SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 9 Salisbury University football team remains undefeated with a 4-0 record. The Sea Gulls have started NJAC play 1-0 with their most recent 42-38 electric win over rival CNU. They now travel to William Paterson for another NJAC match-up on Oct. 12th with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
The Rundown
Live Stats
Live Video
Game Notes
The Series
This is the 13th time the Sea Gulls and Pioneers have faced off in football. Salisbury is 10-2 all-time against William Paterson and has won the previous nine meetings. These two programs have never played in a one-possession ball game.
The Revenge Tour
The Sea Gulls are off to a 4-0 start and a 1-0 start in NJAC action. They have two ranked wins to begin the season and have won three games in a row to opponents they lost to last season. After the 48-26 season-opening win over Washington & Lee, the Sea Gulls hosted No. 18 Muhlenberg and hung 59 points outscoring the Mules 24-0 to close the game. In the next ranked win at No. 8 Johns Hopkins, SU shut out the Blue Jays 31-0 in the second half on the way to a 41-13 victory. In their last outing, they took down rival Christopher Newport University 42-38 in a game that had 11 lead changes.
The Captains
Seniors
Ben Malley,
Ronald Clark, and
Sa'Veon Olfus along with graduate student
Tre Price were announced as team captains heading into the William Paterson week.
The Class of the NJAC
Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 60 games in the conference. The 60 wins stand as the most wins among active teams in the conference. Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won five conference championships which is the most in the eight-year span.
Among the Greats
Salisbury head coach
Sherman Wood ranks in the top-15 of active coaches in wins, regardless of NCAA Division. Coach Wood totaled 205 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 than Rich Rodriguez of Jacksonville St. and Terry Bowden of Louisiana-Monroe.
Both Sides of the Ball
The SU defense has created seven turnovers in the first four games while the offense has been 52 percent on third downs while also scoring points 16 times out of 18 tries in the red zone.
NJAC Player of the Week Honors
Dario Belizaire | NJAC Football Offensive Player of the Week | First Career
Slot back Belizaire (So. – Hurlock, Md.) tallied 142 all-purpose yards in the Sea Gulls' thrilling 42-38 win over Christopher Newport in Saturday's NJAC opener. He caught two passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns, including the eventual game-winning 48-yard strike with under three minutes to go. Belizaire also ran the ball five times for 59 yards.
Tucker Smack | NJAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week | First Career
Kicker Smack (So. – Severna Park, Md.) punted three times for 151 yards in SU's 42-38 win over CNU. Two of his punts went for 50-plus yards, including a 55-yarder, while one landed inside the Captains' 20 yard line. Smack also notched four touchbacks on seven kickoffs.
Scouting William Paterson
The Pioneers have started the season 1-3 and 1-0 in NJAC play. The lone win on the season so far came against McDaniel College on the road for William Paterson 27-14.
In their last outing and conference opener, they fell 25-18 on the road at Kean University. Kean put together an eight-play, 82-yard drive that culminated with a 15-yard receiving touchdown. The two-point attempt was successful, and the Cougars were ahead 25-18 with 2:23 on the clock. In the win over McDaniel, they ran for 140 yards and threw for 181 but also turned the ball over three times.
Freshmen Nigel Jennings (Garfield, N.J./Eastside) and Joseph Pressley (Allentown, Pa./Pemberton) collected New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Football Rookie of the Week honors Sept. 23.
Jennings, who was named the offensive rookie of the week, led the Pioneers to their first win of the season in his first collegiate start. The Garfield, N.J., native completed 11 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns during the 27-14 victory at McDaniel on Sept. 21. He added 48 yards on the ground on 12 rushes. Pressley was tabbed the defensive rookie of the week after recording four tackles and two tackles for loss, including his second career sack, against the Green Terror.
