MOSCOW - As expected, the No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense were decidedly better than their No. 2 counterparts in Friday's Silver and Gold Game, the finale for Idaho's spring football practice, won by the Gold, or Black, team (No. 1 offense and defense) 61-7.

So naturally, the first question asked of Vandals coach Paul Petrino afterward had to do with the battle for the starting quarterback job, between sophomore Chad Chalich, the former Coeur d'Alene High star who started the first seven games last season, and redshirt freshman Matt Linehan.

"I thought they both played well; how'd you think they did?" Petrino responded. "They have both played really well all spring, they improved every single day -obviously there were a couple of plays today where they've got to throw the ball away. That's probably the biggest thing that frustrates me. I'd like them to be 'live,' but with only two (quarterbacks on the roster this spring) they can't be live. They've got to get ready to get the ball out of their hands. They can't take all of those hits.

"But they both understand the offense so much better than last year, do a good job of getting us in the right plays in the running game. It's going to be a heckuva fight, a heckuva competition (for the starting job). That's a great thing for our football team, because I feel right now we've got two really good quarterbacks."

Both directed roughly the same amount of series, alternating between the No. 1 offense and the No. 2 offense.

Chalich, still recovering from a shoulder injury which sidelined him for the season in the seventh game last year, completed 16 of 27 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns.

"I thought I did some good things, but there's always areas to improve on," Chalich said.

Asked what he needs to work on over the summer, he replied, "just get in the training room and get my arm right. Watch film and see where I can improve."

Linehan completed 30 of 46 for 373 yards and two scores.

"I've just got to work on seeing the defense and making my reads, and being consistent, most importantly," he said. "Being balanced in the pocket, stepping into my throws, not fading away on my throws."

Deon Watson, a sophomore wide receiver from Coeur d'Alene High, said he has confidence in both quarterbacks, and the fact a starter has yet to be named - and likely won't be until fall camp - is not a distraction.

"It's a win-win situation for us," said Watson, who caught nine passes for 160 yards. "They've got different styles of play, but they're both great quarterbacks."

The No. 1 offense did not line up against the No. 1 defense on Friday night, though they went up against each other quite a bit in earlier scrimmages this spring.

Since the quarterbacks were not "live," sacks were awarded by coaches when a defender was near a quarterback. Six were recorded, two by Quayshawne Buckley. Zach Cable, son of former Idaho coach Tom Cable, had one sack, as did Marius Burgsmueller, Anthony Rice and Ryan Edwards.

"I think the first-team defensive line has a chance to be pretty darn special," Petrino said.

Sophomore Richard Montgomery, brought in last year as a running back but playing more and more at wide receiver this year, rushed for two touchdowns and caught a 61-yard TD from Linehan on a busted coverage on the second play of the game. On his 61-yard TD run on a draw play, Montgomery sped away from the defenders over the final 40 yards, and did a "sprinter's lean" as he crossed the goal line.

Dezmon Epps caught a pair of touchdown passes. Sophomore Jacob Sannon, playing for the White (Silver) team, had nine catches for 142 yards. He scored the lone TD for the White, out-dueling cornerback Delency Parham for the ball on a deep throw from Chalich, then racing the remaining 30 yards to the end zone to complete the 69-yard scoring play.

Jordan Pastras, a sophomore from Post Falls playing for the White team, caught three passes for 25 yards. For the spring, he caught seven passes for 75 yards and one touchdown in four scrimmages. Idaho opens the regular season Aug. 30 at Florida.

White 7 0 0 0 - 7

Black 21 14 14 14 - 61

First Quarter

B - Richard Montgomery 61 pass from Matt Linehan (Austin Rehkow kick), 14:10

B - Kris Olugbode 4 run (Rehkow kick), 4:57

W - Jacob Sannon 69 pass from Chad Chalich (Rehkow kick), 4:45

B - Dezmon Epps 20 pass from Chalich (Rehkow kick), :25

Second Quarter

B - Epps 9 pass from Linehan (Rehkow kick), 1:43

B - Montgomery 15 run (Rehkow kick), :27

Third Quarter

B - Brown 10 run (Rehkow kick), 5:04

B - Montgomery 61 run (Rehkow kick), 1:55

Fourth Quarter

B - Brown 3 run (no attempt)

B - Olugbode 1 run (no attempt), 10:16

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Brown 14-86, Chalich 9-(minus 18), Linehan 4-1, Olugbode 10-80, Coman 2-(minus 2), Saunders 16-5, Montgomery 4-83.

PASSING - Chalich 16-27-0-306, Linehan 30-46-0-373.

RECEIVING - Epps 11-121, Watson 9-160, McCain 4-80, Montgomery 4-80, Pastras 3-25, Cowan 3-31, Brown 1-6, Sannon 9-142, Saunders 2-14, Podrabsky 2-20.