NEWARK — When Qualeak Bumbrey reached the line of scrimmage, he was immediately met by a swarm of defenders.

Just when it appeared he’d be stopped short of the goal line, the Dover High star picked up steam and used a little extra push from his teammates behind him to punch the ball into the end zone.

The one-yard score on fourth and goal put the Gold squad on the board first on the team’s way to a 21-13 victory over the Blue in Friday night’s 65th annual DFRC Blue-Gold all-star football game at Delaware Stadium.

The win extends Gold’s win streak to four games, dating to a 44-0 shutout in 2017. The game wasn’t played last year because of the pandemic, which marked the first time the game wasn’t played since the annual tradition first started in 1956.

The Gold squad is primarily made up of recently-graduated seniors from downstate schools in Sussex and Kent County.

Smyrna High’s Aidan Sanchez started the game at quarterback for Gold. After leading Gold on the first two drives of the game, St. Georges Tech High’s Nyaire Wilson and Middletown High’s Colby Chambers relieved Sanchez and led the Gold offense under center.

Middletown’s Ben Davis ran for a team-high 53 yards on 14 carries while Cape Henlopen High’s Jaden Davis added 42 yards on his nine carries for Gold.

Sanchez returned to the field in the third quarter and orchestrated the go-ahead scoring drive. He completed six of his eight attempts for 60 yards on the drive, capping it with an 18-yard touchdown to Smyrna teammate Jermain Earl on fourth down.

Sanchez finished with 79 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-15 passing. He was awarded the game’s Most Outstanding Player award for his performance, making him and Nolan Henderson (2017) the only two Smyrna players to earn the award.

Sussex Central High center Caden Collins was awarded the Outstanding Lineman award for his performance in the trenches. He’s the only Sussex Central player to ever earn the honor.

Gold’s defensive unit, led by Sussex Central’s Alton Dennis III and Jacob Dempsey, forced four punts and a trio of turnovers on Blue’s 10 possessions.

Smyrna’s Erik Lawson recovered a fumble in the first half and picked off a pass in the second half for two of the three turnovers.

Sussex Central’s Sean McGee appeared to put the game out of reach when he picked off a pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown with 2:31 to play to make it a two-score game.

Just moments later Blue jumped back in it with a 63-yard touchdown strike from C.J. Henry to Ny’Ghee Lolley to pull to within eight points with 2:10 remaining, but Gold’s offense used three Martin run plays to run the remaining clock out.