ORONO – After 12 days of practice and with 10 short days remaining until the opening football game with Villanova, the ongoing duel between the University of Maine’s Jeff DelRosso and Bob Zurinskas for the starting quarterback’s job has come down to this:

One scrimmage on Thursday.

“Jeff and Bob are pretty much even,” said second-year Maine head coach Kirk Ferentz Wednesday. “We felt after (watching them practice) last night, it would take another day or two (to decide). We’ll look at them one more time on Thursday. We’ll announce it by Friday at the latest.”

Although there are other positions still up for grabs, ending the quarterback controversy is uppermost in the minds of, not only fans who remember last year’s musical QBs amid a 3-8 campaign, but also the other players on the offensive unit.

“It’s absolutely vital in terms of the team’s mental progress and the attitude we take into the season,” said senior tailback and co-captain Paul Capriotti. “We need leadership out of that position. We need someone who will take charge, someone who can get the first down when it’s third-and-8.”

Neither DelRosso, a senior who posted an 0-5 record as a starter last season, or Zurinskas, a sophomore who was 2-2 as a starter, had much success with third-down conversions or any other conversions in 1990.

DelRosso completed 36 percent of his passes for 760 yards with 3 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Ferentz pointed out, however, the 6-foot, 190-pound drop-back specialist was victimized by an injury-plagued offensive line and several drops by Maine’s inexperienced receivers.

The 6-2, 200-pound Zurinskas (who took over for graduated interim starter Dan DiGravio) had better stats, completing 45 percent of his throws for 264 yards, with 4 TDs and 3 INTs. But he attempted only 15 throws a game, most short passes that did not prevent defenses from ganging up on running backs Capriotti and Carl Smith.

Both QBs believe they have improved from last year and have performed well enough in camp to have earned the starting job.

“I think I’ve done pretty well to this point,” said DelRosso, a business administration major from Cheshire, Conn. “The scrimmage tomorrow will be the decisive factor.

“It’s very important to me (to win the job),” DelRosso continued. “I’m giving it my best shot. Hopefully, the cards will fall my way.”

Zurinskas, a Brockton, Mass., native, said a summer spent “sharpening my game” has paid off.

“I’m throwing the ball better,” said Zurinskas, adding he’s also more comfortable running the offense this year.

Even though the two quarterbacks are rooming together in preseason, both said the competition hasn’t come between them.

“We haven’t distanced ourselves at all,” said DelRosso. “We’re not letting it affect us.”

“I don’t think has really bothered us,” said Zurinskas.

Both prospective starters also said, if they are not chosen, they could deal with playing a backup role.

“I’m a tough kid,” said DelRosso. “I can handle just about anything. Right now, I’m keeping my hopes up.”

Zurinskas said, “I want to do something to help the team.”

Neither Ferentz nor quarterbacks coach Jack Cosgrove would give either QB the edge over the other heading into Thursday’s key scrimmage.

“One guy’s done some things and the other guy’s done some things,” said Cosgrove. “Sometimes the decision comes down to a gut reaction.”

Ferentz said he could not rule out the possibility the controversy would linger on into the season if whoever ends up starting gets off to a slow start.

“Any coach would like to say `this is the quarterback’ and have him play all season. It doesn’t always work that way. We’ll nail it down this weekend and go for it. I really hope the guy will play well and start all season. If that doesn’t happen, we’ve got another guy we feel can play,” he said.