When the DFRC Blue-Gold All-Star football camp opened up Sunday, rivals began getting used to each other now that they are on the same team.
The Blue-Gold game, played to benefit Delawareans with cognitive handicaps, traditionally features upstate teams on the Blue squad against downstate teams and Newark schools on the Gold squad.
“The first thing I did when I got here was trade stickers and I saw my boy Andrew Schieffer from Sallies and I stuck a [St. Mark’s] sticker right on the front of his helmet,” said Blue player Mike Kemske, of St. Mark’s. “There’s always trash talk about who beat who [during the season].”
But Kemske, of Hockessin, said it is an honor to play ball with the state’s best players.
Indeed, this year’s Blue-Gold All-Star football game promises to be competitive: both teams are loaded.
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If you go . . . What: Annual Blue Gold All-Star football game When: 7 p.m. Saturday, with pre-game kids games at 4 p.m. and opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. Where: UD Stadium, Newark Tickets: $8, available at Grotto's Pizzas, B&B Tickettown, Deer Park Tavern, McGlynn's Pub, Forney's Too, Delaware Lions Clubs and through dfrcfoundation.org |
The Gold team features several players from the division I champion Caesar Rodney and runner-up Sussex Central and division II champion Milford and runner-up Laurel. They include Caesar Rodney’s Duron Harmon and Johnny Sclesky, Milford’s Alex Bell and Ryan Deeney, Sussex Central’s James Showell and Laurel’s Tyler West.
“Having the four teams that were in the tournament and the two teams that won… is good, but it’s not necessarily going to be the edge,” said Gold coach Carlton Brown, of Dover High School. Players are coming from various systems and they have to get acclimated to a new system.
“They definitely had the best teams in the state this year,” said Blue coach Jody Russell, of Tatnall School. “But we’ve got some pretty good players up north.”
The Blue team has a very good receiving corps that includes Concord’s Justin Brown, bound for Penn State, and Tatnall’s Justin Perillo, headed to Maine. The Merrell twins of Hodgson – Jamil and Jamal – are both going to Rutgers along with St. Mark’s Kyle Sullivan.
The talented Blue quarterbacks include Pencader Charter’s Malike White. Concord lineman Matt Ley said White, who beat Concord with a last second Hail Mary pass, is one of the former adversaries he is looking forward to lining up with on Saturday.
Coaches will know what their starting lineups are by Thursday, a day after the scrimmages. In addition, Brown and Russell will use a heavy rotation of players.
