The News Journal

By Kevin Tresolini

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Time for college
Blue teammates Brandon Ross of Wilmington Charter and Evan Mulrooney of Salesianum will leave today for the University of Maryland, where both earned football scholarships.

Each has his first summer session class on Monday.

Such is the life of Division I college football players, who usually spend part or most of the summer at school, taking classes and engaging in team activities and conditioning.

"That's what we signed up for," said Mulrooney, who started at offensive tackle for the Blue Saturday night.
Ross started at tailback, gaining 11 yards and nine yards on the Blue's first two plays Saturday.

"He doesn't put the football down," Charter coach Tyran Rice, a Blue assistant, said of Ross' work ethic. "He'll get bigger, stronger and do whatever it takes down there."

Good catch
Blue wide receiver Andrew McDonald from Concord is the grandson of Eagles Hall of Fame wideout Tommy McDonald, the 5-foot-9-inch standout who played from 1957-68.

Andrew McDonald was generously listed as 5-10, 174 pounds Saturday after spending the week wowing his teammates and coaches with the ability to catch almost anything thrown near him, even with taller players defending.

"Everything I threw, he caught it," Blue quarterback Briean Boddy of Delcastle said.

No wonder that on the first Blue play Saturday, Boddy chucked it downfield in McDonald's direction, and he did so again on the second play of the Blue's second series. Both were underthrown.

Chip off the old blocker
Starting Blue offensive guard Justin Glenn, out of A.I. du Pont, is the son of Tony Glenn, the executive director of the Delaware Foundation Reaching Citizens with Cognitive Disabilities (DFRC). Like his father, a Blue-Gold alumnus and former University of Delaware offensive lineman and assistant coach, Justin (6-3, 250) will join the Blue Hen crew in August as an offensive lineman. He'll frequently see his brother Ryan, a UD junior and key member of the football operations staff.

Forced to watch

Gold offensive linemen Byron Hodge of Sussex Central and Tyler Loomis of Lake Forest had their jerseys on Saturday night but were forced to watch the 56th annual all-star game.

Hodge had a cast on his broken left wrist. Loomis was hobbling on one crutch as a result of a sprained knee. 

Both were injured in Wednesday's Gold scrimmage at Milford High.

"I heard it crack," said Hodge, who was blocking on a running play when he was injured.

While it was a bitter disappointment not to play, Hodge wouldn't have passed up the experience of the Blue-Gold game and its Hand-in-Hand Program, which matches players with intellectually disabled "buddies."

"The whole program has been a great experience," said Hodge, who is joining the U.S. Army National Guard in August. "It's not all about the game."

Pleasant recollections
Blue-Gold memories haven't faded for U.S. Rep. John Carney (D-Del.), who was a Gold quarterback from St. Mark's in 1974 before going off to Dartmouth.

He and Newark's Jeff Taylor, who later played baseball at Delaware and in the minor leagues, split time calling signals for the Gold, which rolled to a 41-0 win. The team featured Cape Henlopen running back Henry White, who later starred at Colgate, and Milford offensive lineman Stanley Hicks, who went to Delaware State.

"Nobody could block him," Carney said of Hicks.

Busy man
The Blue's Tyler Hunter out of Hodgson was making his presence felt early Saturday. He dropped Dover running back Eric Sumlin for a 6-yard loss on the Gold's first series. When Gold was forced to punt, he escaped traffic to return the football 17 yards to the Blue 44.

Defensive gems
In addition to Hunter's big takedown, key first-half defensive plays were made by Blue teammate Teddy Patton of McKean, as his interception thwarted the Gold's second series, and by the Gold's Demetrius Williams (Smyrna) and Malcolm Bowden (Sussex Central) with timely sacks.