ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Senior All-American defensive end Jarrell Chandler broke through the St. John Fisher offensive line to sack Cardinal quarterback Tim Bailey on fourth down to seal the 58-52 victory for No. 20 Salisbury who defeated the No. 25 Cardinals in four overtimes. The Salisbury benched spilled onto the field and celebrated a huge non-conference win before 740 at Growney Stadium for the Sea Gulls (5-1).

The victory keeps Salisbury's playoff hopes alive that looked bleak late in the fourth quarter. SU quarterback Ronnie Curley (7-for-12, 97 passing yards) scrambled for a 7-yard gain on third down and advanced to the Cardinal 5-yard line before he fumbled. St. John Fisher (3-3) recovered at the 4-yard line with 3:32 left in the game and up seven, 38-31.

The Cardinals could not run the game clock out as SJFC only used two minutes as the Sea Gull defense forced a punt. Salisbury started the game-tying drive with 1:36 left in the game at its own 41-yard line.

Curley was able to hit his favorite targets of the day, sophomore superback Bryan Woolson (two receptions, 39 yards) and senior wide receiver Kevin Tillage (two receptions, 15 yards), three times and added two rushes of 17-yards and 14-yards. The latter rush put the ball at the 1-yard line with less than 40 seconds left in the game. Senior superback Shelby Fisher (18 carries, 83 yards) rumbled in from a yard out with 33 seconds left. Freshman Tommy Kowalick (seven extra-points, 35-yard field goal) tacked on the extra-point to send the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, the Cardinals scored the first touchdown when Bailey (22-for-34, 334 yards, five touchdowns) found Brad Carlton (34 carries, 150 yards) for the 12-yard touchdown strike. Salisbury answered with a Fisher touchdown his third of four on the day.

Salisbury took the ball first in the second overtime period. Freshman slot Randal Smedley (11 carries, 98 yards) broke free for 15 yards to give the Sea Gulls a first down and goal. The Fisher defense was able to hold the Sea Gulls for three downs but couldn't keep the maroon and gold out of the end zone. SU coach Sherman Wood went for it on 4th and 2 as Woolson (19 carries, 162 yards, three touchdowns) took a pitch from Curley and ran into the left side of the end zone. Salisbury now led 52-45 as the Cardinals took their shot from the 25-yard line. On the ensuing possession Bailey tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tim Marion (five receptions, 102 yards, two touchdowns) on the first play to tie the game.

The defenses forced field goal attempts in the third overtime period but neither team could connect. Cardinal placekicker Chris Pierri missed a 33-yard attempt wide left. SU had a chance to end the game on the next possession but the SJFC defense stuffed the Sea Gull run three times to force a 42-yard field goal attempt by Kowalick. The Cardinal defense got a hand on the kick that fell short of the uprights.

In the fourth and final overtime period the Sea Gulls took the ball first. Curley threw an incomplete pass to Tillage but a Cardinal pass interference call gave SU a first down and spotted the ball at the 10-yard line. Salisbury's Fisher ran the ball twice and scored on the second attempt from four yards out, his fourth touchdown of the game (a new career-high). The Sea Gulls were forced to go for two-points but Smedley was stuffed by the Cardinal defense. Bailey and the Cardinals took to the field with a chance to win. Bailey mixed in rushes and passes down the stretch along with rushes by Carlton to set-up the 4th down and 2 at the 7-yard line.

The four overtimes is a new Salisbury school record and the 110 combined points by the two teams is also a school record. The previous record for combined points by both teams was 97 set on November 13, 1998 in a 52-45 loss to William Paterson. The NCAA Division III record for the most overtimes is six set on September 20, 2008 when St. Olaf defeated St. Thomas, 29-23.

Salisbury rushed for 529 yards and had 626 yards of total offense. St. John Fisher racked up 475 yards of total offense (334 passing, 141 rushing). The two teams combined for 1,101 yards.

The two teams started off the game trading field goals before the Cardinals scored two touchdowns to take a 17-3 lead. Salisbury answered back with a Woolson and Fisher touchdown runs to tie the game at 17 with 3:22 left before the half. SJFC marched back down the field and scored the go-ahead score when Bailey hit Eli Hayes for a 42-yard touchdown pass as the Cardinals led 24-17 at the break.

The Sea Gulls tied the game early in the third quarter when sophomore Warren Anderson (nine carries, 93 yards) scored a touchdown from three yards out. Salisbury had five players rush for over 80 yards for the first time this season.

St. John Fisher scored the next two touchdowns to take another 14-points lead, 38-24, with 13 minutes left in regulation.

On the defensive side of the ball, Chandler led the Sea Gulls with two sacks, 4.5 tackles for a loss of 20 yards and seven total tackles. The Sea Gull defense sacked Bailey five times in the victory. Seniors Paul Cynewski (four tackles) and Matthew Bookard (six tackles) each had a sack while sophomore Justin Chura (eight tackles) and freshman Matt Leon (seven tackles) combined on a sack. Leon was one of the five Sea Gulls, on defense, who had to step-up in a new starting role. The Cardinals were led by Jason Circulli and Kenny Bostick, who both recorded 14 tackles apiece.

This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Salisbury returns home on Saturday, October 18, to host Lake Erie College on Homecoming Weekend for the Sea Gulls. The game is slated to begin at 1 p.m. in Sea Gull Stadium.