SALISBURY, Md. - It's winner take all on Saturday between two conference rivals who are undefeated in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play. The 25th-ranked Salisbury University football team battles the Christopher Newport Captains with the winner becoming the NJAC Champion and receiving the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Sea Gull Stadium. Before kickoff, the Sea Gulls will recognize its 10 graduating seniors.
The Series:Â Salisbury holds the commanding 15-5 series advantage over CNU and will enter Saturday's contest with a six-game win streak.
Fueled by standout performances in all three facets of the game, the Sea Gulls spoiled the Captains' homecoming last year with an 84-14 win.
The defense forced four CNU turnovers and scored twice on defense. The Sea Gulls totaled 547 yards of offense with 24 first downs and 6-for-6 on third down.
Last game vs. Kean:Â A balanced attack and a timely pick-six led Salisbury's 32-17 victory over Kean in its final road game of the regular season.
Salisbury tallied 342 yards of total offense with 172 rushing yards and 170 receiving yards.
Ben Hutchins recorded the first 100-plus passing yard effort of his career with 170 yards on eight attempts with a touchdown.Â
Hunter Cleaver reeled in three passes for a season-best 90 yards and a score.
The Salisbury defense limited Kean to 25 rush yards and forced two interceptions.
Jimmy Celentano secured a team-best 10 tackles with a tackle for loss.
A.J. Butler had six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception.
Ryan Muller picked up his second interception return for a touchdown of the season in the victory.
The Class of the NJAC:Â Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 54 games in the conference. The 54 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 20-game conference winning streak.
Built on the Run:Â The notorious triple-option offense, Salisbury enters Saturday's contest as the third-best rushing team in the country with a 346.3 average per game through nine games. In four of Salisbury's wins in 2022, the team gained 400 or more rushing yards. Salisbury notched a season-best 473 rushing yards in the win over TCNJ. Since joining the NJAC in 2015, the Sea Gulls totaled 21 games with 400 or more yards on the ground.
Joey Bildstein leads in the NJAC in rushing with 978 yards and 10 touchdowns.Â
David Fletcher,Â
Dario Belizaire andÂ
Jaden Davis also are among the top 10 in the conference in rushing. Davis totaled 505 rushing yards, Belizaire has 423 yards on the ground and Fletcher is right behind with 365 yards. Salisbury rushers are all in the top five in yards per carry. Davis (9.5), Fletcher (8.9), Belizaire (8.3), Bildstein (6.9) andÂ
Baebaa Sayeh (5.8) all are at the top of the rankings.
Pitching Shutouts:Â The Salisbury defense's scoreless streak that started in the second quarter at the 4:40 mark of the second quarter against Ave Maria ended in the TCNJ game with the streak capped at 15 quarters with a field goal at 11:25 in the second. Salisbury enters the final game of the regular season as the 16th-ranked defense in Division III in terms of yards allowed (231.2) and the 18th-ranked scoring defense with the Sea Gulls giving up 12.6 points per game. Since joining the NJAC, Salisbury has collected 11 shutouts.
Running Wild:Â In the Ave Maria, Western New England and TCNJ games, a pair of Salisbury rushers gained 100 or more yards in a game.Â
Joey Bildstein andÂ
Dario Belizaire each ran for 154 and 127 rushing yards respectively against Rowan.Â
Jaden Davis repeated his 100-plus yard performance from the Ave Maria game with a 109-yard effort against Western New England.Â
Joey Bildstein led the day with 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Before Davis andÂ
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.
Nearing 1,000: Junior superback
Joey Bildstein enters Saturday's game against CNU with 976 rushing yards, just 24 yards away from 1,000 in a season. Despite Salisbury being known for running the ball, the team has not had a 1,000-yard rusher since Joe Benedetti ran for 1,168 yards in the 2012 season.
Ball Hawking:Â Salisbury enters Saturday's contest tied for the most interceptions in the nation with 20 picks with Franklin & Marshall, Aurora and Carnegie Mellon. Salisbury has recorded an interception in each of the nine games so far in 2022.Â
Caleb Brubaker is in a tie for fourth in Division III with six interceptions this season. As a team, the Sea Gulls are 36th in the nation in passing yards allowed (162.3).
Among the Greats:Â Salisbury head coachÂ
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 CNU:Â The Captains come into Saturday's game also unbeaten in conference at 5-0 and 7-2 overall. CNU defeated TCNJ 24-21 in their final home game of the regular season last week.
Under first-year head coach Paul Crowley, the team is led by quarterback Matt Dzierski. Dzierski has totaled 18 touchdowns this year with an even split through the air and on the ground.
On defense, CNU is led by Kindrick Braxton, who has 54 tackles through nine games this season.
What's on the Line: The winner of Saturday's game will earn the NJAC Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Salisbury is looking for its fourth consecutive conference title after winning the NJAC in 2019 and 2021 and the NJAC South Division during the Spring 2021 season. The Sea Gulls have made postseason appearances in 17 consecutive seasons and have qualified for 12 NCAA Tournaments, including two straight berths.  CNU is looking to capture its first-ever NJAC Championship and to make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2014.
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, 187 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.
