SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University football team kept it close early but couldn't keep up with the 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays after halftime, falling 42-7 on Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

• The Sea Gulls forced a turnover on the third play of the game as A.J. Butler picked off Blue Jay quarterback Bay Harvey. After each team traded a punt, Salisbury drove it down to the JHU 27 before Kollin Samaha missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.
• The Blue Jays capitalized on the SU miss by marching 73 yards in six plays, with Harvey finding Cole Crotty for a four-yard touchdown pass at the 5:05 mark.

Second Quarter

• Salisbury pushed into JHU territory before stalling out at the 20, at which point Samaha hooked it to the right from 37 yards out.
• Johns Hopkins again made the Sea Gulls pay for a missed opportunity, stringing together a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with an Andrew Rich plunge up the gut for a six-yard touchdown run, increasing the Blue Jay lead to 13-0 with 3:08 remaining in the period.
• The Sea Gulls punched back on their next drive as Ben Hutchins hit Jaden Davis in stride and Davis scampered 72 yards all the way for the SU touchdown, bringing the home side back within 13-7 with two minutes until halftime.

Third Quarter

• After holding the Sea Gulls to three-and-out to open the second half, Harvey orchestrated an 80-yard touchdown drive over nine plays, punctuated by a three-yard strike to Crotty to build the JHU lead to 21-7 at the 8:26 mark.
• On the ensuing SU drive, Cole Peters got in front of a Micah Brubaker pass for an interception, setting up another Harvey touchdown pass to Josh Polce to make it 28-7 with 4:47 to go.
• Salisbury made it down to the JHU 20 on its next drive, but Hutchins' fourth-down pass to Daniel Clark fell incomplete and the Blue Jays took over on downs.

Fourth Quarter

• The Blue Jays advanced 80 yards over the next 11 plays, with Geoff Schroeder punching it in on fourth and one to make it 35-7 at the 11:51 mark.
• Salisbury went three-and-out on its next drive and JHU milked 8:20 off the clock over a 14-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Jacob Chapman, giving the game its final 42-7 margin with 1:11 to go.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• The Sea Gulls totaled 231 yards of offense for the afternoon.
• Ben Hutchins eclipsed 100 yards passing for the third straight game, notching 128 yards on 3-of-11 passing and one 72-yard touchdown strike to Jaden Davis.
• Hutchins also led SU on the ground with 44 yards on eight rushes.
• David Fletcher and Davis recorded 16 and 14 rushing yards, respectively.
• Alex Richards caught one pass for 36 yards, while Fletcher nabbed a 20-yard catch.
• Kilo Mack and Ryan Muller led the SU defense with eight tackles apiece.
• Casey Counts made seven tackles, including two-and-a-half tackles-for-loss and a sack and a half.
• Sa'Veon Olfus recorded half a sack.
• A.J. Butler notched his first interception of the season.

JOHNS HOPKINS GAME NOTES

• The Blue Jays netted 469 yards of total offense on 75 plays, controlling the ball for 35:08 on the day.
• JHU converted 9-of-14 third-down attempts and held SU to 1-of-10 on third down.
• Bay Harvey converted 18-of-23 pass attempts for 187 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Harvey also ran for 49 yards.
• Geoff Schroeder ran for 149 yards on 21 carries and scored a touchdown.
• Andrew Rich and Jacob Chapman each powered in a touchdown on the ground.
• Cole Crotty grabbed two receiving touchdowns, catching seven passes for 95 yards.
• Josh Polce had nine catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
• Luke Schuermann notched eight tackles, including three-and-a-half tackles-for-loss, and recorded two sacks.
• Cole Peters shared the team lead with eight tackles and recorded an interception.

UP NEXT

• After a bye week, the Sea Gulls open New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play at rival Christopher Newport on Saturday, Sept. 30.
• Kickoff from TowneBank Stadium in Newport News, Va., is set for 2 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, and 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 on social media @SUSeaGulls.