SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 5 Salisbury University football program has posted a 7-0 overall record and 4-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Sea Gulls have outscored their opponents this season by 222 points and have had only one one-possession game this year. The Senior Day matchup with the William Paterson Pioneers is set for November 1st, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. inside Sea Gull Stadium.
The Rundown
Live Stats
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Game Notes
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The Series: This is the 14th meeting between the two programs on the gridiron. The Sea Gulls took last year's matchup 63-0 on the road. The last matchup inside Sea Gull Stadium against the Pioneers finished with a 36-19 SU win in 2023. The Sea Gulls have won 10 meetings in a row and hold a record of 11-2. The first-ever matchup took place in 1998 with William Paterson taking that game 52-45. William Paterson won two of the first three battles between the two programs but has lost nine of the last 10.
Last Time Out: SU earned a 31-28 road win over Rowan.
SyRus McGowan finished 11-16 with 221 yards and two touchdowns.
Micah Brubaker and
Dario Belizaire combined for 161 yards receiving and two touchdowns. The SU offense finished with 385 yards of offense, 8.2 yards per play.
Tyler Ohlmeyer earned a forced fumble while
Jayson Gary and
Ryan Salvosa tallied fumble recoveries.
Patrick Sheil and
Chase Lomax led the SU defense with nine tackles each.
Jimmy Celentano posted eight tackles along with a tackle for loss.
Oliver Morgan and
Amiri Edwards posted two sacks each.
Football – 5th | D3football.com Top 25, Week 8: Salisbury (7-0) maintained its top-five status with 489 points after getting jumped by fourth-ranked Bethel (511) and holding off sixth-ranked Hardin-Simmons (482). SU also did some serious movement in the new NPI rankings, jumping from 11th to sixth over the previous week. The Sea Gulls pulled out a key road victory in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play, outlasting upset-minded Rowan 31-28 on Saturday. With the score tied 21-21 after three quarters,
Darrell Walter rushed it into the end zone from 14 yards out to put SU ahead to stay and extend its regular-season winning streak to 19 games. SU will hold its Senior Day game against NJAC foil William Paterson on Saturday, with a 1 p.m. kickoff from Sea Gull Stadium to follow the ceremony.
The Captains: Head coach
Sherman Wood has named junior
Andre Robinson, along with seniors
Abdul Ouattara,
Isaiah Hill, and
Luca Saccomanno, as captains heading into the Senior Day matchup with the William Paterson Pioneers. The Sea Gulls will honor 29 seniors in the 2025 Salisbury University Football class.
The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 69 games in the conference. The 69 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 4-0 with wins over TCNJ, Kean, Montclair State and Rowan.
Mr. 200 Sherman Wood: 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 200-80 with the Sea Gulls and an overall record of 218-119-1 when you include his six seasons at Bowie State. The last win at Rowan earned Coach Wood his 200th Career win at Salisbury University.
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 six games, the Sea Gull offense is averaging 48 points per game along with 491 yards per game. They also sit at 53 percent on third down conversions, and 78 percent on fourth down conversions. In the redzone, they have scored 32 times out of 37 attempts.
Scouting William Paterson: The William Paterson Pioneers football program has an overall record of 2-5 and 1-3 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Their wins have came over Moravian University (38-14) and Vermont State University Castleton (32-7) on Homecoming. The Vermont State win stands as their lone NJAC win. Their losses have come to Western Connecticut State (21-20), Salve Regina (24-12), The College of New Jersey (42-0), Rowan University (45-16), and Christopher Newport University (52-7) just last week. The Pioneers are scoring 18 points per game while giving up 29 a game. The offense is averging 255 yards per game while the defense on average is givng up 324.
