Blue-Grey All-American Bowl: Grey 31, Blue 28
Try as they might, from start to finish it’s worth noting, Mychale Salahuddin and Blake Stenstrom did just about everything possible to lead their team to victory.
Still, the tandem in the Class of 2018 came up a tad bit short as Grey defeated Blue, 31-28, at Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Field on Jan. 14 in on ESPN3.
Kohl’s Kicking products delivered the game-winner as Hunter Pearson made a 33-yard field goal on a snap from Broughton Hatcher and hold from Reid Bauer.
Not to be lost in the narrow result was the well-rounded effort of Pitt commit Salahuddin. After all, the 5-foot-10 and 185-pounder was seemingly unstoppable.
He was named Offensive MVP after gaining nearly 175 all-purpose yards, 107 on the ground. His 7-yard touchdown run gave Blue a 21-14 lead in the third quarter.
Colorado commit Stenstrom set the tone early on and was accurate the rest of the way. He finished 14-of-16 with 223 yards in the air, also a pair of touchdowns.
Both scoring plays went to Eastern Kentucky commit Andre Ross, the second a 20-yarder gave Blue a 28-21 lead in the fourth quarter. The first was a 46-yarder.
UMass commit Josiah Johnson would not be outdone. Instrumental in the second half, and on the final drive, he completed 11-of-13 with 185 yards for Grey.
His main target was Colonial Athletic Association target Chylon Thomas, who nearly stole the show with a 62-yard touchdown reception and a 51-yard touchdown run.
Big plays or not, the defense for Blue did bend, but there was no break. Iowa State commit Isaiah Lee was named Defensive MVP after four tackles and two sacks.
Army commit Henry Janeway and Dayton commit Kyle Finnick held their own for Blue. Same thing can be said about Georgia Southern commit Elijah Campbell for Grey.
Coastal Carolina commit Grant Thompson made a difference for Grey with two touchdown passes on trick plays, a 62-yarder to Thomas and a 6-yarder to Johnson.
The running game was effective for Grey as Texas A&M commit Charles Strong and Youngstown State commit McKinley Nelson combined for 125 rushing yards.
Kentucky commit Nick Lewis, Wake Forest commit Orlando Heggs, Virginia commit Martin Weisz and Morehead State commit Eddie Loos opened up holes for Grey.
Central Michigan commit Tyden Ferris, Washington State commit Syr Riley, Iowa commit Matt Fagan and Morgan State commit Michael Horsford did well for Blue.