(Editor's note: Bumbrey was named the winner of the Buddy Hurlock Unsung Hero Award by the Delaware Sportswriters & Broadcasters Assoc.)

DOVER — Qualeak Bumbrey, says Alex Meade, Sr., is just an old-school kind of guy.

Competing for his school is something that still means a lot to the Dover High wrestler.

“Qualeak has pride in the school that he goes to,” said Meade, the Senators’ coach. “When he plays football, he’s going to give it his all and he cares about Dover. When it’s wrestling season, he is loyal to the team.”

That’s why Bumbrey still goes out there, match after match, knowing that the team score is going to be ugly.

The fact is, after going into the season with only eight wrestlers on the squad, the Senators are now down to just three.

So Dover’s opponents wrestle a quick match with the Senators before facing an opponent with a more-complete squad.

Forfeiting as many as a dozen individual bouts every match is why 0-6 Dover loses matches by scores like 81-0 and 72-12. Bumbrey has scored 27 of the Senators’ 42 total team points.

But in a year where wrestling rosters around the state are down because of the pandemic, Bumbrey said he and freshmen Connor Ridgeway and Daniel Shockley are just trying to do their best.

“We know we’re all we’ve got and that’s all really that we need,” said Bumbrey. “If it’s just us four, we’re coming in hard. We can do anything that we want.”

While the Senators are winless, Bumbrey is considered one of the top wrestlers in the state in the 285-pound weight class.

A year ago, he placed third in the DIAA state tournament at 220 pounds. This season, he has a couple pins in six matches and just suffered his first loss — but it was only a 3-2 decision to two-time defending state champion Kevin Hudson of Caesar Rodney.

Bumbrey said the idea of making a good showing at this year’s state tournament is one of the things that drives shim.

“If I place or even win it all, it wouldn’t be for me,” he said. “It would be for the team. Especially for the young guys, to let them know, you don’t need all that. It’s just a mindset. If you want it, go get it.

“But just know that what you’re chasing after is not going to come easy. You have to put the work in. … It never stops.”

Bumbrey was excited to face Hudson for the first time. Both lineman in football know each other from outside wrestling.

Late in the match, Bumbrey took a shot that ended up costing him the bout.

“He really is good on his feet,” said Bumbrey. “I was really pleased with myself. … He does know how to wrestle. It was fun actually. I want to see him again.”

“It’s a teaching moment,” said Meade. “Hopefully he’ll learn from it.”

Bumbrey has dealt with much more difficult things than being on an undermanned wrestling team, though. Because of family circumstances, the teenager lives on his own and works to support himself.

Meade said he couldn’t ask for a better young man to work with.

“He is the first to help others,” said Meade. “That’s one of the things I just find admirable about him. He’s a great kid.

“I said, ‘Qualeak, you have paid your dues.’ … He’s a pleasure to coach. He gives it his all from working all the time, trying to maintain a school life and trying to be a student-athlete. Qualeak is one of those guys that coaches love to have.”

Like a lot of people, Bumbrey said there have been times in his life when he felt like quitting. But he always finds a way to keep pushing through.

This wrestling season is just another obstacle to overcome.

“I look back and I’ll be like, I’ve come too far to stop now,” said Bumbrey. “And you never know what’s on the other side.”