The Stetson Hatters football team gave a promising look at what might lie ahead on Saturday afternoon as fans were given a sneak peek at what the 2016 edition of the team may resemble.

The final scrimmage of spring practice, pitting the offense against the defense, resulted in total of 89 offensive plays which produced 425 passing yards and 138 yards on the ground in front of a good crowd at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium.

There were a total of five touchdowns scored, including two in a regularly timed first half. The other scores came with a  running clock in the second half.

The big story of the day came courtesy of sophomore tight end Donald Parham who caught a game-high nine passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns. In what was an otherwise tight first half, Parham shined in the first thirty minutes and caught both TDs of the half. His three overall touchdown catches came from 17, 12 and 18 yards respectably.

“He has great ball skills, he catches everything, and he's a great kid,” head coach Roger Hughes said. “He has great agility and is going to stand out because of his physical ability, no question about it.”

The Hatters also got a well-played game from junior receiver Ja'Vonta Swinton, who caught seven balls for 123 yards, most of which came during a more open second half.

The ground attack was led by sophomore running back Matt Taft with a game-high 74 yards on 14 carries, including a touchdown. Stetson's other touchdown run was by Arkee Brown, a three-yard scoring play to highlight a 12-carry, 32-yard game.

With the quarterback void left by graduating senior Ryan Tentler, the Hatters auditioned six different players for the vacant position on Saturday. Colin McGovern got the start for the first team and completed 4-of-10 passes for 40 yards and an interception. Gaven DeFilippo got the start with the second unit and completed 8-of-20 for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Brandon Swift completed 5-of-8 passes for 110 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Nick Andreas was 6-for-8 for 76 yards with a touchdown and interception. Luke McDermott completed 8-of-9 for 91 yards. After missing the target on his first attempt, he completed his next eight. Michael Cemovich completed 3-of-6 for 44 yards on the day.

On the defensive side, linebackers Jacob Boerboom and Reeves Rogers both had a game-highs seven tackles, while linebacker Jamieson Craske and defensive back Jeb Boudreaux amassed six tackles each. Delvin Riley added five tackles and an interception.

“We're starting to see our kids look more and more like football players,” Hughes said. “The University has invested a lot of capital and time into bringing football back to Stetson, it's time for us to start turning it into a success on the field.

“We should look at ourselves as a team that can compete at a high level and should be competing with the best teams in the Pioneer League.”