With the sun shining and 10,000 Washington football fans at Husky Stadium, sophomore Jake Locker led his team to a touchdown on the opening drive.

It may have been the young quarterback's only score of the day, but there were highlights aplenty in the annual Purple and Gold game Saturday. And maybe, just maybe, seeing a great deal of achievement on the field was exactly what a downtrodden program needed.

Senior quarterback Carl Bonnell threw three touchdown passes, and senior wide receiver Marcel Reece had three touchdown receptions as the Purple team — consisting of the first-string offense and defense — dominated the Gold team with a 44-7 victory.

"It was fun, really fun," Locker said after his first game in front of the Washington fans. "I really enjoyed it."

Linebacker E.J. Savannah might have had two of the most memorable plays of the day, with a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown and a bone-jarring hit on fullback Paul Homer during a kickoff return.

"We were having fun out there, trying to get our assignments right and flying around the ball," Savannah, a junior, said. "I think we had a good day."

On offense, Husky fans got to see a dominating performance from Reece, who had three scores in the first half. The junior college transfer made a one-handed catch for his first score, beat his defender on a quick-out for the second, then capped his performance with a 32-yard catch-and-run from Bonnell.

When asked about Reece's potential, offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said the physically intimidating pass-catcher was All-Pac-10 caliber, if not an eventual NFL prospect.

"The first thing we told him is, 'You have to play your size — 240 pounds. Use your size and strength to your advantage,'" Lappano said.

Running back Louis Rankin finished with 16 carries, 99 yards and a 42-yard touchdown, but his most extraordinary moment came on the second play from scrimmage, when the senior threw a halfback pass to Corey Williams to set up the game's first score.

"It was good to finally play a game," Rankin said. "I felt pretty good; it went well."

Coach Tyrone Willingham expressed his relief that the team got through the spring healthy. Dan Howell didn't play in the spring game due to an unspecified illness, but the only minor injuries were to backup defensive tackle Derek Kosub (finger) and walk-on receiver Charles Hawkins Jr. (shoulder).

"We saw some physical plays, some good hits, some good runs, some good passes, and I'm very comfortable with that," said Willingham, who also re-confirmed that Locker is still the No. 1 quarterback.

In the end, Saturday's spring game was evidence that Husky football has not forgotten about winning. Despite scoring three touchdowns, Reece expressed his craving for more.

"I'm not too satisfied," Reece said. "I wanted to come out with my team, put on a show for the fans, give them something to look forward to this season, let them know we're coming back to Husky football and let them know we don't want to lose one game this season."

Reach reporter Joshua Mayers at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.