They don’t move as fast as they did in their glory days and it’s hard to run the triple-option when tackles can’t be broken, but the Varsity O Legends Flag Football Game was a hit with the fans Saturday.

The White beat the Red 12-6 but few were paying attention to final score.

For most, it was the first time they’d done anything competitive at Owen Field since their last collegiate game.

“You have to go back to 1987, I guess,” former All-American linebacker Brian Bosworth said. “I haven’t put on cleats since the late ’80s, maybe 1990. It’s fun to be able to do it again.”

About 40 players turned out for the game. Some finished their careers recently. Paul Thompson, who quarterbacked OU to a Big 12 title in 2006, played.

But so did Jamelle Holieway, who quarterbacked the Sooners to a national championship 21 years earlier.

There was a time when OU’s spring game included a varsity-alumni game. It went away, however, because too many players were getting injured.

Even the flag football version left one person — former running back Renaldo Works — on crutches due to an achilles injury.

Nonetheless, the fans loved it and the former players got a kick out of being on Owen Field again.

“The is first time, so hopefully it will turn into a tradition and we’ll keep doing it every year,” former All-American defensive linemen Tony Casillas said.

In and out

Mossis Madu has gone through an interesting spring.

After spending three seasons at running back, he spent the entire spring working at wide receiver. He did not catch a pass Saturday, but was the game’s leading rusher with 9 carries for 44 yards.

“We’re trying to teach him to be not just a running back that plays receiver, but a very competent receiver who is on the field more that we can still kick back in at running back,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. “We’re trying to get him to that point and he’s done pretty good.”