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RUSTON, La. - In a celebrity-filled Joe Aillet Stadium it was a handful of younger players that stole the show as the Bulldogs (offense) upended LA Tech (defense), 62-49, in the 2016 Louisiana Tech Spring Game presented by Dairy Queen.

Terry Bradshaw was on hand to watch while Fred Dean and Tramon Williams were the guest coaches but names like Boston Scott, Kam McKnight, Jaylon Ferguson and Alfred Smith were the ones making show-stopping plays in the game.

The offense-versus-defense scrimmage was set up with traditional scoring values for the offense while the defense could earn six points for a touchdown, three points for a turnover or fourth down stop, two points for a sack and one point for a three-and-out.

Smith caught four passes for 120 yards, McKnight reeled in 106 yards and a touchdown on four catches while Ferguson registered three sacks in four tackles. Boston Scott led all players with 146 all-purpose yards (62 rushing, 84 receiving) and two touchdowns.

"Alfred Smith and Kam McKnight are both doing some really good things," Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz said. "I was not trying to feature Trent Taylor. I've got 99 catches a year ago of him on film doing what he does. I think having those two guys step up, it was great to see Alfred make that play at the end on the deep ball where he went up for it. I think both of those guys are doing a really good job."

Ryan Higgins was 27-for-34 for 469 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions to lead all quarterbacks while Price Wilson threw for 106 yards in an 11-for-22 performance with one touchdown. J'mar Smith threw for 94 yards and Jack Abraham was 7-for-10 for 55 yards and one interception.

"The game has really slowed down for Ryan," Holtz said after the spring game. "I think he is doing a really good job … I wanted to see the quarterbacks execute. I think Ryan has a great grasp on the offense and the game has really slowed down and he is making some really good decisions with the ball out there."

Defensively, Ferguson's three sacks scored six points and led the team while Immanuel Turner and Courtney Wallace each registered two sacks apiece. The defense totaled nine sacks (18 points scored) and five turnovers (10 points) in the game, including a 57-yard interception return for a touchdown by Daryl Lewis that scored nine points.

"Jaylon Ferguson definitely made an impact," Holtz said of the redshirt freshman defensive end. "He made his presence felt. It is a great growing part of our program because he is going to make Shane Carpenter a better player. He is going to make him a better player. Then as Shane gets better, Jaylon is going to have to improve."

Dante Williams, Collin Scott and DaMarrion King led the way with six tackles each as Scott added a tackle for a loss and a 51-yard fumble recovery.

Lewis's pick-six gave the defense its first lead of the day, 42-41, early in the fourth quarter. But the offense would rally back as Higgins connected with McKnight on a 35-yard touchdown pass to regain a lead they would not relinquish. Turner and Charles Adeola would register sacks as the defense would pull within two at 48-46.

The defense then had a chance to take the lead as the offense faced fourth-and-1 but J'mar Smith handed the ball off to Scott, who punched through a hole up the middle and effectively secured the win for the offense with a 46-yard touchdown run.

Saturday's spring game wrapped up the final spring practice for Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs will open the 2016 season on Sept. 3 at Arkansas.

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