Team Purple Defeats Team Gold, 27-10 in Dawgs After Dark

SEATTLE, WA - MAY 01: Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. #1 of the Washington Huskies throws the ball during the Washington Huskies spring game on May 1, 2026 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Henry Rodenburg/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

With these kinds of spring games, you usually don’t get a sense of what the team’s trajectory is going to be, considering that it’s so early in the process of preparation for the season. What you do get is fun, and an opportunity to see the future. Both of these were on display Friday night in Husky Stadium, as men’s soccer coach Jamie Clark and Team Gold took on women’s soccer coach Nicole Van Dyke’s Team Purple, with Jedd Fisch serving as the PA announcer. After team Gold stalled, Demond Williams’ purple squad took the field, and Williams struggled, overshooting a 15 yard out and throwing behind on an in breaking route, before throwing a pass that was intercepted by Dylan Robinson. Robinson would give Team Gold the early lead, as he would recover a muffed punt by Mason James in the end zone.

That lead would be stretched to 10-3, thanks to field goals kicked by soccer players Maya Loudd and Carter Gay for teams Purple and Gold, respectively. It wouldn’t be long before we had our first usage of a gimmick, as Team Gold’s Jamie Clark used his red card to remove Demond Williams for one play. The 260 pound tight end Baron Naone stepped in to relieve him, and absolutely launched a high fly ball, which was intercepted by Paul Mencke Jr. Purple’s Nicole Van Dyke would use her red card strategically, removing kicker Tyler Robles, leaving holder and punter Luke Dunne to absolutely shank a field goal attempt, missing entirely. We didn’t get the “Lineman Fair Catch bonus” (which stipulated that if an OL or DL successfully fair caught a punt, they would get an extra 10 yards tacked onto where they caught the ball). We did get a Nicole Van Dyke extra point, but we’ll get to that later.

To start the second quarter, two true Freshmen were the difference makers on both sides of the ball on the first drive. For Team Gold’s offense, it was the 241 pound running back Ansu Sanoe, who managed big gains on his first 2 carries. For the purple defenders, it was safety Gavin Day, who showed some very nice closing speed in getting to Dezmen Roebuck on a sweep. These two showed flashes of what they could be and I for one am very excited for the regular season to start to see what they can do, provided they get an opportunity.

It was 10-3 in favor of Team Gold, and Demond was struggling to find the rhythm. Then Demond fired a laser to true Freshman Jordan Clay:

Football vs Dawgs After Dark on 5/1/2026 – Game Center – University of Washington Athletics

Then on the next play, he hit Rashid Williams on a deep shot for 6:

He was relieved just before the half, trading his helmet for a headset as he called the shots on offense. Kini McMillan did a fine job, scrambling and hitting his targets in rhythm, as the first drive of the second half for team Purple ate up almost the entirety of the third (albeit with a running clock). Julian McMahan punched it in from a yard out, making the score 16-10 Purple. The team then called upon Coach Van Dyke for the PAT.

That added 4 points to Team Purple’s tally. From there, Team Purple punctuated the performance with a very nice pick 6 by Donovan Robinson, as they would take the game by a score of 27-10.

As stated, we don’t really know how the team will perform based off this showcase, but we can see the young guys, and the experienced veterans and how they perform as individuals. I want to highlight specifically: Ramzak Fruean, Ksani Jiles at safety, Rashid Williams, Ansu Sanoe, Gavin Day, Kini McMillan, Darin Conley (who let an INT slip right through his hands at the end of the game), Luke Dunne and Paul Mencke. We won’t know how this team will be as we get into the season, but what we do know is if some of the younger Freshmen and Sophomores stick around, this team could be very scary not only in this season, but in the years to come. We’ll find out how good this team is in the more immediate term come September 5th, when the Cougs show up to Montlake for the Apple Cup!