Scaife, Batiste shine at Georgia State scrimmage

Emiere Scaife threw two touchdown passes, and safety Tarris Batiste had two interceptions to lead the White team past the Blue 20-16 on Saturday in Georgia State’s spring scrimmage at Panthersville.

Batiste returned one of his team’s three interceptions of presumed starting quarterback Nick Arbuckle into a 100-yard return for an interception to give his side a 14-6 lead in the first half.

“It was a wonderful day,” coach Trent Miles said in a news release from Georgia State’s sports information department. “The crowd was awesome, all the people who showed up, the smells of the tailgate, and playing some football. It was a wonderful day, but the best part of it all was that we had no injuries.

“We came out of it healthy, we competed extremely hard, had fun, there were some good plays, and I’m sure when I watch the film, there will be some bad plays. But all in all I was very happy for today.”

Scaife hit Robert Davis for a 73-yard touchdown pass for White’s first score. Davis finished with five catches for a game-high 96 yards. Scaife, who redshirted as a freshman last season, completed 10 of his 21 attempts for 201 yards. He had no interceptions.

The Blue team responded with a touchdown pass from Arbuckle to wide receiver Glenn Smith to cut White’s lead to 8-6 in the first half. Moving to take the lead, Batiste intercepted Arbuckle in the end zone and returned it for the score.

The White team scored again to take a 20-8 lead after Scaife hit wide receiver Nyiakki Height, one of several players who transferred from UAB in the offseason, with a 45-yard pass with 1.5 seconds left in the first half. Scaife followed that by hitting wide receiver Todd Boyd with a 24-yard touchdown pass.