SALISBURY, Md. -Coming off clinching a trip to its 12th NCAA Tournament and winning their fourth New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship and third consecutive conference title, the 11th-ranked Salisbury University football team looks to enter the tournament with a win and finish the conference scheduled undefeated when the William Paterson Pioneers comes to Sea Gull Stadium on Saturday.
Salisbury survived a surge by TCNJ to lock up the conference with a 37-23 win over the Lions. Salisbury totaled 454 yards of offense with 340 rushing yards. Salisbury's defense tallied with five sacks, 12 tackles for loss and only allowed 13 rushing yards.
William Paterson dropped a narrow 23-22 decision to Monclair St. last Saturday. WPU has picked up wins over CNU and Kean in conference play.
The kickoff from Sea Gull Stadium is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday. Before the game, Salisbury will recognize the graduating seniors of this season and the spring season for Senior Day.
THE RUNDOWN
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
PDF GAME NOTES
SALISBURY STATS
WILLIAM PATERSON STATS
SPECTATOR POLICY
PARKING
TICKET POLICY
The Series: Salisbury holds the 11-2 series advantage over William Paterson with a seven-game winning streak heading to Saturday's game.
Salisbury finished its undefeated regular season in 2019 with a 42-13 win over William Paterson in the 2019 season finale. Salisbury notched 499 yards of total offense and held William Paterson to 165 yards. As a team, 11 different ball carriers totaled 440 rushing yards. Jack Lanham notched a game-high 89 yards on four carries and a touchdown on the ground.
Myles Christian paced the Salisbury defensive effort with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Harold Kwigova and Joseph Manso each recorded six tackles.
Last Time Out: Salisbury clinched the NJAC Championship in a wild, back-and-forth 37-23 win over TCNJ last Saturday. Chad Gleason only carried the ball three times but registered 146 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Gleason also reeled in a pair of passes for 38 yards and a receiving score. Billy Gant was 5-for-14 passing for 114 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Gant also tallied 20 rushes for a season-best 96 yards and a rushing touchdown.
The defense recorded five sacks, 12 tackles for loss and only allowed 13 rushing yards. Charles Barley had a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown. Barley also added a fumble recovery. Jimmy Celentano led all tacklers with 10 stops, including 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
Rankings: Salisbury stayed at No. 11 in the D3football.com Top 25 for the third consecutive week but moved up two spots in the latest American Football Coaches Association Coaches' Poll from 13th to 11th.
In the regional rankings for Region 2, Salisbury sits third in the second release of the rankings behind 9-0 Cortland, who is ranked first in the region, and 8-1 Muhlenberg,
Weekly Honors: Freshman linebacker Jimmy Celentano earned NJAC Defensive Player of the Week after his performance in Salisbury's 37-23 win over TCNJ.
Celentano led all tacklers with 10 stops, including three solo stops, along with 3.5 tackles for a loss of nine yards and a sack. Celentano is the second-leading tackler on the Salisbury squad, averaging 6.4 per game.
The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 48 games in the conference. The 48 wins stand as the most wins among active teams in the conference. Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won four conference championships which is the most in the seven-year span.
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
The Champions: Salisbury clinched its fourth NJAC title with last week's win vs. TCNJ to clinch its 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Salisbury's now has eight conference titles in program history with NJAC trophies in 2015, 2019 and the Spring 2021 season. The Sea Gulls picked up a pair of conference championships during the team's time in the Empire 8 (2011-12) and the Atlantic Central Football Conference (2004-05).
Standing Tall: The Salisbury defense has shown up in a big way in the conference schedule. The Sea Gulls have limited teams to a touchdown or less in three of the five conference games. SU allowed negative-17 yards rushing against Kean, which is the first time that the team has allowed negative rushing yards since the maroon and gold allowed negative-35 yards in a 31-7 win against the Apprentice School on Oct. 2, 2010. The defense has allowed under 100 rushing yards in four of the eight games so far in 2021.
Scouting William Paterson: William Paterson enters the final game of the season with a 4-5 overall record and 2-3 record in the NJAC and looks to end the year at .500 with a victory over Salisbury.
The Pioneers are led offensively by running back Terrique Riddick, quarterback Spencer Lee and wideout Matt Clarke. Riddick leads the NJAC in rushing yards, Lee is tops in passing touchdown and passing yards while Clarke has the most receiving touchdowns in the league. As a team, the Pioneers rank third in total offense with 3,114 yards in nine games.
The William Paterson defense is led by senior linebacker Jared Salgado, who is tied for fifth in the conference in tackles with 73. WPU is ranked second in the league in yards allowed per game behind Salisbury with 283.7 yards per contest.
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, 186 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.
