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Football: McDonald hoping to fill void left by Lightfoot

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ASU junior wide receiver Shaun McDonald (81) celebrates with junior wide-out Sklyer Fulton (18) on Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium. Lightfoot helped Sun Devil fans forget about the loss of sophomore wide receiver Daryl Lightfoot by hauling in three to

Despite the absence of sophomore wide receiver Daryl Lightfoot, ASU got its passing game going in the second half Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium and rolled to a convincing win over Central Florida.

ASU head coach Dirk Koetter announced Friday that Lightfoot, a graduate of Phoenix Maryvale High School, has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the team because of personal issues he has been dealing with.

However, while Lightfoot sat on the sidelines, Sun Devil junior wide receiver Shaun McDonald stole the show Saturday. McDonald's first score came with 7:15 left in the first half on a 5-yard pass from freshman quarterback Chad Christensen. It was one of only five completions for Christensen, who had a rough outing in the rain.

"Some of the problems that happened when Chad was at quarterback were not Chad's fault," Koetter said. "We got beat in pass protection, and Chad was the unlucky one back in the back, and that's not a fun place to be."

After a 4-of-10 passing performance in the first half, things quickly turned worse after the break. A fumbled snap resulted in a turnover on ASU's first possession of the second half.

Christensen then skipped a sideline pass four feet in front of McDonald on the first play of the second drive. He was replaced by sophomore quarterback Andrew Walter, who made an immediate impact by hitting McDonald for an 8-yard gain.

"(Andrew) gave us a lift that we needed," Koetter said. "We were struggling on offense, and he came in and gave us a lift. But it was also a big play by Chad that got us going."

The play Koetter referred to was a 4th-and-1 play-action fake after two straight runs proved unsuccessful. The Golden Knight defense bit on the trickery, and Christensen found senior tight end Mike Pinkard for a long gain. Christensen said he missed Lightfoot's speed and play-making ability.

"Daryl is a great asset to our whole offense, and not having him in there kind of set us back," Christensen said. "But a bunch of guys stepped up and said 'Hey, we're going to pick up the slack.'"

Walter returned after Pinkard's reception and hit McDonald for a 13-yard touchdown pass to give ASU its first lead with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Walter clicked on two more passes, including another touchdown toss to McDonald. Walter threw a floater into the back of the end zone and McDonald made a spectacular diving catch.

"I suppose it was the way plays were called, he was the main receiver," Walter said. "On the one he made the great run across the field, he was the No. 2 (receiver), but I figured with him being there, he finds a way. Great athletes do that. You can throw it up, and either he's going to catch it or break up a pick, so you're pretty safe with him."

Walter finished the game 4-for-5 for 54 yards and two touchdowns.

"They're both great quarterbacks," McDonald said. "Andrew just came in and had a pretty good half. He came in and put the ball where it needed to be and had more control over the offense."

McDonald finished the game with a season-high five receptions for 54 yards. Although he was the main focus of the game, McDonald realizes the importance of Lightfoot to the program.

"Daryl's a great player," McDonald said. "To miss a starter is a big deal, but we have a lot of great receivers and a lot of depth this year. We want him back as soon as possible, but we've just got to go out there and try to make plays."

Lightfoot's mother, Betty Jean, died in January. Lightfoot also lost his grandfather during his freshman year at ASU. The two unfortunate incidents, coupled with other personal issues, caused him to take a leave of absence.

Lightfoot will still attend classes and partake in team practices. He will have to serve a one-game suspension that is unrelated to his leave of absence.

Receivers like senior Justin Taplin, who inherited the starting job, junior Skyler Fulton and freshman Derek Hagan, who caught two balls for 23 yards, are expected to fill the void.

"There's no question Daryl is one of our best players in practice, and hopefully, we'll be able to get Daryl back soon," Koetter said. "But if we don't, that's football, and the other guys have to step up."

Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.


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