SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 5 Salisbury University football program has begun the 2025 season with a 4-0 overall record and 1-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. All three non-conference wins came on the road, with their home & NJAC opener coming last week 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 now host Kean University for Homecoming 2025 inside Sea Gull Stadium on Saturday, October 11th. The Homecoming kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Salisbury, Md.
 
THE RUNDOWN
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The Series: This is the 25th meeting between the two programs on the gridiron. The Sea Gulls took last year's matchup 58-28 on the road. The last matchup inside Sea Gull Stadium finished with a 31-28 SU win in 2023. The Sea Gulls have won 12 meetings in a row and hold an all-time record of 19-4-1. The first-ever matchup took place in 1976.
 
Last Time Out: Salisbury rolled past TCNJ 55-10 in the 2025 home opener. SyRus McGowan finished with 236 yards and three touchdowns. Darrell Walter tallied 78 yards with his two rushing touchdowns. The SU defense held the Lions to just 166 yards of total offense. TCNJ was six of 16 on third down and zero for one on fourth down. The SU offense posted 469 yards of total offense and went six of nine on third down while also going two for two on fourth downs. Chase Lomax tallied a team-high nine tackles along with a tackle for loss. Colin Wargo and Ryan Salvosa both posted eight tackles with half a tackle for loss, while Jimmy Celentano earned seven tackles and one and a half tackles for loss.
 
National Rankings: Football – 5th | D3football.com - Top 25, Week 5
Salisbury (4-0) moved into the national top five, up one spot from last week, with 495 points. North Central (Ill.) [623], Mount Union (599), Johns Hopkins (577), and UW-La Crosse (531) are the only schools ranked ahead of SU.
 
The Captains: Head coach Sherman Wood has named seniors Ben Hutchins, Chase Lomax, Amiri Edwards, and graduate student Andre Matthews as captains heading into the 2025 Homecoming game.
 
The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 66 games in the conference. The 66 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 opened NJAC play last Saturday when they soared past TCNJ 55-10.

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 197- 80 with the Sea Gulls and an overall record of 216-119-1 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 53.5 points per game along with 521 yards per game. SU ranks top-five nationally in multiple categories. They lead the country in 3rd down percentage at .611, tied for 2nd on 4th downs at 1.000 with six attempts, third in rushing yards with 1,274, which is 318.5 per game and 6.92 per carry, and they rank No. 1 in the nation in scoring with the 53.5 points per game.

Recent Success: Going back to 2023, the Sea Gulls finished that season 6-4. But since October 2023, SU has posted a 21-2 overall record and only one loss in NJAC play. Salisbury finished the 2023 season 5-1 before posting an undefeated regular season last year at 10-0 and claiming the NJAC Title. Then, following that run-up with two NCAA playoff wins, they fell to Mount Union in the Elite 8 matchup. The Sea Gulls have now started the 2025 campaign 4-0 and do not look to slow down anytime soon. Also, since 2001, the Salisbury University football program has posted a record of 22-1 when hosting Homecoming games. Last year's Homecoming game was against Rowan University, with the Sea Gulls edging out a 42-35 victory in front of a capacity crowd.
 
Scouting Kean: The Kean University football team fell to Montclair State University in the NJAC opener last Saturday afternoon by the final of 38-28. Kean was tabbed sixth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. They started the 2025 year with a home win 17-14 over SUNY Morrisville before dropping the next three games. They fell at Ursinus 42-14, then at home against Western Connecticut State 38-7, before dropping the NJAC Opener.

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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.