MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois University football team held it first full-scale scrimmage this afternoon, capping its first week of spring practices.The scrimmage consisted of 72 plays divided into four game situations - coming off the goal line, third-and-long, sustained drives, and inside the red zone. The number one offensive unit took the field against the number two defense, while the number one defense went against the number two offense, and the number three units faced off against each other. The scrimmage included Gateway Conference officials and a visit by the league?s coordinator of officials, Ed Tschannen.?I would have to say I was more pleased with the defense today,? said Western Illinois head coach Don Patterson. ?They did a great job of not staying blocked very long, of flying around and making plays. On the offensive side of things, we ran the ball very well in long yardage situations.?First-team running back Alex Douglas gained 40 yards on four carries, breaking through the line for 17 yards on the first two plays of the day. Starting quarterback Steve LaFalce completed six of his nine passes for 60 yards, including a 20-yard pass to Jarrell Johnson, and did not throw an interception.Sophomore running back Herb Donaldson, who took most of his snaps with the second unit, rushed six times for 52 yards, exploding three times for runs of at least 10 yards. Sophomore quarterback Peter Roley recorded 86 yards on 8-of-11 passing, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Miller during red-zone drills.?The defense really improved their pass-rush techniques this week and that created a lot of heat on the quarterbacks,? Patterson continued. ?On the other hand, our offense was able to go the length of an entire game with no interceptions and just one turnover. So our defense has to do a better job of generating turnovers.?It?s always a plus to be able to practice with Gateway officials out there. That creates a great learning atmosphere, especially for our younger players who don?t have as much gametime experience. I saw too many penalties from our offense, but the defense today went the entire 72 plays without being called for a penalty.?The Leathernecks will get back to work Monday afternoon. Their second scrimmage is scheduled for a week from today.