By Richard Stevens - Senior Writer/GoLobos.com

When Lobos scrimmage, it's a catch-22 situation. You want the offense to look good, but you don't want the defense to look bad. And vice versa.

That's pretty much what happened Saturday afternoon at University Stadium when the Lobos threw on the pads for real and pounded at each other for a good hour and a half under a warm April sun.

"The offense did some good things. The defense did some good things," said Jaymar Latchison, a defensive end.

Coach Mike Locksley's Lobos went into spring ball emphasizing the run and physicality up front. The Lobos definitely leaned to their rushing attack on Saturday, but there was some pretty nifty passing, too.

B.R. Holbrook completed 17-of-22 passes for 199 yards and a single touchdown. Brad Gruner went 10-of-19 for 78 yards. That's a combined 27-of-41 for 277 yards. Not bad for a UNM team working on the run.

"We didn't throw the ball a lot today," said Locksley. "I really wanted to focus on getting the running game going."

To explain all the passes, you have to remember that there was only one offense on the field Saturday - the Lobos' offense. The UNM defense never got to leave the grass. There were a lot of offensive opportunities for Lobos.

The UNM backs totaled 296 yards on 79 carries. Demond Dennis totaled 83 yards on 25 carries, Kasey Carrier went 61 yards off 13 carries, Terence Brown had 58 yards on 15 totes and James Wright bulled 54 yards on nine carries.

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Said Gruner: "You couldn't ask anything more from our offensive line. We ran the ball well today, really well."

Said Mike Cannon, an offensive guard: "We did some good things. I thought the defense did pretty well, but we punched a few (TDs) in. In was a good physical battle on both sides I think everyone is getting better."

The UNM defense had a lot of shots at making tackles and it is no shock that linebacker Carmen Messina led the way with 17.

"We didn't give up the explosion plays that we did the other day," said Doug Mallory, Locksley's defensive coordinator. "I though our energy was better. That's encouraging.

Demond Dennis -- 83 yards

Latchison compared the defense's effort to the stock market. "Just like the stock market, we went up, we went down. But we were out there talking it up and we went at them. The defense needs to get more physical. We're going to keep working hard and keep growing every day."

The Lobos' growth began on March 23 with spring practice No. 1. Saturday's scrimmage officially was practice No. 7. The spring drills end Saturday, April 17 at University Stadium with the annual Cherry-Silver Game.

Locksley said he was happy with Saturday's scrimmage. "I saw both sides do some good things," he said. "I thought the defense did a good job of stopping some drives once we got past the 50. I thought the red zone went both ways."

Said Mallory: "We weren't real good in our base defense at the goal line. But that's the first live work we've had there. We need to get better down there."

The scrimmage gave the UNM defense a clear shot at the quarterbacks. Holbrook and Gruner weren't wearing the black jerseys, which mean "hands off." The two QBS took some licks.

"We gave them a chance to go out and be under the fire a little bit," said Locksley. "We have competition at the position and we wanted to see how they respond under fire."

Lobos Scrimmage Statistics - Saturday, April, 3, 2010 - University Stadium

Rushing: Demond Dennis 25-83, 1 TD; Kasey Carrier 13-61, 1 TD; Terence Brown 15-58; James Wright 9-54, 1 TD; 1 TD; B.R. Holbrook 9-20; Brad Gruner 8-20, 2 TDs. Totals: 79-296, 5 TDs.

Passing: B.R. Holbrook 17-22-0, 199 yards, 1 TD; Brad Gruner 10-19-1, 78 yards. Totals: 27-41-1, 277 yards, 1 TD.

Receiving: Michael Scarlett 7-40; Bryant Williams 4-14; Lucas Reed 3-20; Kasey Carrier 2-12; Demond Dennis 2-10; Ty Kirk 1-67; Quintell Solomon 1-37, TD; Jonathan Mader 1-18; Nick Wilhelm 1-16; Myles Daughtry 1-15; Chris Hernandez 1-12; Josh Fussell 1-8; Terence Brown 1-6; James Wright 1-2. Totals: 27-277, 1 TD.

Field Goals: James Aho, 41 yards; Garrett Hentrup, 22-yards; Greg Rivara, 22-yards.

Tackles: (unassisted-assisted=total): Carmen Messina 9-8-17; Spencer Merritt 6-3-9; Reggie Ellis 3-6-9; Emmanuel Fatokun 6-3-9; Brian Hill 2-6-8; Mark Hunter 0-7-7; Ahraya Crespin 1-6-7; Ugo Uzodinma 3-3-6; Carmeiris Stewart 2-4-6; A.J. Butler 2-4-6; Joe Stoner 1-5-6; Freddy Young 1-4-5; Jaymar Latchison 2-3-5; Dante Caro 3-1-4; Terel Anyaibe 2-2-4; DeShawn Mills 2-2-4; Emmanuel McPhearson 3-1-4; Jake Carr 1-3-4; Seth Johannemann 2-1-3; Joe Harris 2-1-3; Anthony Hooks 2-1-3; Dallas Bollema 1-2-3; Matt Raymer 0-3-3; Julian Conley 1-1-2; Peter Gardner 0-1-1; James Montgomery 0-2-2; Matt McBain 1-1-2; Cody Neely 0-2-2.

Interceptions: Joe Harris 1. Sacks: Seth Johannemann 1.0; Jake Carr 1.0; Ugo Uzodinma 0.5; Joe Stoner 1.0. Totals: 3.5. Tackles for loss: Spencer Merritt 1.0; Seth Johannemann 1.0; Joe Harris 1.0; Ahraya Crespin 2.0; Carmen Messina 1.0; Ugo Uzodinma 1.0;Joe Stoner 1.0; DeShawn Mills 1.0. Totals: 9. Pass Break Ups: Carmeiris Stewart 1.0; Brian Hill 1.0; A.J. Butler 1.0; Nathan Enriquez 1.0; Matt Raymer 1.0. Totals: 5.