SALISBURY, Md. – Homecoming 2021 features the No. 12/15 Salisbury University football hosting the Kean Cougars in a battle of the last two teams in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). Kickoff from Sea Gull Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Sea Gulls return to the nest for the first time in nearly a month after a successful road trip to New Jersey, which concluded with a 24-7 victory on Oct. 16 at Rowan. For the second consecutive week, the defense only allowed seven points and recorded multiple interceptions. Myles Christian paced the defense with a pair of picks.
Kean has been rolling in the conference schedule and will enter the Eastern Shore on a three-game winning streak. Dante Jamison led the Cougars with two punt returns for a touchdown.
On Saturday, Salisbury will recognize the 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame classes at halftime as well as a pregame Flock Party in front of Sea Gull Stadium.
THE RUNDOWN
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
PDF GAME NOTES
SALISBURY STATS
KEAN STATS
SPECTATOR POLICY
PARKING (Wayne Street will be closed Saturday morning for Homecoming Flock Party)
TICKET POLICY (Tickets on sale at the Guerrieri Student Union until Friday at 7 p.m. and day of game tickets on sale at 11 a.m.)
PREGAME INFORMATION
The Series: Salisbury holds the 15-4-1 series advantage over Kean with Salisbury entering Saturday's homecoming game on an eight-game winning streak.
Salisbury cruised to a 65-16 win over Kean in the 2019 season. Salisbury's scheduled matchup with Kean in the Spring 2021 season was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Salisbury gained 409 yards of total offense and tallied 21 first downs. Jack Lanham went 4-for-7 for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Lanham also carried the ball five times for 29 yards. Hunter Cleaver (55 yards) and Octavion Wilson (12 yards) each reeled in a touchdown from Lanham.
The Salisbury defense held Kean to 254 total yards of offense, 3-for-11 on third downs and forced a pair of turnovers. In the first half, Kean totaled 93 offensive yards. The defense scored 14 points, including a Josh Adewumi 21-yard scoop-and-score in the first quarter and a Sam Pagella 85-yard pick-six in the third quarter.
Last Time Out: Salisbury's defense limited a team to single-digits for the second consecutive game and powered the Sea Gulls to a 24-7 road win over the Rowan Profs on Oct. 16.
Salisbury nearly doubled Rowan in total offense with 423 yards of offense compared to Rowan's 225. Eight different Sea Gulls carried the ball to total 358 yards on the ground. Joey Bildstein led the rushing attack with 110 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown. Jack Lanham combined for 152 yards of offense. He tallied 87 yards on 14 carries while passing for 65 yards with four completions and the 33-yard touchdown to Hunter Cleaver.
The defense forced three Mike Husni interceptions. Myles Christian grabbed two picks in the game. Josh Adewumi, Sam Pagella and Jimmy Celentano each recorded nine stops in the game. Celentano added 1.5 tackles for loss. Sean Carroll notched seven tackles in the secondary. Bert Schrecongost made a 32-yard field goal and went 3-for-3 in point-after attempts.
National Rankings: In the latest national polls, Salisbury moved up a spot in both of the national polls. Salisbury moved to No. 12 and No. 15 in the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association Polls (AFCA) respectively.
Weekly Honors: Joey Bildstein was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Offensive Player of the Week after his performance in Salisbury's 24-7 win on Saturday over Rowan.
Bildstein led the offense with a game-high 110 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry with a long of 40 yards which set up the eventual one-yard touchdown later in the fourth quarter.
Bildstein currently ranks third in the NJAC in conference-only rushing yards per game (78.5)
It is the second NJAC weekly offensive honor of the season, joining Jack Lanham's recognition following the win over Montclair on Oct. 4.
The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 45 games in the conference. The 45 wins stand as the most wins among active teams in the conference.
Breaking through the books: Senior quarterback Jack Lanham crossed the 2,000 passing yard mark in Salisbury's win over Montclair St. on Oct. 2 to become the 11th player in team history with 2,000-plus passing yards. He is only 11 yards away from tying David Doy '96 for 10th on the career passing yard list in SU history.
8. Dustin Johnson (2002-05) - 2,204
9. Marc Thomas (1993-94) - 2,128
10. David Doy (1992-95) - 2,079
11. Jack Lanham (2017-present) – 2,068
12. Ronnie Curley (2005-08) - 1,768
Among the Greats: Salisbury head coach Sherman Wood ranks in the top-20 of active coaches in wins, regardless of NCAA Division. Entering 2021, Coach Wood is tied for 19th with Willie Fritz of Tulane amongst active coaches in victories with 177. He had more career victories than other notable coaches with 20 or more years of experience such as Kirk Ferentz of Iowa and Gary Patterson of TCU.
No Fly Zone: Senior All-American defensive Back Sean Carroll recorded a pair of interceptions against Montclair St. to move to a tie for third on the all-time career interceptions list.
1. Byron Westbrook (2003-06) – 18
2. Andre Carter (2010-13) – 16
T3. Sean Carroll (2017-present) – 13
T3. John Baugher (1986-89) - 13
T4. Du'Juan Wilson (1998-2000) - 12
T4. Greg Stanton (2010-13) – 12
Scouting Kean: After losing the first three games by at least three touchdowns, Kean has been on a roll since starting NJAC play and will enter Saturday's game with a 3-3 record and a three-game winning streak.
Kean's offense struggled the score points in non-conference play but has scored 20 or more points in each of the three games of the winning streak. The Cougars made a change at the quarterback with the Merchant Marine game and will start Justin Lucia under center. Lucia has thrown for 708 yards and five touchdowns but has also thrown five interceptions so far this season. The Cougars also have two weapons out wide with Donte Jamison and Myles Toppin, who combined for 597 receiving yards this season.
The defense is led by All-American linebacker Dante Capozzoli, who leads the NJAC with 56 tackles. The Cougar defense stifled TCNJ with only seven points.
Jamison is also a threat on special teams and was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week last week after returning two punts for a touchdown against TCNJ.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 184 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.
To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.
