SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 5 Salisbury University football program has posted a 5-0 overall record and 2-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference in the 2025 season. All three non-conference wins came on the road, with their home & NJAC opener coming against TCNJ, winning 55-10. In the season opener, SU took down Washington & Lee University 42-21 before rolling past McDaniel College 62-7 and Catholic 55-6. The Sea Gulls most recently earned a 38-24 win over Kean University for Homecoming 2025 inside Sea Gull Stadium. The matchup with the Montclair State University Red Hawks is set for October 18th, with kickoff set for noon from Montclair, N.J. 
 
THE RUNDOWN
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Game Notes
 
The Series: This is the 19th meeting between the two programs on the gridiron. The Sea Gulls took last year's matchup 44-8 at home. The last matchup on the road for the Sea Gulls against the Red Hawks finished with a 31-12 SU win in 2023. The Sea Gulls have won nine meetings in a row and hold a record of 10-8. The first-ever matchup took place in 1986, with Salisbury winning the game 13-6. Montclair State won the next eight games from 1986 to 2006. But the series has been all Sea Gulls since 2015. 

Last Time Out: SU earned a 38-24 Homecoming win over Kean. SyRus McGowan finished with 159 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Dario Belizaire posted 98 yards with his touchdown, while Mason Fisher finished with 89 yards along with the touchdown. SU posted 440 yards of total offense while Kean tallied 368. Jimmy Celentano led the Sea Gull defense with eight tackles and one and a half tackles for loss. Nana Baidoo, Carter Sollenberger, and Colin Wargo all posted seven tackles each. Kilo Mack tallied two pass breakups along with four tackles. 

National Rankings: 5th | D3football.com: Salisbury (5-0) kept its grasp on No. 5 with 498 points, edging out sixth-ranked Bethel (497) and finishing behind fourth-ranked UW-La Crosse (544). SU slotted eighth in its first NPI rankings. In front of a record crowd of 6,918 at Sea Gull Stadium, the Sea Gulls delivered the Flock a 38-24 Homecoming victory over Kean on Saturday. Quarterback SyRus McGowan picked up New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Offensive Player of the Week laurels, rushing for 157 of SU's 426 ground yards and two touchdowns. 

The Captains: Head coach Sherman Wood has named seniors Mike Schutz and Luke Orner, along with junior Jayden Jones and graduate student Jimmy Celentano, as captains heading into the road NJAC battle with Montclair State. 

The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 67 games in the conference. The 67 wins stand as the most wins among active teams in the conference. Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won six conference championships, which is the most in the eight years. The Sea Gulls have started the 2025 NJAC campaign 2-0 with wins over TCNJ and Kean.

Among the Greats: Salisbury head coach Sherman Wood ranks in the top-15 of active coaches in wins, regardless of NCAA Division. After earning NJAC and AFCA Region 2 Coach of the year honors, Wood would go on to earn his first AFCA National Coach of the Year honor in his 32nd season as a head coach. In 2024, Wood guided Salisbury to a 12-1 record, the New Jersey Athletic Conference title, and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Division III playoffs. The Sea Gulls recorded their fifth undefeated regular season and sixth quarterfinal appearance. Wood, the all-time wins leader at Salisbury, has a record of 198- 80 with the Sea Gulls and an overall record of 217-119-1 when you include his six seasons at Bowie State.

Offensive Powerhouse: Ryan Fleetwood is fresh off earning Offensive Coordinator of the Year honors from Hanson ratings last season. Fleetwood led the charge of one of the most prolific offenses in the country for Division III. The Sea Gull offense ranked 5th in total yards for the season, third in yards per play, and third in total touchdowns. Already this season, through four games, the Sea Gull offense is averaging 50 points per game along with 505 yards per game. 

Player of the Week Honors: SyRus McGowan | NJAC Football Offensive Player of the Week | First Career
Quarterback McGowan (So. – Chestertown, Md.) dominated with his legs in the Sea Gulls' 38-24 Homecoming victory over Kean on Saturday. McGowan ran the ball 12 times for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a 62-yard touchdown run on SU's first offensive snap and a 71-yard scoring scamper in the third quarter. 

Scouting Montclair State: The Montclair State University football program was slated to finish fifth this season, according to the 2025 NJAC Coaches Preseason Poll. The Red Hawks have started the 2025 NJAC campaign 1-1 with an overall record of 2-3. They are fresh off a Breakfast Bowl loss, 38-26, against Rowan last week at home. Montclair had the lead at halftime, but Rowan rallied in the second half, outscoring the Red Hawks 23-8 to power its way to a 38-26 triumph. Their conference win came against Kean 38-28, which is almost the identical score that the Sea Gulls just beat the Cougars by. 

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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 affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). 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 205 conference championships, and have produced 53 Academic All-Americans.

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