LOS ANGELES -- The surprising story of the annual Cardinal-versus-White scrimmage Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum was the second stringers.

The Cardinal team, made up of second- and third-string players, was surprisingly effective for most of the scrimmage, which the White-clad starters eventually won, 28-7.

"What was interesting to me was the Cardinal team," said head coach Pete Carroll. "That's a good-looking team out there.

"They played really well and made it tough for the White team. A lot of cool things happened on that side."

Cardinal quarterback Garrett Green, a converted receiver, completed 9-of-19 passing for 134 yards and a 12-yard touchdown to freshman Bryce Butler. He also found Jordan Cameron of Newbury Park, a transfer from Ventura College, three times for 81 yards, including a 48-yard hookup in the first quarter.

"Garrett did a great job today," said quarterback Mitch Mustain. "It wasn't a surprise."

The White team would have been even, 7-7, at the half, had its defense not scored the first touchdown of the scrimmage. Defensive end Kyle Moore not deflected a Green pass into the waiting arms of Everson Griffin in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Sophomore tailback Joe McKnight, playing with elbow and hand injuries, gave the White team a 14-7 halftime lead with a 6-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.

With potential starting quarterback Mark Sanchez still on the mend, quarterbacks Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain took turns leading long drives in the second half.

"We made it through," said Carroll of the quarterbacks. "It was another day for those guys to grow."

First, Corp, the redshirt freshman from Orange Lutheran, directed a eight-play, 88-yard scoring drive that was completed when guard Zack Heberer recovered freshman tight end Blake Ayles' fumble in the end zone.

Corp had found Ayles for a 12-yard gain before the fumble was deflected into the end zone.

Mustain responded with a 9-play, 61-yard scoring drive, finding fullback Adam Goodman for a 2-yard touchdown pass.

While Corp completed 8-of-10 passing for 85 yards, Mustain was 10-of-14 passing for 92 yards and a touchdown.

"We hadn't been able to put together a total performace yet (during camp)," said Mustain. "I felt like we did that today, for the most part."