NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The No. 24 Salisbury University football team found itself down by 10 points with less than 10 minutes remaining against Christopher Newport University on Saturday night at POMOCO Stadium. But Sea Gull junior quarterback Dan Griffin would come to the rescue as he threw for two late scores to give SU a 27-23 victory over the Captains. The contest proved to be Salisbury's second consecutive win against the Captains as the Sea Gulls now hold a 7-3 record in the past 10 games between the two teams.

Griffin threw for 194 yards in the game with 163 of those coming in the final five minutes. He hit senior slot Ross Flanigan for a 74-yard touchdown strike before hooking up with junior wide receiver Doug Ticse three times for 76 yards on the final drive, including the deciding score. With 30 seconds remaining in the game, facing third and 10 from the CNU 19-yard line, Griffin lobbed a ball toward the right side of the end zone which Ticse stretched out for, making the diving grab for the game's winning score.

Salisbury (3-0) was spearheaded offensively by Griffin but several Sea Gulls provided exceptional efforts of their own. Flanigan used 11 carries to go for 74 yards while freshman punter Kyle Hamby booted two punts for 78 yards, both of which went inside CNU's 20-yard line. Griffin went for a total of 284 all-purpose yards as he threw for the most yards in a Sea Gull uniform since Ronnie Curley passed for 210 yards on Nov. 17, 2007 against Muhlenberg College.

Salisbury entered the contest with the fifth-best rushing defense in Division III and it did not let down, limiting Christopher Newport (1-2) to just 109 yards rushing. The unit provided the game's biggest stop in the fourth quarter when with just over one minute remaining and deep in its own territory, Salisbury stuffed the Captain offense on fourth down to set up the winning drive. SU was led in the game by junior defensive back Chris Everett, who made a team-high 11 tackles. Senior defensive lineman Matt Leon made nine tackles while senior linebacker Jamey McClendon and junior linebacker Matt McMurdo had seven and eight tackles, respectively.

Salisbury did not wait long to open its scoring in the game as the Sea Gulls used a 2-yard touchdown run by Griffin to cap a five-play, 65-yard scoring drive. The defenses for both squads would hold the opposition scoreless into the second quarter and across the next two possessions but CNU's Evan Mogg broke the ice with the game's second consecutive 2-yard touchdown to give the Captains their first lead, 7-6, just five seconds into the second frame.

Salisbury would receive excellent field position on its next possession as the combination of a 26-yard kickoff return by sophomore slot Michael Copenhaver and a 15-yard penalty by the home team allowed SU to start the ensuing drive at the CNU 39. Flanigan raced for a 12-yard gain on the opening snap of the possession and quickly followed it with a 21-yard reception from Griffin that brought the maroon and gold within CNU's 5-yard line. Following three consecutive stops by the Captain defensive front, Flanigan ended his third touch of the drive with points as he raced in for his fifth touchdown of the year at the 11:20 mark.

The score would remain the same until early in the third when the Captains regained control of the lead, 14-13, after they capitalized on a costly Sea Gulls fumble and saw Christian Woelfel-Monsivais hit Antonio Epps for a 1-yard touchdown strike. CNU went on to score the game's next nine points to take a 10-point lead but the advantage was the most CNU would get as the heroics of Griffin and the SU defensive unit would steal the show the rest of the way.

Christopher Newport was paced in the game by Markeese Stovall, who ran for 99 yards and one score in the contest. His effort proved to be almost 70 yards under his season average as he had run for 167 yards per game on the ground in CNU's first two contests. Tyler Portell made a game-high 16 tackles while Mike King made 12 of his own. Denuel booted eight punts for 275 yards in the loss.

Salisbury will stay on the road for its next contest when the Sea Gulls travel to Utica College on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1:30 p.m.