LARAMIE, Wyo. – Wyoming's offense and defense battled to a 29-29 tie Saturday in the final scrimmage of the spring. And coach Vic Koenning couldn't have been more pleased.

Using a scoring system that allowed the defense to score in more ways than just touchdowns, the units deadlocked after over two hours and 100 plays at War Memorial Stadium.

"When playing ourselves, a tie in the spring finale is good," Koenning said.

"When the offense scored near the end, we could have gone for two," he said. "But I didn't want anyone losing, as hard as everyone played, and I wanted Jarvis (sophomore kicker Wallum) to kick under pressure. He did have to make the kick in order to tie and that wasn't a sure thing with the way the wind was blowing."

While the offense could score in conventional ways, the defense was awarded points for forcing turnovers, stopping drives short of the 50 and forcing punts after three plays, among other ways.

The offense scored on its opening two drives, first on a 42-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Casey Bramlet to redshirt freshman receiver Sean Bowman.

That was followed by a 1-yard run by redshirt freshman Kit Bradshaw, who led all rushers with 80 yards on 19 carries.

But the defense turned things around midway through the second period and dominated until an offensive touchdown on the final series, 1-yard plunge by senior running back Nate Scott.

"The offense certainly started out well," Koenning said. "But like all spring scrimmages there is always a pendulum swing. The defense didn't get down on itself, responded, and kept scrapping."

"There is a lot of leadership at the heart of this team, and that was demonstrated today."

Bramlet completed 9 of 17 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. J.J. Raterink, a redshirt freshman, was 7 of 14 for 56 yards. As a whole, the offense was 18 of 35 for 208 yards and one touchdown.

Four receivers caught three passes each: Bowman (54 yards), sophomore Leonard Jones (49), junior Brock Ralph (46) and sophomore Ryan McGuffey (35). No interceptions were thrown.

Sophomore Derek Armah had nine carries for 44 yards. Freshman Kevin Fulton carried seven times for 20 yards, and Scott carried six times for 13. The Cowboys rushed 53 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

"With the conditions as they were, we had to run the ball, and run if effectively," the coach said. "There were times when we did that very well, and there were times when the defense shut it down completely.

"We just couldn't throw the ball down field. Because of that wind the offense was a bit handcuffed, but it did a good job of fighting and clawing."

As for the defense, Koenning said the tackling is getting much better.

"Part of that is because we have better athletes. Good athletes make better tacklers. We are definitely improved in that area."

Junior linebacker John Wilson had nine tackles, including one for a loss and he also teamed up on a sack.

Senior linebacker Matt Klotz had seven tackles, including one for a loss, while sophomore tackle Casey Adams had five tackles. The defense came up with three sacks, and six tackles for losses.

Sophomore Luke Donovan had eight punts for an average 42.3 yards. Senior Matt Swanson punted three times for 34.7.

Wallum hit all three point-after attempts, but did not attempt a field goal. Sophomore Justin Graham hit both of his field goal attempts of 31 and 42 yards.

Following the scrimmage Koenning announced team captains for 2001: senior safety Al Rich, senior linebacker Leo Caires, junior tackle Adam Goldberg, and sophomore receiver Ryan McGuffey.

McGuffey became the first sophomore in Cowboy history to be elected a captain.

The Cowboys will hold a pair of light practices Monday and Wednesday to close out spring training, mainly focusing on the two-minute drill.

Koenning said the team is ready to erase the memory of last year's 1-10 campaign.

"The tempo of this team was set the night after the Colorado State loss in November," Koenning said. "We had a team meeting and were determined never to let something like that happen again. They carried that through winter conditioning, their academics and now spring training.

"We will now concentrate on academics, the weight room, and our summer program. I really enjoy this bunch. They have a great attitude and their intensity and determination are fun to watch."

Koenning said many players who sat out spring drills because of injuries will be ready in the fall.

"We're very pleased with the way everyone has responded. We're not there yet, but we are getting closer. Their work ethic has brought us closer."