WAYNE, N.J. – Coming off a big win for Homecoming 2022, the Salisbury University football team looks to keep its winning ways going in its final road contest of the regular season as it heads into New Jersey to take on the Kean Cougars in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action on Saturday, Nov. 5. The kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Series: Salisbury holds the commanding 16-4-1 series advantage over Kean with the Sea Gulls winning the last nine matchups, including last year's 38-6 victory.

Salisbury overpowered Kean with 474 yards of total offense compared to Kean's 127. Before Kean's final possession, the Cougars gained 61 yards of total offense. Hunter Cleaver had a career day with five catches for 111 yards.

Salisbury's front seven controlled the line of scrimmage the entire game, limiting Kean to -17 rushing yards.

Last game vs. Rowan: Salisbury overcame an early deficit to take the 28-23 win last week over Rowan.

Salisbury notched 384 yards of total offense, including 326 yards on the ground. For the third consecutive game, Joey Bildstein set a new career-high in rushing. Bildstein carried the ball 26 times for 186 yards and a touchdown. He also set a new career-long rush with his 84-yard scamper in the first. The bruiser averaged 7.2 yards per carry.

Dario Belizaire recorded 58 rushing yards on nine carries with a touchdown. Ben Hutchins was 3-for-6 passing for 58 yards and two scores. He also ran the ball 10 times for 42 yards. Each of Hutchins' three completions went to Hunter Cleaver, who reeled in two touchdowns.

Ben Spiess led the defense with eight stops, including a sack and a tackle for loss. Brock Keeler registered seven tackles while Caleb Brubaker and Sa'Veon Olfus each had six tackles. Olfus added 1.5 tackles for loss.

The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 53 games in the conference. The 53 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 19-game conference winning streak.

Built on the Run: The notorious triple-option offense, Salisbury enters Saturday's contest as the top rushing team in the country with a 368.1 average per game through seven 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 933 yards and nine touchdowns. David Fletcher, Dario Belizaire and Jaden Davis also are among the top 10 in the conference in rushing. Davis totaled 441 rushing yards, Belizaire has 397 yards on the ground and Fletcher is right behind with 357 yards. Salisbury rushers are all in the top five in yards per carry. Fletcher (9.6), Davis (9.4), Belizaire (8.4), Bildstein (7.4) and Baebaa Sayeh (6.1) all are at the top of the rankings.

Pitching Shutouts: 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 Kean game as the 12th-ranked defense in Division III in terms of yards allowed (225.4) and the 17th-ranked scoring defense with the Sea Gulls giving up 12.0 points per game. Since joining the NJAC, Salisbury has collected 11 shutouts.

Running Wild: In the Ave Maria, Western New England and TCNJ games, a pair of Salisbury rushers gained 100 or more yards in a game. Joey Bildstein and Dario Belizaire each ran for 154 and 127 rushing yards respectively against Rowan. 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.

Ball Hawking: Salisbury enters Saturday's contest with the third-most interceptions in the nation with 18 picks, two interceptions from the top spot. Salisbury has recorded an interception in each of the seven games so far in 2022. Caleb Brubaker is in a tie for fourth in Division III with six interceptions this season. As a team, the Sea Gulls are 22nd in the nation in passing yards allowed (151.0).

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 Kean: Kean is coming off of a bye week and enters Saturday's game with a 2-6 overall record and a 1-3 record in the NJAC.
Quarterback Robbie Nungeeser leads the Kean offense as its top passer and rusher. He has thrown for 1,185 yards with six touchdowns and also rushed for 224 yards for four scores on the ground.

Fifth-year linebacker Aaron Cottrell paces the Kean defense with a league-high 88 tackles on the year.

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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.