ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The Salisbury University football team had its chance to tie the game in the final stages of its contest against North Carolina Wesleyan College but the Sea Gulls were unable to do so and would ultimately fall to the Bishops, 24-17, on Saturday afternoon. The maroon and gold were victimized in the game by three turnovers, two of which were fumbles.

Salisbury (1-1), which is ranked No. 24 in the D3football.com poll, trailed North Carolina Wesleyan (1-1) by only one touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. SU appeared to be on the verge of tying the game after the Sea Gulls used seven consecutive rushes and a 15-yard personal foul penalty by North Carolina Wesleyan to march the ball down to the Bulldog five yard line. On first down and goal, junior slotback Warren Anderson (Vienna, Va.) rushed the ball to the one yard line before fumbling the ball, which NCWC would recover. The fumble proved to be the seventh of the game for SU.

For the second consecutive game, the Salisbury rushing attack was anchored by senior quarterback Bobby Sheahin (Brookeville, Md.), who ran for a team-high 88 yards on 17 carries. Sheahin proved to be equally effective through the air as he threw for 74 yards. SU ended up with 292 yards of total offense, 123 of which was derived on the ground.

The SU defense was propelled by senior defensive back Brandon Hudson (Delmar, Md.), who registered a game-high nine tackles. Senior defensive end Paul Cynewski (Moorestown, N.J.) had six tackles and one sack while sophomore defensive back Ricky Cassidy (Edgewater, Md.), junior defensive lineman Chris Ross (Damascus, Md.), and sophomore linebacker Matt Leon (Hillsborough, N.J.) each contributed with five tackles.

SU jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on its second possession of the game behind a 7 play, 85 yard drive that was capped by an 8-yard touchdown scramble by Sheahin. Sheahin was masterful on the drive as he contributed 75 yards altogether, 48 of which were on the ground.  

The lead did not last for long as the Bishops used a field goal by Kevin Quicker and a 1-yard touchdown run by Bo Jordan to score on two of their next three possessions to take a 10-7 lead with four minutes remaining in the half. On the ensuing possession, SU used a 27-yard strike from Sheahin to senior wideout D.J. Nelson (Mullica Hill, N.J.) and a 14-yard rush from Sheahin to set up a 37-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Tommy Kowalick (Sterling, Va.). The field goal would prove to be the final tally of the first half as the two teams went into the intermission knotted up at 10 apiece.

The Bishops regained control of the lead when they opened up the second half with two consecutive touchdowns to make the score 24-10.

The lead did not appear to faze the Sea Gulls. After a failed SU offensive drive, senior defensive back Darryl Jones (Fruitland, Md.) recovered a Dewey Gatling fumble and scrambled with the ball for five yards to the NCWC 5 yard line. On the first play of the drive, senior slotback William Midgette (Salisbury, Md.) bulled in from 23 yards out to bring the game within one score, 24-17, with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Salisbury defense put together a fine stand to begin the final frame as the unit used two sacks by Ross and junior defensive lineman Riley Fritts (Columbia, Md.) to pin the Bishops back to their own 10 yard line. The stand would set SU up for its final chance at scoring, which would ultimately end with Anderson's fumble.

NCWC was led offensively by Jordan, who threw for a game-high 222 yards and one score. The Bishops were also aided by Bryan Haywood (66 yards rushing, one touchdown) and Gatling (five receptions, 49 yards). The Bishops had six players collect at least five tackles including Quentin Pope, who had a game-high nine tackles.

Salisbury will travel to Newport News, Va., next Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.) to face nationally ranked Christopher Newport University in a key non-conference game. The Sea Gulls have won the past two decisions between the two teams including last year's 38-21 decision over the Captains at Sea Gull Stadium.