EWING, N.J. – The Salisbury University football team looks to continue its winning ways in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play in its final game of a road swing against the TCNJ Lions on Saturday, Oct. 22. The game is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff from Lions Stadium.

The Series: Salisbury holds the 13-11 series advantage over TCNJ with Salisbury taking the series advantage with a five-game winning streak heading to Saturday's game.

The Sea Gulls clinched the NJAC Championship with a 37-23 victory over the Lions in last year's contest. Salisbury totaled 454 yards of offense with 340 rushing yards. Joey Bildstein recorded eight rushes for 58 yards.

Hunter Cleaver's lone reception in the game was a 51-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Charles Barley had a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown and recovered a fumble. Jimmy Celentano led all tacklers with 10 stops in last year's game.

Last game vs. William Paterson: Joey Bildstein ran all over the William Paterson Pioneers, en route to a 23-0 victory on Oct. 8. Bildstein set a new career-high in rushing with 150 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. In his first career start, Ben Hutchins was 5-of-10 passing for 70 yards. Hutchins also carried the ball eight times for 50 yards. As a team, the Sea Gulls notched 391 yards of total offense.

The Salisbury defense continued its strong play to continue its scoreless streak to 14 quarters. Casey Counts, C.J. Wood and Charles Barley all tallied five stops in the game. Barley added three pass breakups.

The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 51 games in the conference. The 51 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 eight-year span. The Sea Gulls also enter Saturday's game on a 17-game conference winning streak.

All-NJAC Returners: The squad returns six of the 18 All-NJAC selections from a season ago, led by All-NJAC First Team superback Joey Bildstein. The Sea Gulls also return second-team selections Connor Lugo, Hunter Cleaver, Casey Counts and Aaron Jahnke along with honorable mention pick A.J. Butler.

Built on the Run: The notorious triple-option offense, Salisbury enters Saturday's contest as the third-best rushing team in the country with a 357.7 average per game through six games. In three of Salisbury's wins in 2022, the team gained 400 or more rushing yards. Since joining the NJAC in 2015, the Sea Gulls totaled 20 games with 400 or more yards on the ground.

Joey Bildstein ranks second in the NJAC in rushing with 591 yards and six touchdowns. David Fletcher and Jaden Davis also are among the top five in the conference in rushing. Davis totaled 375 rushing yards while Fletcher has 345 yards on the ground. Fletcher leads the conference with 10.5 yards per carry.

Pitching Shutouts: The Salisbury defense continued its scoreless streak to 14 quarters with a 23-0 win over William Paterson. Since joining the NJAC, Salisbury has collected 11 shutouts. The seventh-ranked defense entering the game at TCNJ, the SU defense has not allowed a point since the 4:40 mark of the second quarter against Ave Maria.

Running Wild: In the Ave Maria and Western New England games, a pair of Salisbury rushers gained 100 or more yards in a game. Jaden Davis repeated his 100-plus yard performance from the Ave Maria game with a 109-yard effort against Western New England. Joey Bildstein led the day with 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Before Davis and David Fletcher's performance against Ave Maria, it was four years since SU had two players rush for over 100 yards when Frank Pipich Jr. (188 yards) and Kadarrius Campbell (134 yards) did it in the SU vs. Frostburg St. game on Nov. 10, 2018.

Among the Greats: Salisbury head coach Sherman Wood ranks in the top-20 of active coaches in wins, regardless of NCAA Division. Entering 2022, Coach Wood totaled 185 victories as head coach with stints at Bowie State and SU, which is more victories than other notable coaches with 20-plus years of experience such as Kirk Ferentz at Iowa and Frank Solich at Ohio.

Scouting TCNJ: The Lions enter Saturday's game with a 2-3 record and a 1-1 record in NJAC play with An 18-15 win over Montclair St. last week.

Kicker Bobby Wortman kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired to win last week's game against the Red Hawks. He was named the NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance.

The Lions are led by quarterback Trevor Bopp, who has five touchdowns and five interceptions on 663 passing yards this season.

The Lions have a strong front seven led by Nick Celli, who leads the NJAC with 13.5 tackles for loss.

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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, Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse 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, 189 conference championships and 43 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.