Kelly steps in for injured Sheahin; gets Gulls to 2-2

By GoGulls  |   Monday, September 28, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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SU used a big second-half to win 38-20 over The St. John Fisher Cardinals this past Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Stadium. Down 6-3 at the half, the Gulls were tallied 28 unanswered points to begin the 3rd period. The game was alot different than last years 58-52, four-overtime contest, a win for Salisbury on SJFC's home turf.

Gulls Head Coach Sherman Wood said "We wanted to come out very physical today," Wood went on to say "Our goal coming in was to be close with these guys and after allowing only six points at halftime, it was a big motivator. We knew we could move the football so that's why we came out (in the 3rd quarter) and opened it up a bit more. We thought we could take advantage of the secondary and I thought that gave us the opportunity to score more points."

SU (2-2) used a balanced offensive effort against the Cardinals (2-2) as it amassed 405 total yards, 261 generated on the ground. Sophomore slot back Randal Smedley (Frederick, Md.) was the Gulls leading rusher with 82 yards while junior slot back Bryan Woolson (White Hall, Md.) and junior quarterback Sean Kelly (Fallston, Md.) picked up 47 and 46 yards, respectively. Kelly added to his day with a 20-yard touchdown romp and was 10-for-12 in the air, good for 144 yards. Sophomore slot back Tyler Curley (Ellicott City, Md.) had touchdowns. Sophomore kicker Tommy Kowalick (Sterling, Va.) hammered home a 24-yard field goal, five PAT's and had two tackles.

Salisbury was trailing 6-3 to open up the second half but the lead for SJFC didn't last long. The Gulls used Kelly's 20-yard TD run to cap a three-play, 42-yard drive on its first drive of the third period to take a lead they would never give up.

Both teams combined for just 43 yards over the next three possessions until the Sea Gulls took a two score lead with just a little over six minutes left in the third quarter as SU used four consecutive plays of at least 9 yards to help set up a 19-yard TD pass from Kelly to Curley.

The Gulls D, which gave up just 116 yards of offense through the first half, allowed just one first down to the Cardinals through their first four drives of the third. After three consecutive passing plays to begin its fourth drive of the stanza, Bailey went to the air again, but this time was intercepted by senior linebacker Eric Arndt (Waldwick, N.J.). Arndt's big play had a decisive hand in SU's next score when two plays into the ensuing drive, Kelly hooked up with senior wide out D.J. Nelson (Mullica Hill, N.J.) for his second touchdown pass of the day, a 48-yard strike.

The defensive effort did not stop there. Although being handed the ball deep into its own territory, SU held strong again on fourth down for its fifth time in the past two weeks. Senior defensive lineman Paul Cynewski (Moorestown, N.J.) claimed his second sack of the afternoon when he flew past the line and brought down Bailey, which ultimately forced the ball to jar loose and Arndt would recover.

The Sea Gulls made it a four-touchdown advantage two minutes later. On SJFC's next possession, Bailey threw three consecutive incomplete passes to set up a punt by Mike Leavell at its own 17-yard line. The snap to Leavell sailed eight yards into the end zone but Leavell was able to boot the ball away, only to the SJFC 1-yard line. Junior defensive end Dion Bowen (Baltimore, Md.) caught the ball and did not waste any time in returning it home. Bowen's touchdown made the score 31-6.

St. John Fisher began to move the ball late in the second half and would score two touchdowns on a pair of 8-yard touchdown passes from SJFC QB Tim Bailey to WR Ryan Schmidt and TB Cory Hopkins, but their rally came up short as on their next possession, Salisbury got the onside kick and after running the clock down to the final minute of regulation, Curley picked up his second touchdown of the game on a run from 6 yards out.

SJFC was held to negative-44 yards rushing, the least amount of rushing yards that SU has given up since before the 2006 campaign. The Gulls had nine players notch four tackles or more but was led by the outstanding effort of senior defensive back Brandon Hudson (Delmar, Md.), who picked off three Bailey passes and had five tackles (four solo). Cynewski(two sacks, one forced fumble) and junior linebacker Marcus Randolph (Elkridge, Md.) each had seven tackles, while senior linebacker Tom Fontaine (Philadelphia, Pa.) provided six.

The Cardinals relied on their passing game as they threw the ball 54 times with four of those balls being intercepted by the Gulls D. SJFC had six players notch at least 45 yards receiving and was led by the seven-reception, 84-yard performance of TB Cory Hopkins (one touchdown).

This Saturday, at 1245p ET, you can hear the game on 1320AM WICO, at wicotalk.com, as Bill Reddish(play by play) and J. Brooks (color) handle all the action as conference foe Apprentice (1-3) visits Sea Gull Stadium.

NOTE:

Salisbury had two of its players received ACFC (Atlantic Central Football Conference) Player of the Week honors on Monday. Junior quarterback Sean Kelly (Fallston, Md.) earned the title of Co-Offensive Player of the Week, and senior defensive back Brandon Hudson (Delmar, Md.) was named Defensive Player of the Week. The accolades come from both players' performances in Salisbury's victory over St. John Fisher College, 38-20, on Saturday.

Kelly was forced to step up after an early 1st quarter injury took senior quarterback Bobby Sheahin (Brookeville, Md.) out of the game. Kelly rose to the occasion and had a career day; he threw 10 completions for 144 yards, ran in a 20-yard touchdown, and connected a 48-yard pass to D.J. Nelson (Mullica Hill, N.J.) for another Sea Gull score. Hudson also played a key role in the win, intercepting three St. John Fisher passes and breaking up two plays. One of those interceptions couldn't have come at a better time. With Salisbury down 6-3 with 18 seconds left in the first half, Hudson intercepted a pass in Salisbury's red zone to prevent the Cardinals from scoring. He had five tackles on the day, four of them solo. The victory over St. John Fisher brings Salisbury's record to 2-2.
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