Washington, Pa. - The Salisbury University football team kicked off its season with a bang as the Sea Gulls racked up 425 yards of offense and shocked No. 15 Washington & Jefferson, 32-14, on the road before a crowd of 1,800.

 "I am extremely proud of our kids," said Salisbury coach Sherman Wood. "They stepped up to the challenge today."

The Sea Gulls rushed for 352 yards, led by sophomore superback Ronnie Shockley's 116 yards and one touchdown, and junior quarterback Justyn Lankford threw for 73 yards (5-of-6) and ran 14 times for 77 yards and a score in his first start under center.

"Justyn stepped up and ran the offense the way we wanted to," said Wood.

The Sea Gulls (1-0) trailed briefly in the second half, 14-10, as the Presidents (0-1) capped off a seven play, 72-yard drive with a Ryan Mendel one yard touchdown run with 12 minutes left in the third quarter.

SU would dominant the remaining 27 minutes of the game scoring 22 unanswered points.

Lankford took a triple option 30 yards down the heart of the W&J defense to give Salisbury the lead back at 17-14 with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter.

The Presidents tried to answer back but quarterback Bobby Swallow's pass gets intercepted by Sea Gull cornerback Byron Westbrook on the third play of the W&J drive. Salisbury takes over and marches 27 yards to set-up a Brendan Kincaid 33-yard field goal.

The following possession by W&J ended in the same result as this time Swallow's pass gets picked off by senior Jeff Manley.

SU added to its lead as Shockley tacked on a 27-yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter and junior slot Chris Newton ran the ball in from a yard out with 2:21 left in the game to seal the victory.

The Salisbury defense limited W&J to only 22 rushing yards on 24 attempts and recorded three sacks.

The Sea Gulls seemed to get out to an apparent quick start as Westbrook took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. The play was called back as SU was penalized for clipping.

The ensuing possession for the Presidents resulted in a 16 play, 81-yard drive that was capped off by a Swallow to Peter Briggs 5-yard touchdown pass. Swallow ended the day 17-of-25 for 157 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

It didn't take long for Salisbury to answer as junior slot Jamar Garner took a toss around the right side of the line 14 yards for the touchdown and tying the game at seven.

With the second quarter winding down, Brendan Kincaid tacked on a 28 yard field goal to give SU a 10-7 advantage at the break.

The Sea Gulls open up Atlantic Central Football Conference play next weekend as they host SUNY Brockport for a 1 p.m. game at Sea Gull Stadium.

NOTES: Salisbury improves its record against W&J to 2-0. . .The last time these teams met was in 1975 when Salisbury won 24-21 at home. . .This is the first time the Presidents have lost a season opener since 1998 (12-10 loss to Emory & Henry). . .SU has now won its last six straight season openers, a new school record. . .Westbrook added to his school record for interceptions with his pick today. He now has 14 interceptions for his career