READING, Pa. – The eighth-ranked Salisbury University football team kicked the season off in style with a 56-14 victory over the Albright Lions on Friday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

• It only took two plays on Salisbury's opening drive of the season to score. A Chad Gleason 23-yard run followed by a Joey Bildstein 57-yard touchdown run put the first points of the contest five minutes into the game.
• A long 15-play drive by Albright tied the game at seven. A Malik Bootman one-yard touchdown run capped the drive for the Lions.
• Four big plays on the ensuing drive gave the Sea Gulls the 14-7 lead. The 90-yard drive ended with a Marcus Wilson 16-yard run.

Second Quarter

• The Sea Gulls pushed the lead to 21-7 when Bildstein bulldozed into the endzone from a yard out.
• Midway through the quarter, Albright tried some trickery with a fake punt but Salisbury stamped it out to take over on downs at the Lions 46-yard line. A play later, Jack Lanham found a wide-open Shamar Gray for a 46-yard touchdown reception.
• The Lions tried to get points on the board with a Hail Mary at the end of the half but Sean Carroll intercepted the Todd Shelley heave at the end of the frame.

Third Quarter

• Salisbury continued the scoring barrage with an eight-yard touchdown run by Wilson to push the lead up to 35-7.
• Albright ended the 28-0 scoring run by Salisbury with a Shelley to Kevin Zehner touchdown reception.
• Back-to-back long gains by Lanham led to a Gray 11-yard touchdown run on a toss play to put the Sea Gulls back up by 28 points with four minutes left in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• Three plays after a 27-yard run by Wilson, David Fletcher made a highlight reel, one-handed catch in the endzone from Billy Gant to extend the lead to 35 points, 49-14.
• The final scoring margin of 56-14 came courtesy of a Hunter Hruz six-yard touchdown run with seven minutes left in regulation. Hruz's score came three plays after a 27-yard run by Wylen Tompkins.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Salisbury recorded 589 yards of total offense, 505 of which came in the run game.
• Jack Lanham went 4-for-5 through the air with 79 yards and a touchdown. Lanham also ran for 76 yards.
• Joey Bildstein led the way with 14 totes with 136 yards and two touchdowns.
• Shamar Gray notched 86 yards on the ground and 46 receiving yards. Gray tallied a rushing and receiving touchdown.
• Marcus Wilson carried the ball seven times for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
• Chad Gleason netted 65 yards of total offense.
• Sean Carroll and Casey Counts tied for a team-high in tackles with seven. Carroll also added an interception.
• Sam Pavlick and Elijah Moorer each had a sack.
• A.J. Butler made five stops.
• Josh Adewumi and Sam Pagella each registered four tackles.
• Bert Schrecongost went a perfect 8-for-8 in extra points.

ALBRIGHT GAME NOTES

• Albright was held 292 yards of total offense.
• Todd Shelley went 16-of-36 with 119 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice by the Sea Gulls.
• Isaiah Shockley ran for 123 yards on 14 carries.
• Kevin Zehner had six catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
• Daniel Vital tallied a game-high 11 tackles.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury will open the home slate with a top-10 matchup on Saturday, Sept. 11 against the third-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks.
• The kickoff from Sea Gull Stadium is set for noon.