MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The Salisbury University football team held Montclair State under 200 yards of offense and Joey Bildstein ran for two more touchdowns as the Sea Gulls beat the Red Hawks, 31-12, in Saturday afternoon's New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) matchup at Sprague Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

• Salisbury forced an early MSU punt but coughed up a fumble to give the ball right back. After engineering another three-and-out, Javon Freeman burst through the line to block the punt and ran it back 42 yards for a touchdown, putting the Sea Gulls on top 7-0 before they touched the ball on offense.
• On the Red Hawks' next offensive play, Colin Wargo pounced on the fumble by rusher Henry Lewis to give SU the ball 28 yards from the end zone.
• Joey Bildstein took over from there, running the ball six straight times and powering in a touchdown from one yard out to give SU a 14-0 lead not even seven minutes into the game.

Second Quarter

• The Sea Gulls forced another punt and ate up the rest of the first quarter, with a 23-yard field goal from Kollin Samaha in the first minute of the second capping a 12-play, 67-yard drive that covered 6:44 of game time and made it 17-0.
• After the teams traded punts, the Red Hawks orchestrated their first touchdown drive of the afternoon. Aidan McLaughlin found Clarence Wilkins for a nine-yard touchdown pass to put Montclair State on the board, 17-6, with 57 seconds until the half.
• An unsportsmanlike penalty forced MSU to kick off from the 20, and Ronald Clark ran a squib kick all the way down to the Red Hawk 25. Two plays later, Ben Hutchins hit Alex Richards for 17 yards and an SU touchdown, building the lead back to 24-6 with 33 seconds to go.

Third Quarter

• Both sides turned the ball over on downs on their first drive of the third, with Casey Counts and Ryan Muller combining to sack McLaughlin on fourth down deep in Sea Gull territory.
• The Red Hawks again marched down and reached the SU red zone, but on fourth and goal from the seven, Frank Giannetti hammered McLaughlin for a strip sack and recovered the fumble to slam the door on another MSU drive.

Fourth Quarter

• Salisbury took over on its own 23, and on the first play of the fourth quarter Bildstein rattled off a 49-yard run down to the MSU 15. Bildstein then finished the job with and eight-yard rush and a seven-yarder for his second TD to make it 31-6 SU.
• The Red Hawks got one back with under four minutes to play as Dimitri Pali recovered an SU fumble and McLaughlin hit Anthony Roige on the next play for a 30-yard touchdown to give the game its final 31-12 margin.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Salisbury eclipsed 200 rushing yards for the second straight game by racking up 207 of its 230 total yards on the ground.
• Joey Bildstein ran for 118 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns, extending his seven-game NJAC touchdown streak with his seventh career multi-score day. Bildstein now has 2,469 career rushing yards, vaulting into 10th in Sea Gull history by surpassing Ronnie Curley '08 (2,422).
• David Fletcher ran the ball five times for 35 yards, while Gabe Williams ripped off 24 yards on his only rushing attempt.
• Ben Hutchins completed 2-of-3 passes on a rainy afternoon for 23 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown strike to Alex Richards late in the second quarter.
• Casey Counts and Josh Barker shared the team lead with nine tackles apiece, and Counts managed a tackle and a half for loss and half a sack.
• Ryan Muller clocked in with seven tackles, including two for loss and half a sack.
• A.J. Butler made four tackles, broke up three passes, and blocked an extra point.
• Frank Giannetti sacked the Red Hawk quarterback twice, forcing and recovering a fumble on one.
• Colin Wargo recovered a fumble and made half a tackle for loss.
• Javon Freeman blocked a punt and returned it 42 yards for SU's first touchdown. Freeman also broke up two passes and made one tackle for loss.
• Kollin Samaha kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter and converted all four of his PATs.
• The Sea Gulls have now won 16 straight games played in New Jersey dating back to Oct. 15, 2016.

MONTCLAIR STATE GAME NOTES

• Montclair State managed just 198 total yards of offense against the Sea Gull defense.
• Aidan McLaughlin completed 13-of-30 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
• Abellany Mendez and Henry Lewis rushed for 59 and 48 yards, respectively.
• Anthony Roige caught five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, while Clarence Wilkins managed 52 yards on four receptions and a touchdown.
• Jake Colon racked up 10 tackles, including one and a half for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.
• Nicholas Burgess shared the MSU lead with 10 tackles of his own.
• Gabe Dellechiaie picked up a sack and recovered a fumble.
• The Red Hawks won the turnover battle 3-2 by recovering a trio of SU fumbles.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls will return to the Garden State for another NJAC showdown at Rowan next Saturday, Oct. 21.
• Kickoff from Glassboro, N.J. is slated for 1 p.m.

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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 and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 196 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.

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