SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University football team used a strong second-half surge to post a 38-20 victory over St. John Fisher College before 1,190 on Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Stadium. Although down 6-3 at halftime, SU was not fazed as the Sea Gulls tallied 28 unanswered points to begin the second half. The contest was much different than last season's 58-52, four-overtime bout as the game was broken open early in the third quarter.

"We wanted to come out very physical today," said SU Head Coach Sherman Wood. "Our goal coming in was to be close with these guys and after allowing only six points at halftime, it was a big motivator. We knew we could move the football so that's why we came out (in the second half) and opened it up a bit more. We thought we could take advantage of the secondary and I thought that gave us the opportunity to score more points."

Salisbury (2-2) used a balanced offensive effort against SJFC (2-2) as it collected 405 total yards, 261 of which were generated on the ground. Sophomore slot back Randal Smedley (Frederick, Md.) led the rushing attack with 82 yards while junior slot back Bryan Woolson (White Hall, Md.) and junior quarterback Sean Kelly (Fallston, Md.) tallied 47 and 46 yards, respectively. Kelly added to his big day with a 20-yard touchdown scamper and a 10-for-12 performance passing, good for 144 yards. Sophomore slot back Tyler Curley (Ellicott City, Md.) paced the SU offense with two touchdowns. Sophomore kicker Tommy Kowalick (Sterling, Va.) hammered home a 24-yard field goal, five extra-points and had two tackles.

SU trailed 6-3 to open up the second half but the lead did not last for long. The Sea Gulls used Kelly's 20-yard touchdown run to cap a three-play, 42-yard drive on its first drive of the third quarter to take a lead they would never relinquish.

The two teams combined to gather just 43 yards over the next three possessions until the maroon and gold took a two-score lead with just over six minutes remaining in the third as SU used four consecutive plays of at least 9 yards to help set up a 19-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Curley.

The Sea Gull defense, which gave up just 116 yards of offense through the first 30 minutes of play, allowed just one first down to the Cardinals through their first four drives of the third quarter. After three consecutive passing plays to begin its fourth drive of the frame, Bailey went to the air again, but this time was intercepted by senior linebacker Eric Arndt (Waldwick, N.J.). Arndt's big play had a decisive hand in SU's next score when two plays into the ensuing drive, Kelly hooked up with senior wideout D.J. Nelson (Mullica Hill, N.J.) for his second touchdown pass of the day, a 48-yard strike.

The defensive effort did not stop there. Although being handed the ball deep into its own territory, SU held strong again on fourth down for its fifth time in the past two weeks. Senior defensive lineman Paul Cynewski (Moorestown, N.J.) claimed his second sack of the afternoon when he flew past the line and brought down Bailey, which ultimately forced the ball to jar loose and Arndt would recover.

The Sea Gulls made it a four-touchdown advantage two minutes later. On SJFC's next possession, Bailey threw three consecutive incomplete passes to set up a punt by Mike Leavell at its own 17-yard line. The snap to Leavell sailed eight yards into the endzone but Leavell was able to boot the ball away, only to the SJFC 1-yard line. Junior defensive end Dion Bowen (Baltimore, Md.) caught the ball and did not waste any time in returning it home. Bowen's touchdown made the score 31-6.

St. John Fisher began to move the ball late in the second half and would score two touchdowns on a pair of 8-yard touchdown passes from Bailey to Ryan Schmidt and Cory Hopkins. The rally fell short as on the ensuing possession, SU picked up an onside kick and after running the clock down to the final minute of regulation, Curley posted his second touchdown of the game on a touchdown run from 6 yards out.

SJFC was limited to negative-44 yards rushing, which was the least amount of rushing yards that Salisbury has given up since before the 2006 season. SU had nine players notch four tackles or more but was propelled by the outstanding effort of senior defensive back Brandon Hudson (Delmar, Md.), who picked off three Bailey passes and had five tackles (four solo). Cynewski  (two sacks, one forced fumble) and junior linebacker Marcus Randolph (Elkridge, Md.) each had seven tackles, while senior linebacker Tom Fontaine (Philadelphia, Pa.) provided six.

The Cardinals relied heavily on the passing game as they threw the ball 54 times with four of those balls being intercepted by the SU defense. SJFC had six players notch at least 45 yards receiving and was led by the seven-reception, 84-yard performance of Cory Hopkins (one touchdown).

SU will stay at home for its next contest when the Sea Gulls open up their Atlantic Central Football Conference season with a game against The Apprentice School on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. Last season, the Sea Gulls claimed a 48-17 victory over the Shipbuilders.