SALISBURY, Md. - The No. 13 Salisbury University football program posted a 9-1 overall record and 6-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Sea Gulls will begin its 15th run in the NCAA Tournament, after starting with a first-round bye. Salisbury is set to host the Endicott College Gulls on Nov. 29th, inside Sea Gull Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12:02 p.m.
The Rundown
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The Series: This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs on the gridiron.
Last Time Out: SU earned a 63-13 season finale win over Vermont State University Castleton two weeks ago. The Sea Gulls rushed for 382 yards and nine touchdowns on just 43 attempts, which was good enough for nine yards per carry.
Darrell Walter finished with four touchdowns and 77 yards on the ground. SU only attempted 11 passes.
SyRus McGowan went 4-8 with 108 yards, while
Matthew Sims went 3-3 for 51 yards. The Gulls defense only allowed 65 yards rushing.
Taj Kontosis posted a team-high seven tackles.
Football – 7th | D3football.com Top 25, Week 9
Salisbury (9-1) finished the regular season with an NPI metric of 68.616, sandwiched between 12th-ranked Hardin-Simmons (69.097) and 14th-ranked UW-Platteville (68.252). SU also placed 12th in the final D3football.com rankings before the postseason. The Sea Gulls rebounded from their first loss by smashing Vermont State Castleton 63-13 at home on Friday night.
Darrell Walter rushed for 74 yards and four first-half touchdowns en route to earning New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Following a first-round bye, SU will begin NCAA Tournament play by hosting No. 15 Endicott in the second round on Saturday, Nov. 29. Kickoff from Sea Gull Stadium is locked in for 12 p.m.
The Captains: Head coach
Sherman Wood has named seniors
Kilo Mack, Micah Brubaker, and
Oliver Morgan, along with graduate student
Jimmy Celentano, as captains heading into the top 15 matchup with Endicott College Gulls in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
The Class of the NJAC: Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won 71 games in the conference. The 71 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 202-81 with the Sea Gulls and an overall record of 220-120-1 when you include his six seasons at Bowie State. A few weeks ago at Rowan earned Coach Wood his 200th Career win at Salisbury University.
All NJAC Honors: The No. 13 Salisbury University football program saw a conference high 17 student-athletes earn New Jersey Athletic Conference honors. The Sea Gulls posted five on the First-Team, 10 on the Second-Team, and two earned Honorable Mention.
Dario Belizaire, Darrell Walter, Chris Clarke, Noah Christenson, and
Mason Fisher earned First-Team honors.
SyRus McGowan, Micah Brubaker, Daniel Clark, Brian Irving, Amiri Edwards, Oliver Morgan, Jimmy Celentano, Andrew Gioia, Kilo Mack, and
Jadyn Thomas earned Second-Team honors, while
Jayson Gary and
Patrick Sheil were named Honorable Mention.
Scouting Endicott: Both teams received a bye into the second round thanks in part to their top-15 NPI rankings. Salisbury, an at-large qualifier into the NCAA Tournament, ended the regular season positioned No. 13 overall in the NPI rankings. Meanwhile, Endicott, the Conference of New England (CNE) Champion for the fifth straight season, earned a No. 15 ranking on the NPI leaderboard. Endicott ranks in the top-15 in both categories (scoring offense, 7th, 47.1 | scoring defense, 14th, 13.5 PPG). The Blue and Green received their first-ever bye into the second round of the NCAA Tournament last Sunday. Endicott produced 24 CNE postseason honorees, including four major award winners. Headlining the Gulls were first-time major award winners Joe Tirrell, Davenche Sydney, Caleb Luz, and Bryan Ferreira. Tirrell, a senior linebacker, was named Defensive Player of the Year, marking the fourth time in the last five years an Endicott student-athlete has won the award. Sydney was selected as the league's Offensive Lineman of the Year. The senior tackle is the third straight Gull to receive the award. Luz, a junior, claimed Defensive Lineman of the Year accolades, giving the Blue and Green four straight nods in the category. Ferreira rounded out the list of major award winners as the conference's Rookie of the Year pick. The freshman is the second running back in program history to garner Rookie of the Year (or Offensive Rookie of the Year) honors.
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.
