LEWES, DE -- The University of Delaware football team will have three players battling for the starting quarterback spot this coming fall, and all three had a hand in a touchdown as the Blue Hens closed out a month of spring drills with the annual Blue-White Spring Game Saturday afternoon on sun-drenched Legend’s Field at Cape Henlopen High School.

The game was played off-campus for the first time due to field renovations at Delaware Stadium and a crowd of approximately 2,000 fans witnessed the action.

The Blue team (offense) outscored the White (defense) 59-42 in a modified scrimmage with a scoring system that rewarded the offense with points for first downs, touchdowns, and extra points and the defense with points for causing turnovers and holding the offense without a first down.

Head coach K.C. Keeler took his squad through approximately 75 plays from scrimmage with no running clock in addition to working on field goal and punt protection. The scrimmage included six segments with the offense starting at various yard lines. There were no kickoffs or punt returns.

“It’s been a pretty busy week with four practices and moving the game downstate, and I think we looked a little sluggish,” said Keeler, whose team went 6-5 in his fourth season at the helm in 2005. “But I thought we had a great spring. The kids competed and they have really come together, which is what we’ve worked hard at. All three of the quarterbacks are more athletic than you might think and I was happy with the way they played today. It’s still up in the air but the good thing is that we have three players who can be competitive at this level. We got out of here with no major injuries and we’ll be ready for the fall.”

Delaware’s three quarterbacks, senior Ryan Carty, junior Joe Flacco (at right), and sophomore Jarryd Moyer, split time equally and each had a hand in scoring a touchdown. The three are battling to take over the spot vacated by the graduation of record-setting two-year starter Sonny Riccio.

Carty, the team’s top backup the last three seasons, completed 3 of 7 passes for 15 yards but ran nine times for a game-high 85 yards and scored the game’s first touchdown on a five-yard scamper. He also had a game-high 37-yard run and two other scrambles of 14 yards each.

Flacco, a first-year transfer from the University of Pittsburgh who did not see action this past fall, completed 3 of 13 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown and rushed five times for 29 yards, including an 18-yard run. He hit sophomore Aaron Love with a 34-yard scoring toss for thegame’s final score. Love, last year’s second-leading receiver with 24 receptions, finished with a game-high three receptions for 48 yards.

Moyer, who saw action in just one game as a redshirt freshman in 2005, completed 4 of 8 passes for 46 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He threw a 20-yard-yard scoring pass down the middle to redshirt freshman Blair Newman for the game’s secondscore. Newman finished with two receptions for 29 yards.

The scrimmage’s other touchdown was provided by Wagner College transfer Matthew Ruggerio, who carried 10 times for 48 yards, including a 23-yard run for a touchdown. He also caught two passes for eight yards.

Other highlights during the scrimmage were backup kicker Jon Striefsky connecting on all four extra points and kicking four field goals, Stuart Kenworthy averaged 35.5 yards on four punts, and Fred Andrew returned the game’s only interception 35 yards.

Sophomore defensive end Matt Marcorelle had a game-high five tackles while Erik Johnson, Brian Brown, and J.T. Laws each added four stops. Brown also had a pass breakup and Aaron Hicks had two tackles and two pass breakups.

The Delaware offense finished with 10 first downs, ran 44 times for 201 yards, and completed10 of 28 passes for 110 yards.

Among those who did not play in the game due to injuries were defensive linemen Bubba Jespersen, Jeremy Kametz, and Stephen Purkey, offensive linemen Greg Benson, Scott Conley, and Joel Holler, tight end Steve Selk, defensive back Jahiri Gunthorpe, and wide receiver Kervin Michaud. Junior Omar Cuff, Delaware’s All-American running back who rushed for 1,205 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago, was used sparingly, carrying three times for three yards.

AGATE:

Scoring Summary:
Blue - Ryan Carty 5 run (Jon Striefsky kick)
Blue - Blair Newman 20 pass from Moyer (Striefsky kick)
Blue - Matthew Ruggerio 23 run (Striefsky kick)
Blue - Aaron Love 34 pass from Flacco (Striefsky kick)
Attendance: 2,000

Offensive Team Statistics: First Downs: 10 (7 rush, 3 pass); Rushing: 44 carries for 201 yards; Passing: 10 of 28 for 110 yards; Penalties: Offense - 4 for 20 yards, Defense - 2 for 10 yards

Individual Statistics:
Rushing - Ryan Carty, 8 carries for 85 yards; Matthew Ruggerio, 10-48; Joe Flacco, 5-29; Oscar Wdowiak, 5-19; Scott Atkins, 7-14; Omar Cuff, 3-3; Alex Widener, 1-0; Jarryd Moyer, 5-(-3).

Passing - Ryan Carty, 3 of 7 for 15 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int.; Joe Flacco, 3-13-49-1-0; Jarryd Moyer, 4-8-46-1-1.

Receiving: Aaron Love, 3 catches for 48 yards; Blair Newman, 2-29, Matthew Ruggerio, 2-8, Brad Casalvieri, 1-11; Frank Wilczynski, 1-8, Jon Heydt, 1-6.

Field Goals: Jon Striefsky, 4 for 7 (Long 32).

Punting: Stuart Kenworthy, 4 for 35.5 avg.; Brandon Reed, 3 for 37.7 avg.

Defense: Matt Marcorelle, 5 tackles, Erik Johnson - 4, Brian Brown - 4, 1 pass breakup; J.T. Laws - 4; Rachid Stoury - 3, 1 sack; Nat Bell - 3, 1 sack; Emanuel Beneby - 3, 1 sack; Kyle Campbell - 3; Aaron Hicks - 2, 2 pass breakups; Ralph Hines - 2, Chris Quinn - 2, David Shelor - 1; Raymond Jones - 1; KeiAndre Hepburn - 1; John Higginson - 1; Nicos Chavis - 1; Shon Jablonsky - 1; Fred Andrew - 1 interception for 35 yards.