SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 8 Salisbury University football team is set to host a second-round NCAA playoff game against King's College (Pa.) Nov. 30th at noon inside Sea Gull Stadium. This is the 14th run in the NCAA Tournament for SU. The Sea Gulls earned a first-round bye after a 10-0 season and claimed the 2024 NJAC Title.
THE RUNDOWN
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES
TICKETS
- $10 - General Admission
- $5 - Senior Citizens 65+, Children
- $4 - Students
The Series
This is only the second football meeting for these two programs. The Monarchs won that contest 28-0 back in 2002.
The Captains
Seniors
Jaden Davis, Gage Katzenell-Hall, Tre Price, and junior
Jimmy Celentano were announced as captains headed into the NCAA second-round game against King's (Pa.).
Another NJAC Title
Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 65 games in the conference, the most among active teams in the conference. Salisbury has also won six conference championships, the most in a 10-year span. This season, the Sea Gulls added the 2024 Title to their trophy case.
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 212 victories as head coach with stints at Bowie State and SU. After earning his second AFCA Division III Region 2 Coach of the Year, Wood and his staff added NJAC Staff of the Year to an already impressive resume this season. The 10-0 season marks the second time coach Wood has completed an undefeated year while also racking up his 11th Conference Championship going 6-0 in NJAC play.
Both Sides of the Ball
The SU defense has created 21 turnovers this season while the offense has been 59 percent on third down and has scored points 48 times out of 55 tries in the red zone.
All-Conference Honors
SyRus McGowan, the Chestertown, Md. native, earned NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Year after stepping up for his team when needed. He tallied 1,106 total yards with 14 total touchdowns in just six games. McGowan threw for 740 and nine touchdowns through the air while rushing for five touchdowns and 366 yards.
Dario Belizaire, Ronald Clark, Tony Mason, Tre Price, Frankie Giannetti, and
Malachi Baker earned First-Team All-NJAC.
Micah Brubaker, Daniel Clark, Dusty Krotee, Chase Lomax, Sa'Veon Olfus, Jimmy Celentano, Kollin Samaha, and
Jadyn Thomas picked up Second-Team honors.
Jaden Davis and
Kilo Mack rounded out the All-Conference team earning honorable mention.
Steady in the Rankings
Football – 8th | D3football.com Poll, Week 11 (Nov. 17)
Salisbury was tagged at No. 8 in the regular season's final poll with 457 points – the same number of points as the previous week – two back of No. 7 UW-Platteville (459) and comfortably ahead of No. 9 DePauw (420). The Sea Gulls also sported a No. 3 ranking in the final NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings. The Sea Gulls completed their fifth undefeated regular season in program history with a 58-28 victory at Kean in the season finale. Freshman quarterback
SyRus McGowan kept the beat rolling to the tune of his fifth straight New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Offensive Rookie of the Week award. Salisbury earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Division III Football Tournament and will host King's in the second round on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 12 p.m. The Sea Gulls are the No. 1 overall seed in their region.
Scouting the Monarchs
King's enters the tournament as the automatic qualifier from the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC), earning the MAC Championship title outright for the first time since 2002. The Monarchs are on a 10-game win streak entering this weekend, the longest in program history, and look to continue this momentum on Saturday. The 2024 roster returned one single-digit member from last year. They come in scoring 32.50 points on 401.4 yards per game while limiting their foes to 19.6 points on 330.6 yards per contest. The Monarchs post a 224.7-134.6 edge in the run game and are an efficient 44.95% (49-109) on third down and 40% (6-15) on fourth down. Inside the red zone, the offense has converted touchdowns on 31-of-39 (79.5%) of their trips. The Monarchs placed a record-breaking 20 players on the All-MAC teams this season, led by senior quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw who was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and became the first player in program history to repeat as an "Of the Year" honoree as well as a First Team honoree. He leads the team with 176.7 passing yards per contest, completing 130-of-195 (66.67%) for 26 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He has also run for 61.6 yards per game with 11 touchdowns on 115 carries.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming) and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's 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 won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 201 conference championships, and have produced 50 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.
