Thunderstorms threatened to move Saturday's Maroon & White Game indoors, but the weather cooperated, allowing several Texas A&M players to shine brightly.

Junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson and sophomore wide receiver Jeff Fuller led the Maroon squad to a 117-107 victory using a modified scoring system in a glorified practice pitting the offense against the defense, with points available on every play.

"I really didn't think we were gonna go [outside]," A&M head football coach Mike Sherman said. "I sure hope this is a great omen for us for the season."

The 6-foot-4, 209-pound Fuller was the best omen for Johnson, who had a tough start against an aggressive defense. The sure-handed, powerful Fuller had nine catches for 147 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown at Kyle Field before about 8,000 fans.

Fuller wasn't the only one who dominated one-on-one battles. Junior defender Von Miller was constantly harassing Johnson. The 214-pound, explosive Miller showed why he was moved to A&M's new "jack" position, a hybrid of the defensive end and linebacker positions.

Miller had three sacks and a few pressures and probably got cheated a couple times when the officials didn't whistle the play dead, since the defenders weren't supposed to tackle the quarterback.

"I think it was evident that we don't have many guys who can block Von Miller," Sherman said. "He must have scored about 50 points by himself. And we were gracious in letting the quarterback get the ball off. He was in a league of his own out there today."

The first-team offense had only five first downs in six first-half possessions, which spanned 27 plays. That included a pair of turnovers. Sophomore defensive tackle Eddie Brown recovered a fumble by Fuller after a hard hit by sophomore defensive back Justin McQueen. Redshirt freshman linebacker Kyle Mangan intercepted a pass in the end zone intended for senior tight end Jamie McCoy on the last play of the first half.

"The defense won today, you know that," a laughing Miller said. "You know how it is. [But] we both came out and we both did good. It was all just for fun. The score said the offense won. [But] if you watched the game, you saw that the defense did well, too."

Especially the first unit.

Senior linebacker Anthony Lewis, junior linebacker Michael Hodges and sophomore defensive back Taylor Randle also had interceptions. Senior safety Jordan Pugh and sophomore safety Trent Hunter had solid games, while sophomore defensive tackle Tony Jerod-Eddie had a couple pressures and back-to-back pass deflections.

The defense had five takeaways and was credited with seven sacks.

"All we try to do is get better every day," A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines said. "Spring games are hard to judge. All we were looking for was effort. Did they play hard? Did they do the things you've been asking them to do? And did we have a little fun?

"And I think the scoring system Coach [Sherman] put in all spring has really added to spring practice."

The 64-year-old Kines had difficulty following the point system, but had no problem rating his players' effort.

"Sometimes, it seemed like Chinese arithmetic to me," he laughed. "But the guys bought into it hook, line and sinker."

Johnson and his teammates started piling up points in the second half, rallying from a 72-64 halftime deficit. The 229-pounder said the offensive just needed to get in rhythm after a sluggish first half.

Johnson, who completed 14 of 29 pass attempts, attended his grandmother's funeral Saturday morning, missing the team breakfast and autograph session for the fans.

"I gave him the option of not being here today, but he wanted to be with his teammates," Sherman said. "I thought he started a little slow, but picked it up as we went through it."

Johnson was 6-of-11 passing for 102 yards and a touchdown in the second half behind an offensive line that was missing several players because of injuries.

"The main thing is protecting the quarterback," Sherman said. "If we can protect the quarterback, I feel we have a chance."

Fuller also gives the offense a chance to score from anywhere. He had a 30-yard catch on third-and-13 that led to the go-ahead touchdown on the first drive of the second half. He later added a 27-yard touchdown.

"I had a real rough practice Thursday," Fuller said. "I came out here and felt like I had something to prove."

Johnson and Fuller excelled with just an average running game.

Redshirt freshman Jay Tolliver (18 carries-63 yards, TD) ran well with the second unit, as did redshirt freshman quarterback Tommy Dorman (5-26, TD).

Sophomores Bradley Stephens (9-18, TD) and Cyrus Gray (5-22, TD) each had a few good runs. But the first unit netted only 9 rushing yards on 24 carries behind an offensive line that included only two starters from last year, sophomore Evan Eike and senior Michael Shumard.

"We have to get a lot better in that area in order for us to be a championship-caliber team -- you have to be good up front," Sherman said. "And any team that I've been on that's been worth a lick has been good up front. We have to continue to address that, fundamentally, and also recruiting-wise."