By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com

Freshman quarterback Kellen Moore and sophomore wide receiver Titus Young were the offensive stars of the Boise State football team’s first spring scrimmage Friday afternoon at Bronco Stadium.

Moore was 10-of-14 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown, including a 50-yard strike to Young. Moore also ran 6 yards for a touchdown.

Young had six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.

“That was nice to get the ball moving, get a flow in the game and complete some passes,” said Moore, who is one of four quarterbacks competing for the starting job. “It was nice to get a couple touchdowns in there for us.”

Moore was on the field for five possessions — two 70-yard touchdown drives, two punts and a fumble by wide receiver Ricky Cookman.

His best moment was a gorgeous 50-yard toss down the left sideline to Young with the first-teamers. Four plays later, on fourth-and-3, Moore hit Young on a screen against a blitz — stunning the defense for a 14-yard touchdown.

“Kellen has stepped up,” Young said. “He manages the offense very well.”

Senior quarterback Bush Hamdan, who started with the first team, was 5-of-9 for 61 yards. Hamdan led the first two drives — one killed by penalties and one that ended in a missed field goal. He made just one brief appearance after that.

Junior Nick Lomax was 6-of-9 for 70 yards with a touchdown, an interception (by linebacker Aaron Tevis) and a fumble.

Sophomore Mike Coughlin was 3-of-7 for 29 yards. He was on the field for two long touchdown runs, including a 24-yarder by freshman Doug Martin during Coughlin’s only appearance with the first team.

Coach Chris Petersen said he couldn’t evaluate the quarterbacks without watching video.

He did notice the four turnovers, however — three fumbles (two involving quarterbacks) and one interception.

“Turnovers will change the course of a game,” he said. “We’ve been working hard on that. That’s good news-bad news again. If our defense gets us three turnovers a game, we’ll win most of the time.”

Scrimmage stats

Passing: Kellen Moore 10-14-0, 114 yards, 1 TD; Bush Hamdan 5-9-0, 61; Nick Lomax 6-9-1 70, 1 TD; Mike Coughlin 3-7-0 29.

Rushing: Ian Johnson 4-70 (TD), Doug Martin 10-59 (TD), Jarvis Hodge 3-57, D.J. Harper 9-40, Matt Kaiserman 4-18, Titus Young 1-9, Tanyon Bissell 1-8, Moore 1-6 (TD), Lomax 4-2, Toshi Franklin 1-(-1), Coughlin 2-(-15)

Receiving: Young 6-109 (TD), Michael Choate 5-33, Ricky Cookman 2-17, Franklin 2-16, Hodge 2-14, Sean King 1-25 (TD), Kaiserman 1-17, Austin Pettis 1-15, Bissell 1-12, Mitch Burroughs 1-7, Chris O’Neill 1-5, Tyler Shoemaker 1-4

Scoring plays: Moore 6 run, Young 14 pass from Moore, King 25 pass from Lomax, Johnson 66 run, Martin 24 run

Check back later for some reaction from players and coach Chris Petersen and read a full recap in Saturday’s edition of the Idaho Statesman.