The first and second team defenders made the most of their short time on the field during yesterday's scrimmage. The defense dominated the first dozen or so plays before the established players were removed from the field.

"We feel real satisfied," said safety Leonard Peters. "I only got in for like four plays, but it was good just to go full speed."

In the first 12 plays of the scrimmage, the defense allowed less than 40 yards, and 27 of those came on one pass play from Tim Chang to Jason Rivers.

"I thought it looked like we were assignment sound, and I'll watch the tape and see," head coach June Jones said. "But I know we're going to be OK on defense."

According to defensive coordinator George Lumpkin, the first defense stymied the offense with basic formations.

"Yeah, no blitzes or anything like that," Peters said. "It was all straight up, so we felt like we did the job."

The defense also did it without two of its star players. Starting defensive linemen Travis LaBoy and Isaac Sopoaga sat out because of minor injuries.

"We have a lot of guys who can do the job this year," said sophomore defensive tackle Abu Ma'afala, who started in place of Sopoaga. "Everybody's got their assignments down. But it's a different story when the live bullets are firing. Today was a chance for guys to show what they can do when its real — not just drills."

Lumpkin was especially impressed with the UH linebackers, who seemed to stuff every running play during the first half of the scrimmage.

"I call them the wild bunch," Lumpkin said of the linebackers. "They're characters, but they're real focused and they're real smart and they're very good technicians."

Lumpkin said the established players were pulled early to avoid more injuries and to fill out the depth chart. He said he hopes to go two-deep at every position on defense once the season starts.

"The first string guys, we know what they can do," he said. "So we want an opportunity to create more depth and get other guys in."

Although the offense scored twice against the third and fourth defenses, the defensive starters still felt like they scored bragging rights yesterday.

"The defense should always be ahead because defense wins championships," Peters said. "The offense is for talking to the reporters."