Cream edge out Crimson squad in team spring game

Rising junior running back Stephen Houston checked his phone before Saturday’s Cream and Crimson Spring Game and saw stormy conditions approaching Bloomington. He wasn’t worried, though.

“In the past season, we had a lot of (bad) weather, supposedly, so I always thought the meteorologist was wrong,” Houston said.

In the final minutes of the first quarter, however, it was Houston’s assumption that was wrong.

The sky darkened and drops of rain fell, forcing the game to move into John Mellencamp Pavilion at the close of the first quarter.

Houston and teammates hurried inside, and once there, Houston said he saw lightning and counted himself lucky for being indoors.

“The rain doesn’t bother me, but I’m terrified of lightning,” Houston said. “I was just like, ‘I’m just trying to hurry up and get inside so I won’t get struck.’”
Everything continued as planned, and at the end of the game, it was the Cream squad that finished on top, 19-16.

The most talked-about performance was from rising sophomore running back Isaiah Roundtree, who has yet to see the field in his IU career. Roundtree ran for a pair of touchdowns, one of which was almost 60 yards.

“People sleep on him because he’s not a bigger back,” Houston said of Roundtree. “He has moves, and he has speed, and he’s not afraid to actually
stick it up between the tackles. That gives him a lot of edge.”

IU Coach Kevin Wilson, however, said he wants Roundtree to be more consistent.

“It was good to see him show today because I believe he is capable, but he hasn’t had a consistent spring,” he said. “It will be interesting to see if he has the summer to have a foundation, have a great preseason and really start helping our football team in a more positive way.”

While Roundtree provided sparks for the offense, the Hoosier defense made a handful of stops inside its own 10-yard line, forcing rising junior kicker Mitch Ewald to attempt seven field goals (five of which he made).

Rising senior defensive tackle Larry Black, Jr. said the defense had been working on technique during the previous spring practices, as well as mental toughness in game situations.

“It’s a mentality that you have to have, especially in the red zone,” Black said. “You want to stand up and defend your own. That’s also what we’ve been working on. Coach has put us in situations like that in practice, and that’s what we did.”

With spring practice now concluded, the defensive players look forward to a roughly 100-day summer.

Black said the defensive improvements have been ongoing through spring practice and will continue working until the Sept. 1 season opener against Indiana State.

“A lot of people see this today, but it’s been happening all in practice,” Black said. “It’s just been coming over time, and heading into the summer, we’re going to work on it more, and then after that head into fall camp. After camp, it’s season time.”