Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan throws his helmet in celebration after kicking an extra point to give his team the lead during Arizona’s 2023 spring game.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Arizona officially closed its third spring practice schedule of the Jedd Fisch era with the annual spring game Saturday afternoon at Arizona Stadium.

Former UA greats in tight end Rob Gronkowski, fullback Chris Gronkowski and cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Antoine Cason were honorary coaches for the spring game. The Blue Team beat the Red Team (which wore white jerseys) 23-19.

Here are pertinent takeaways from Saturday’s β€œGronk” fiesta:

The Red Team, which was mostly composed of players who are likely to start on defense in 2023, was captained by linebackers Justin Flowe and Jacob Manu; quarterback Jayden de Laura and running back Michael Wiley were captains for the Blue Team during the pregame coin toss.

Second-year Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine β€” also known as β€œG7” β€” returned the opening kickoff.

De Laura was limited to just the first half, completing 6 of 6 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. On de Laura’s second drive, he tossed an improvisational shovel pass to tight end Tanner McLachlan for a 17-yard gain down to the 7-yard line. Subsequently, de Laura threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to McLachlan in the back of the end zone; McLachlan Gronk-spiked the ball to celebrate. De Laura kicked β€” and made β€” the PAT for a four-point conversion to give the Blue Team a 10-0 lead.

Blue’s tight end Tanner McLachlan out jumps Gunner Maldonado to haul in a touchdown catch during the UA spring game.

McLachlan fumbled on the offensive starters’ first possession after Flowe stalled him by wrapping his ankles, with nickel back Treydan Stukes punching the ball out of McLachlan’s hands β€” and recovering the fumble.

Arizona strong safety Dalton Johnson also forced a fumble in the first half, and linebacker Ammon Allen recovered it.

Backup quarterback Noah Fifita looked sharp Saturday, completing 11 of 16 passes for 105 yards in the first half. On fourth-and-7, Fifita bobbled the low snap, picked up the ball and completed a 19-yard pass down the right sideline to Kevin Green to pick up the first down. Fifita’s top two targets on Saturday were true freshmen Malachi Riley, who had a 35-yard catch in the first half, and Jackson Holman.

Safety Isaiah Taylor returned the first punt but muffed the catch, albeit it was recovered by his team. Collectively, the Wildcats had three fumbles on Saturday and lost two.

Edge rusher Isaiah Ward, a 6-5, 215-pound redshirt freshman, started on Saturday. Arizona’s starting defense also included former UCLA defensive tackles Tyler Manoa and Tia Savea, edge rusher Russell Davis II, linebackers Flowe and Manu, safeties Gunner Maldonado and Taylor, Stukes at nickel back and Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis at cornerback.

Red’s Treydan Stukes gets dragged out of bounds by Blue’s Jonah Savaiinaea after scooping up a Blue fumble Saturday.

Kicker Tyler Loop went 2 for 2 on field goals. He made a 47-yarder to end the first half and began the second half with a 40-yarder.

With Wiley limited and DJ Williams sidelined with an injury, the Wildcats mostly used Jonah Coleman, Rayshon β€œSpeedy” Luke and Stevie Rocker were Arizona’s primary running backs. Coleman and Luke each had second-half touchdowns inside the red zone.

Leading up to Coleman’s touchdown, true freshman and third-string quarterback Brayden Dorman threaded a pass to tight end Roberto Miranda for 31 yards.

The final touchdown of the game was a 75-yard deep throw from walk-on Cole Tannenbaum to Riley.

Fisch said about 250 former players made it to the spring game.

All-American and three-time Pac-12 Diver of the Year Delaney Schnell was honored at halftime for winning a national championship.

Announced attendance for the UA spring game was 23,273.

Arizona finished spring practice after hosting its annual spring game on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch recapped the spring and talked about the "halftime" of the offseason.

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Contact sports producer Justin Spears at jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter: @JustinESports