downfield and cracked the scoreboard early. The Wake Forest grad transfer hit Jayden Thomas on a slant that turned into a nine-yard touchdown pass after Thomas slipped off the tackle attempt of Clarence Lewis for a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening drive.
Hartman hit Thomas on a 48-yard post on the first play of the Gold’s next drive, which saw him hit his first three passes for first downs. Hartman capped the drive on a one-yard scoring run after a fake to Gi’Bran Payne to make it 14-0.
Hartman misfired on two of his first three passes of the Gold’s next drive, but hit Davis Sherwood and Jaden Greathouse on his next two, before finishing the 10-play drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0. The pass ended Hartman’s day.
Steve Angeli came in for the Gold after Hartman’s departure. Unlike Hartman and Buchner, Angeli was not wearing a red jersey, meaning he could be tackled and/or sacked. Junior Tuihalamaka brought the sophomore to the ground on his third play in the game. Tyson Ford, who wore a green jersey so he could play for either team, sacked Angeli as well on the drive with :23 seconds left in the first half.
Buchner led four first-half drives. Three ended in punts and the other with an interception by Jaden Mickey. Buchner was sacked twice on Team Blue’s first possession, the first by Jordan Botelho and the second on a touch football sack by Howard Cross III.
Buchner led the Blue offense onto the field as rain poured down to begin the second half. He completed just one of his three attempts for three yards before the drive ended with a punt. He stayed in for one more possession, a drive that ended on downs at the Gold 41, before giving way to freshman early enrollee Kenny Minchey.
Regardless of who was throwing him the ball, Hartman or Angeli, freshman early enrollee Greathouse made his mark in the game. Greathouse had a game-high with both his 11 catches for 118 yards for the Gold. Veteran teammate Thomas had four receptions for 71 yards. Payne had 11 carries for 51 yards.
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