SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University football team turns the calendar to October with a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) showdown against the William Paterson Pioneers on Saturday. Kickoff from Sea Gull Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Saturday's game will serve as
Community Youth Day, complete with a pregame tunnel runout for youth athletes. In addition, Special Olympics Maryland Lower Shore has partnered with Sea Gull football and will hold a silent auction at the stadium gates.
THE RUNDOWN
TICKETS
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES
The Series: Salisbury boasts a 9-2 all-time series advantage against WPU with eight straight wins dating back to 2002. The Sea Gulls pitched a shutout in the teams' last meeting on Oct. 8, 2022, blanking the Pioneers 23-0 in Wayne, N.J.
Joey Bildstein rushed for a then-career-high 150 yards and three touchdowns as part of SU's 391-yard offensive day, while
Josh Adewumi and
Matthew Harper intercepted WPU quarterback Mele Stallings once each.
Last Time Out: Salisbury dropped a 24-14 decision at Christopher Newport in its NJAC opener last Saturday. The loss snapped the Sea Gulls' 21-game conference winning streak dating back to the beginning of the 2019 season.
The Sea Gulls put up 162 total yards of offense against CNU's 298.
Micah Brubaker led the ground game with 75 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, while
Hunter Hruz and
Ronald Clark ran for 39 and 34 yards, respectively.
Casey Counts and
Brock Keeler each recorded a team-high six tackles, including two for loss.
A.J. Butler snagged an interception for the second straight game, running it back 53 yards for SU's first defensive touchdown of the season.
Team Captains: Salisbury will have four captains to lead the flock in 2023. Seniors
Casey Counts and
Joey Bildstein, along with juniors
Jimmy Celentano and
Tony Mason, were announced as team captains before the start of preseason camp. Seniors
Brock Keeler and
Ryan Muller, plus junior
Connor Shephard, have also been named captains for the WPU game.
Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 55 league games, the most among active teams in the conference, winning five NJAC championships in its first eight years in the league. The Sea Gulls went undefeated in NJAC play for four straight seasons, winning 21 straight conference games from 2019 through 2022.
The Sea Gulls are in pursuit of their fifth straight conference title after wearing the NJAC crown in 2019, spring 2021, 2021, and 2022. SU's four-championship streak is tied for the third-longest in league history. Montclair State won a record six straight NJAC titles from 1981-86 and five straight from 1969-73, while Rowan (as Glassboro State) captured four straight from 1974-77.
Built on Bildstein: Joey Bildstein is a two-time All-NJAC First Team superback that led the NJAC and ranked 14th in the country in rushing with 1,235 yards in 2022. Bildstein was also among the nation's best in rushing average and rushing touchdowns, sitting ninth in Division III with 6.82 yards per carry and tying for 10th in the nation with 15 rushing scores. He was named the NJAC Offensive Player of the Week five times last season.
Bildstein is approaching the top 10 in rushing in program history – the bruising superback enters the 2023 season with 2,200 rushing yards with 25 career touchdowns.
Butler to the Barn: A.J. Butler recorded his second career interception return for a touchdown by running a third-quarter pick back 53 yards last Saturday at Christopher Newport. Coincidentally, Butler's second pick-six was a near-clone of his first: a 53-yarder at CNU on Oct. 30, 2021.
Ball Hawking: Salisbury finished the 2022 season sixth in the nation with 21 interceptions, recording a pick in all 10 regular season games last season.
Caleb Brubaker, a D3football.com Preseason All-America First Team selection, tied for third in Division III with seven interceptions.
With a third-quarter interception at Christopher Newport last week, Salisbury has forced an opponent to turn the ball over at least once in 18 consecutive regular season games.
Among the Greats: Salisbury head coach
Sherman Wood ranks in the top-15 of active coaches in wins, regardless of NCAA Division. Coach Wood enters the William Paterson game with 197 victories as head coach with stints at Bowie State and SU. Wood has more career wins than other notable coaches with 20 years or more of experience, including Rich Rodriguez of Jacksonville State and Terry Bowden of Louisiana-Monroe.
Fortress Chesapeake: Salisbury has gone 28-8 at home since Sea Gull Stadium was renovated in time for the 2016 season, good for a .778 winning percentage. The Sea Gulls have not lost more than two games at home in a season since 2006.
Scouting William Paterson: William Paterson went 5-5 in 2022 – their best season since going 5-5 in 2012 – finishing in a three-way tie for fourth in the NJAC with a 2-4 conference mark. The Pioneers won league games against Kean and Montclair State while enduring defeats to Salisbury, Rowan, Christopher Newport, and TCNJ.
The Pioneers have gone 2-2 to open the 2023 campaign. After losing a pair of contests to FDU-Florham (33-29) and Dickinson (29-17), WPU bounced back to defeat McDaniel, 35-14, on Sept. 16 and Kean, 21-9, on Sept. 30. The Pioneers muscled their way past Kean with three first-half touchdowns, including a pair of TD strikes from quarterback Christopher Leimberg, and forced Kean to turn the ball over on downs in WPU territory twice in the second half.
Junior quarterback Christopher Leimberg has passed for 471 yards, six touchdowns, and just one interception since taking over the job midway through the second game at Dickinson, pitching two TDs in each of his three contests. His favorite targets have been receivers Taz Burton and Matt Clarke, who have combined for 388 of the Pioneers' 574 receiving yards and all seven receiving touchdowns. Reigning NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Year Dale Nazir leads the ground game with 162 yards and one TD.
Senior defensive back and four-time All-NJAC honoree Devyn Blount leads the Pioneer defense with 28 tackles and an NJAC-best four interceptions, while fellow DB R.J. Massey is right behind with three picks. Senior lineman Yubir Rojas-Herrera leads the NJAC with 4.5 sacks.
If You Go: Sea Gull Stadium gates and the in-person ticket window will open an hour before kickoff. Fans are encouraged to either come early to purchase tickets to the game, or to
purchase their tickets online.
New ticket prices for the 2023-24 athletic year are $10 for general admission; $7 for non-SU students, SU alumni, veterans, and seniors aged 65-plus; and $5 for children ages 5-12. Children under five and SU students, faculty, and staff (with valid ID) can get in for free.
Fans are encouraged to park in the Wayne Street Parking Garage, located within walking distance of Sea Gull Stadium. Limited street parking is available on Wayne Street near Sea Gull Stadium, the Gerry DiBartolo Sea Gull Soccer Complex, the SU Track & Field Complex, and Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
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.
