Delaware wrapped up its spring practice schedule with the annual Blue & White Spring Football Game Saturday as fans were treated to the first glimpse of Delaware football in the Ryan Carty-era as the squad played approximate 70 plays of live scrimmage.

The team was split into two squads as most players wore either blue jerseys with yellow pants or white jerseys with white pants. Members of Delaware’s offensive line and the special teams members wore UD’s all-black uniforms as they were suiting up for both sides.

Neither side could manage to put any points on the board until Ryan O’Connor led the White squad on a march down the field. He completed a big pass down the middle to tight end Luke Frederick before Marcus Yarns caught a ball in the flat, stiff-armed a defender and brought the ball inside the 10-yard line. O’Connor crossed the goal line on consecutive quarterback runs to put White in the lead.

The Blue squad had one last chance to even the score, but the defense forced turnover as Nic Ware recovered a fumble to close things out.

The defense dominated much of the afternoon as the Blue Hens forced four turnovers on the afternoon, including a red zone interception by Mateo Vandamia while Joe Zubillaga added a pick as well.

Returning starting quarterback Nolan Henderson played for the Blue team quickly got things going on the first drive of the day as he completed his first two attempts to Brett Buckman before the defensive struggle took over.

On White’s first drive, Zach Gwynn completed a long pass to Eddie Scannapieco down the left sideline, but a sack by Jack Dinicola and a Ty Davis interception gave possession back to Blue. Gwynn would bounce back to complete a long 40-yard pass to Makhi Jackson

Delaware featured a balance offense as the running game made several key contributions. Joseph Bruno had several big runs including a 13-yard run where he blew past multiple defenders. Christopher Pierce also showcased his strength as he bulldozed his way for a first-down conversion on a fourth down play near midfield.

“I’d say that over the course of 14 practices [this spring], I think both sides improved for sure,” Carty said. “But there is a long way to go in all phases. We all know that. The kids know that and the coaches know that and there is n0t a soul in here that is not going to work tirelessly and with extreme effort and intensity to get as good as we can be as a unit.”