New Mexico State head football coach Hal Mumme said he was happy with how spring practice wrapped up Saturday night after the Crimson and White game at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

Now comes the wait for the fall, when the Aggies begin preparations for Mumme's fourth, and perhaps most important, year of his tenure with the program.

The Crimson was the defense and the White was the offense in the 35-17 win for the defense.

"We got out of the spring healthy and that was key," Mumme said. "We're learning to play hard. Our defense made a lot of strides in the last four or five days. You can't accomplish everything in the spring, but we got our defense implemented to the point where we can go into the summer and know where we need to improve. We also improved in our kicking game and got young players lots of reps."

The White didn't have starting quarterback Chase Holbrook, starting receivers Chris Williams and A.J. Harris and Wes Neiman and center Richard Bolin among others for Saturday's game.

Instead, head coach Hal Mumme left much of the offense in the hands of backup quarterback J.J. McDermott, who handled most of the snaps in the scrimmages and spring game.

McDermott was 32-for-49, 281 yards passing and two scores. Mumme said McDermott had a solid game and made good decisions.

"I thought we improved a lot during spring practice," McDermott said. "We had to get some people comfortable and we did that. We had some new guys and they did good things."

Also, Mumme was trying to find suitable backups at key spots and give newcomers some time. And at times, the new guys and backups shined.

Receivers Marcus Anderson and Julius Fleming caught 22 and 43-yard touchdown passes respectively in the first half. Fleming finished with nine passes for 94 yards, Anderson had seven catches for 74 yards and freshman receiver LaVorick Williams had eight catches for 54 yards.

New Mexico State's only other score was a 34-yard field goal by Kyle Hughes, who also connected on all three point after attempts. Anderson's touchdown came on a screen pass in which he used his speed to do most of the damage with his legs on the play. On Fleming's touchdown pass, Fleming said it was a fake screen in which he attacked the cornerback. The corner bit and Fleming said he kept going and McDermott found him for the score.

"We accomplished what we wanted to do this spring," Anderson said. "We came out and executed. We didn't have some key starters in the game, but got in some good work. Our goals are to be a team, be the best at your spot and be excited about what you do. We want to keep rolling into the fall."

The defense showed some improvement on Saturday night. Defensive back Alphonso Powell returned a fumble for a score, the defensive line got some pressure and the linebacking crew, led by junior college transfer Nick Paden made some plays as well. Paden finished with a pair of sacks, while Brennan Baiamonte and Powell each had two pass breakups.

"There has been a lot of emphasis on not giving up big plays," defensive back Davon House said. "It's going to be hard to get back into the game if you give up big plays. We have worked hard not missing tackles. We did a lot of good things tonight except for the two big plays."

The Aggies are learning a new 3-3-5 defense under first-year defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn.

"We're a lot better now than we were a few weeks ago," Paden said. "We're picking up the new schemes. We still have a ways to go, but there was progress."

The Aggies will have one more workout on Monday before calling it quits for the spring. The Aggies begin the 2008 season at home against Nicholls State on Sept. 4.

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