SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University football team looks to bounce back after its first loss of the 2022 season against the Ave Maria Gyrenes. The game is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 17 with a noon kickoff at Sea Gull Stadium.

The Series: Salisbury and Ave Maria have never met in football.

Last Game at Stevenson: Salisbury was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell to the Stevenson Mustangs, 35-21. Salisbury held the total offense advantage, 310-292, over Stevenson with 283 yards on the ground. Joey Bildstein notched a game-high 100 yards on 11 carries. Andre Matthews recorded 72 yards on the ground with a passing and rushing touchdown.

Josh Adewumi led the defensive effort with 11 tackles. Caleb Brubaker registered seven stops. A.J. Butler and Brock Keeler each had an interception. It was Keeler's second straight game with a pick.

PAC 14 Partnership: For the fall season, Salisbury football and field hockey home games will be aired on PAC 14,  the public access channel that serves the City of Salisbury and Wicomico County. PAC 14 will coordinate coverage with the Sea Gull Sports Network (SGSN) to bring live and tape-delayed games in Salisbury and the surrounding area. PAC 14 is available to over 30,000 households on Xfinity, other cable providers and the PAC 14 digital channels. 

Bouncing Back: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, the Sea Gulls are 5-3 following a regular season loss. The Sea Gulls have outscored opponents 325-162 in games following a loss.

Non-DIII: For the first time since 2009, Salisbury will play an opponent outside of NCAA Division III or the Apprentice/Newport News, who were former members along with SU of the Atlantic Central Football Conference. Since 2000, the Sea Gulls are 3-2 against non-Division III opponents.

• St. Peters (DI) – 1-1 (Last played in 2006)
• Lake Erie (DII) – 1-1 (Last played in 2009)
• Pace (DII) – 1-0 (Last played in 2009)

Building with non-conference games: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has a 7-4 record in non-conference games. 

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 pushed its streak of top-10 rushing offenses in the nation in 2021 to 10 straight years. The Salisbury offense finished third in the nation in rushing offense in 2021 with a 324.3 yards per game average. The Sea Gulls also ranked 17th in the country in passing efficiency (163.45) and 34th in Division III in total offense with a unit that averaged 433.3 yards per game. Joey Bildstein led the NJAC in rushing with 779 yards on 125 attempts. He tallied seven touchdowns and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.

In Salisbury's win against Albright in Week 1, the Sea Gulls rushed for 433 yards as a team. Since joining the NJAC in 2015, the Sea Gulls totaled 18 games with 400 or more yards on the ground.
 
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 has 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 Ave Maria: Ave Maria enters Saturday's contest with 3-0 record after wins over Lawrence Tech and Madonna and receiving a forfeit against Fort Lauderdale. Ave Maria is an NAIA school in The Sun Conference in Florida.

The offense is led by sophomore wide receiver Joshua Jenkins, who earned American Football Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-America status in 2021. A year ago, Jenkins tallied a school record 987 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 49 receptions. So far this season, Jenkins has caught 10 passes for 90 yards and a score.

The defense is paced by senior safety Shane O'Brien, who led the Gyrenes' in tackles in 2021 with 77 stops. O'Brien along with sophomore linebacker Brian Galasso are the team's leading tacklers entering Saturday's contest.

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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 learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.