NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State defense got the better of the offense in the Spartans’ first scrimmage of preseason football camp on Saturday, surrendering just one touchdown in the 90-minute session.

Saturday was just the Spartans’ first day of two-a-day practices and their second day in full pads. The afternoon scrimmage followed another 90-minute practice earlier in the day. Despite the added workload, the 90 players in camp were ready for contact, and it showed early and often.

More often than not, the defense came out ahead. The scrimmage’s only touchdown, a 4-yard run by DeAngelo Branche (Norfolk, Va.), came on the final play from scrimmage.

“Our defense, especially our first teamers, was ahead of everyone else today,” said head coach Pete Adrian, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday. “And they should be. What have a lot of returning experience, and a lot of speed, on that side of the ball.”

Several players stood out among the defenders. Junior cornerback Dustin Johnson (Hampton, Va.) and sophomore safety Jamie Short (Virginia Beach, Va.) both snared an interception, while sophomore defensive lineman Ray Jennings (Chesapeake, Va.) forced a fumble.

NSU’s three placekickers also fared well in field goal situations, connecting on 7-of-12 kicks, all from at least 42 yards. Sophomore Justin Castellat (Virginia Beach, Va.) led the way with a 3-for-4 day, all from 47 yards out. Freshmen Billy Rudd (Richmond, Va.) and Ryan Estep (Chesapeake, Va.) connected on two field goals each.

In all, Adrian liked what he saw.

“We saw a lot of positive things today. We’re definitely ahead of past years,” Adrian said. “We were able to run a 74-play scrimmage with this just being our second day in pads, so that’s a good thing.

“But we were very basic today in what we ran, so we’ll have to see how far we progress in the next couple weeks.”

 NSU continues with another two-a-day session on Monday. The team’s next scrimmage is Saturday at 7 p.m.