BLUE-GRAY GAME : Mississippi State’s Anderson Has Surprise Day

Jesse Anderson didn’t expect to play such a big role in the Blue-Gray All-Star football game.

“I thought I would maybe catch two of three passes,” said Anderson, a tight end at Mississippi State who caught nine passes for 93 yards and a touchdown Monday and was named the Gray’s most valuable player in a 28-10 victory over the Blue.

“It means a whole lot to me,” he said of the award. “I thought we would run a lot, but we mixed it up and it helped me out.”

The Gray did have a balanced attack--throwing 39 times and running 36--but did most of its damage through the air behind Neil O’Donnell of Maryland and John Gromos of Vanderbilt. They combined to complete 24 of 39 passes for 330 yards, while the Gray rushed for only 99 yards.

Ricky Proehl of Wake Forest caught a 48-yard touchdown pass and set up another score with a 65-yard reception as the Gray rallied from a 10-0 deficit with two touchdowns in the second quarter.

Anderson ran the lead to 21-10 on a 12-yard touchdown reception with 6:20 to go in the third quarter. O’Donnell, who threw for 167 yards in an 11-for-20 performance, set up Anderson’s touchdown with the 65-yard pass to Proehl, who got loose down the right sideline and sprinted to the Blue 15.

Proehl sealed the victory with a juggling reception as he fell into the end zone with 2:51 remaining.

“I kind of had to wait for the ball to come down because the quarterback had some pressure,” Proehl said. “It hit me in the shoulder pads and bounced a few times before I finally was able to bring it down.”

The most valuable player from the Blue team was Oregon’s Latin Berry, who led all rushers with 35 yards on seven carries. He also caught three passes for 14 yards.