Boise State wraps up practice with spring game

BOISE, Idaho (AP) " On a fake reverse, Austin Pettis threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Shoemaker late in the fourth quarter as the White team came from behind to defeat the Blue team 14-10 Friday in a Boise State scrimmage that wrapped up spring practice.

"We've been working on that and the defense bit just like we wanted," said Shoemaker, who caught three passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

Quarterback Kellen Moore completed 10 of 16 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown for the Blue team before coming out of the game at the start of the second half with his squad ahead 10-0.

Boise State coach Chris Petersen is in his fourth season with the Broncos and for the first time won't have to spend the summer wondering who will be the starting quarterback. Moore led the Broncos to a 12-1 record last season and to a Western Athletic Conference title, the team's sixth in seven years.

"We've become better and better this spring," said Petersen, amid hundreds of fans on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium after the game. "If they stay focused, they have a chance to be a good team."

How good will be made quickly apparent in the Broncos' season opener at home Sept. 3 against Oregon of the Pac-10. The Broncos beat the Ducks last season in Eugene.

"Expectations are high," Moore said after signing hundreds of autographs on the field. "But that's what you expect here. That's the reason a lot of us come here. We'll take care of business this summer and have some fun next season."

For the White team, Michael Coughlin completed seven of 13 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, putting his squad on the scoreboard late in the third quarter with a rifled 26-yard pass to Shoemaker at the goal line to cut the Blue team's lead to 10-7.

A long drive by the Blue team was stopped when Drew Hawkins was sacked at the White team's 15 on fourth down. That gave the White team the ball and then the lead after the fake reverse let Shoemaker slip behind the Blue team's defense.

"It was a good productive spring," said running back D.J. Harper, who carried the ball 10 times for 31 yards for the White team. "We'll come out in the fall and attack it again."