SEATTLE — It was about the time that a sophomore tight end moved over to play quarterback — then took a snap and chucked a pass up the right sideline — that Washington’s spring football game became the lighthearted event you know it to be.
Or maybe it was a second or two later, when safety Paul Mencke Jr. intercepted that Baron Naone throw and returned it nearly to midfield.
No matter. Naone’s “Purple” team prevailed in the spring finale, besting Mencke’s “Gold” team — wearing white jerseys, for the record — by a final score of 27-10 … even if four of those points came when Purple’s honorary head coach, women’s soccer coach Nicole Van Dyke, booted a 21-yard PAT.
She’s now 2-for-2 on such kicks at football spring games, adding that score to her successful try in 2024.
“I think it’s fun that we’re still playing football in front of fans in the spring, which so many people are refusing to do,” UW coach Jedd Fisch said afterward. “I think we owe it to our fans to do that. I think we owe it to the football universe to keep on the tradition of spring games.”