Gulls suffer 1st loss to Battling Bishops

By GoGulls  |   Tuesday, September 15, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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ROCKY MOUNT, NC. The Salisbury University had its chance to tie the game in the final minuets against North Carolina Wesleyan College but the Sea Gulls came up short to the Bishops, 24-17. The Sea Gull turned the ball over 3 times.(2 fumbles. 1 INT)

Number 24 Salisbury (1-1), D3football.com , trailed North Carolina Wesleyan (1-1) by 7 points the last few minutes of the final period. SU got close to tying the game after Salisbury ran the ball seven straight times aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty by the Bishops to get to the NC Wesleyan five yard line. On first down and goal, junior slot back Warren Anderson (Vienna, Va.) rushed to the one yard line before fumbling the ball, which the Bishop would recover. That fumble was the seventh of the game for the Gulls.

For the second game in a row, the Salisbury rushing attack was led by senior quarterback Bobby Sheahin (Brookeville, Md.), who rushed for a team-high 88 yards on 17 carries. Sheahin also had 74 yards in the air. Salisbury finished with 292 yards of total offense, 123 of on the ground.

The Gulls defense was led by senior defensive back Brandon Hudson (Delmar, Md.), who had a game-high nine tackles. Senior defensive end Paul Cynewski (Moorestown, N.J.) had six tackles and a sack while sophomore defensive back Ricky Cassidy (Edgewater, Md.), junior defensive lineman Chris Ross (Damascus, Md.), and sophomore linebacker Matt Leon (Hillsborough, N.J.) contributed with five tackles each.

SU scored on its second possession of the game behind a 7 play, 85 yard drive that ended with a 8-yard touchdown scramble by Sheahin. Sheahin had 75 yards of the drive, 48 of them on the ground. Salisbury led 7-0.

The Bishops quickly took the lead after a field goal by Kevin Quicker and a 1-yard touchdown run by Senior QB Bo Jordan with 4 minutes to go in the half. On the next possession, the Gulls used a 27-yard throw from Sheahin to senior wide out D.J. Nelson (Mullica Hill, N.J.) and a 14-yard scamper by Sheahin to set up a 37-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Tommy Kowalick (Sterling, Va.). That would be the last score of the half, going into the intermission tied 10-10.

NC Wesleyan took of the lead when they opened up the second half with two straight touchdowns to go up 24-10.

SU battled back as after a failed SU offensive drive, senior defensive back Darryl Jones (Fruitland, Md.) recovered a Dewey Gatling fumble, picking up for five yards to the NCWC 5 . The first play of the drive, senior slot back William Midgette (Salisbury, Md.) darted in from 23 yards out get the Gulls back into the game, down 24-17, with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Salisbury's defense put together a stand to begin the fourth quarter as SU used two sacks by Ross and junior defensive lineman Riley Fritts (Columbia, Md.) to push the Bishops back to their own 10. The stand would set SU up for its last chance at scoring, which would ended with Anderson's fumble.

NCWC's offense was led by Jordan, who threw for a game-high 222 yards and one score. The Bishops were also picked up 66 yards and a TD by Bryan Haywood and 5 catches for 49 yards). The Bishops had six players with at least five tackles including Quentin Pope, who had a game-high nine.

Salisbury will travel to Newport News, Va., next Saturday afternoon at1 p.m. pregame at 1245p on wicotalk.com via 1320 AM Salisbury with Bill Reddish (play by pay) and J. Brooks (analyst) ,to face nationally ranked Christopher Newport University in a key non-conference game. The Gulls have won the past two decisions between the two teams including last year's 38-21 decision over the Captains at in Salisbury.

NOTE:
Salisbury University sophomore kicker Tommy Kowalick (Sterling, VA) earned Atlantic Central Football Conference (ACFC) Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his performance on Sept. 5 in the 34-14 Salisbury victory over Division II opponent Pace University.

The Sterling, Va. native, accounted for the first SU points on the day by making a 34-yard field goal with 5:43 to play in the first quarter. Kowalick was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, and helped cap a nine-play, 69-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter making it 20-14. He averaged 62.3 yards per kickoff, denying the Pace offense the opportunity of establishing good starting field position.

In his rookie season Kowalick won first team All-ACFC honors, when he led the conference in both field goals made (5-6), and point after attempt success rate (95 percent). In 2008, he scored 60 points for the Sea Gulls, and averaged 52.9 yards per kickoff.
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