SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 12 Salisbury University football program has posted an 8-1 overall record and 5-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Sea Gulls are coming off their first loss of the season against the Captains of No. 5 Christopher Newport University, 45-42, last Saturday night. The Sea Gulls look to get back in the win column on Friday, November 14th, when they host Vermont State University Castleton at 6 p.m. inside Sea Gull Stadium.
The Rundown
Live Stats
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Game Notes
The Series: This is the first-ever match-up between the two football programs of Salisbury University and Vermont State University Castleton. The Spartans are competing in their first season as members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
Last Time Out: SU fell 45-42 on the road against CNU.
SyRus McGowan finished with 290 total yards of offense and three touchdowns.
Darrell Walter posted 86 yards with his two touchdowns.
Dario Belizaire had 176 total yards of offense with one touchdown on five catches and five carries.
Kilo Mack posted four pass breakups along with six tackles.
Andrew Gioia also posted six tackles with an interception.
Oliver Morgan, Jayson Gary, Chase Lomax, and
Marquis Thomas all posted sacks for the Sea Gulls. SU posted 480 yards of total offense while CNU tallied 456.
Football – 11th | D3football.com Top 25, Week 10
Salisbury (8-1) slid four spots to 11th with 360 points, flanked by UW-Plateville (371) at 10th and UW-Whitewater (323) at 12th. SU also dropped to 12th in the latest NPI rankings. The Sea Gulls dropped a heartbreaking 45-42 affair at then-No. 13 Christopher Newport on Saturday. SU will close out the regular season at home on Friday, facing Vermont State Castleton at 6 p.m. inside Sea Gull Stadium. Salisbury can still earn a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title with a win and a CNU loss at TCNJ.
The Captains: Head coach
Sherman Wood has named junior
Colin Wargo, along with seniors
Matt Ioannides, Brian Irving, and
Clarke Cheairs, as captains heading into the 2025 regular season finale inside Sea Gull Stadium Friday night.
The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 70 games in the conference. The 70 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.
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 201-80 with the Sea Gulls and an overall record of 219-119-1 when you include his six seasons at Bowie State. The 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 52 percent on third down conversions and 77 percent on fourth down conversions. In the redzone, they have scored 39 times out of 48 attempts.
Defensive Chaos: The Sea Gull defense has fed well off each other all season long. They have created 11 total turnovers between five fumble recoveries and six interceptions. They have forced a total of seven fumbles. Pair that with 63 total tackles for loss for a negative gain of 238 yards for the opposing offense, along with 18 sacks, and they are only allowing 19 points per game.
Scouting the Spartans: The Vermont State University Castleton Spartans football program is entering the contest on a seven-game losing streak. Both of their wins came in the opening two weeks of the season in non-conference action over Westfield State University (16-12) and Norwich University (30-8). They lost their final non-conference game 35-8 against the University of New England on Homecoming before falling in every New Jersey Athletic Conference game they have played in during their first season as a member of the conference.
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 206 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.
