PA High School Football Continuing Careers — looking at Duquesne vs. Delaware

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Jared Samuel | October 8, 2023

We had a great opportunity to follow-up on the continued careers of some PA High School football players, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience as we took in a game between the visiting Duquesne Dukes and the host Delaware Blue Hens. While both rosters were well represented by PA players, we feature the standouts and starters from both squads below.

On the Duquesne Dukes side, we saw Junior Michael Dorundo on the Offensive Line. Wearing number 64, Dorundo is the starting Center and definitely held his own most of the day against a stout Delaware defensive front. Dorundo, currently listed at 6′ 2″ and 275 lbs., is a graduate of Pine-Richland High School and was a former All State player and key contributor on the Rams 2019 State Championship team. A history of football is in the family as his father Michael played college football for the University of Pittsburgh and in the NFL for the Jets and Dolphins. Townsend is majoring in Finance at Duquesne.

For the Delaware Blue Hens, we first saw Graduate Student Jourdan Townsend at WR. Wearing number 17, Townsend is listed at 5′ 11″ and 173 lbs. and is also a punt returner. Townsend was targeted on Delaware’s first play from scrimmage and was a favorite early-drive target all day of Blue Hen QB Ryan O’Connor. Townsend is a graduate of Farrell High School and is currently carrying a stat line of 17 receptions for 235 yards and 1 touchdown, and in the game against Duquesne he had 4 receptions for 33 yards.

Next up for Delaware we had a pair of brothers from Hempfield High School: TE Braden Brose and RT Fintan Brose (pictured above). Braden, listed at 6′ 3″ and 250 lbs., wears number 9 and is a Graduate Student (5th year Senior eligibility) who is majoring in Human Services. Against Duquesne he had 2 catches for 13 yards and a number of key blocks as Delaware had some success on the ground. For the season, he has 13 receptions for 182 yards.

Fintan, a Senior, is listed at 6′ 2″ and 304 lbs. and wears number 54 for the Blue Hens. He is a 2-year starter and strong in both run blocking and pass protection. Routinely calling out blocking assignments and changes from the opposing defense, Fintan is definitely a critical member of the tough Delaware Offensive Line.

Also along the Offensive Line we saw #55 Brock Gingrich, a 6’2″ 300 lb. Center who is a graduate of Cocalico High School and a 2-time PA Football News All State Selection. Brock, a Senior at Delaware, is majoring in Accounting and was dominant all day against the Duquesne defensive front as he made several key blocks that resulted in rushing TD’s for the Blue Hens. He earned the starting job midway through last season and continues to start this year.

Our final PA member of the Blue Hen Offensive Line is a newer addition, #71 Patrick Shupp. Shupp, listed at 6’3″ 352 lbs., is a graduate of Easton Area High School. He chose Delaware among nearly a dozen Division 1 offers and has begun to see more playing time with the Hens. In only his 2nd year at Delaware, we will most likely be seeing a lot more of Patrick for years to come.

On the Defensive side of the ball for Delaware, Graduate Student Jackson Taylor really stood out. Taylor, a LB wearing #0 and listed at 6’1″ and 239 for the Hens, seemed to be in on almost every tackle against Duquesne. A transfer from West Chester and a graduate of Abington Senior High School, Taylor led the Blue Hen defense on the day with 13 total tackles against the Dukes, 5 of which were solo tackles.

Joining Taylor in the linebacking corps for Delaware is #44 Dillon Trainer, a Senior who is listed at 6’1″ 218 lbs. and is a graduate of La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor PA. Trainer had 4 assisted tackles against Duquesne and could be seen lined up next to Taylor and pursuing ball carriers all afternoon.

As for the game itself, it was a close affair until the late 2nd quarter when Delaware took the lead 22-17 and never looked back in winning the affair 43-17. The Blue Hen Offense amassed 466 total yards, with 347 yards through the air. The Delaware Defense also played great in holding the Dukes under 300 yards and chipping in 3 interceptions on the day.

Be sure to check out the photo gallery from the game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel:  https://pafootballnews.com/pfn/duquesne-university-at-university-of-delaware-photo-gallery/

Special thanks to Brendan Thomas, Director of Communications and Creative Services at Delaware for the invite and great hospitality!

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