The No. 6 Salisbury University Sea Gulls football team shut out SUNY Maritime 83-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football playoffs. The 83 point victory is the largest margin of victory in D3 playoff history.
Salisbury scored on their opening possession, as Sea Gulls quarterback Jack Lanham helped lead the team to a win, scoring the first of his three touchdowns with a four yard run.
The Gulls then recovered fumbles on the first two Privateers series, resulting in scores for Salisbury, who never looked back.
The Sea Gulls amassed 583 yards of total offense, with 518 rushing yards, and scored 11 of their 12 touchdowns on the ground. The other score was a Chad Gleason 50-yard punt return for a touchdown.
“We knew we could put up some points today,” Lanham, who was named New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Co-Offensive Player of the Year Friday, said in a press conference after the game.
The sophomore played just the first half before being relieved by Jack Navitsky and Billy Gant in the second half. In addition, Lanham notched three touchdowns on six carries and 47 yards and was 2-for-3 for 65 yards through the air.
Salisbury’s defense allowed only 71 total yards to SUNY Maritime, who recorded only two first downs in the game, and only crossed into Sea Gull territory once.
“We played a complete game,” Gulls Head Coach Sherman Wood said after the win. “Anytime that someone asks me what has been the key to our success, the first word that comes out is leadership and that’s a big deal regarding a football program.”
“When the (opposing) team scores zero points; we were ready for what they were going to run and we got the job done,” Wood said, referring to senior linebacker Pat Bernardo, who had seven total tackles, three solo and four assists.
Wood, for the second time in five-year membership in the NJAC, was honored as the Coach of the Year. This is his fifth conference coach of the year award of his career.
The Gulls will host the Union Dutchmen in the second round of the playoffs, Nov. 30th. at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland. The winner of that game will play either Muhlenberg or Delaware Valley or in the quarterfinals on Dec. 7.
The semi-finals will be played Dec. 14.
The National Championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, will be played in Shenandoah, TX on December 20 on ESPNU
WTOP’s J. Brooks is the radio play-by-play voice of Salisbury University Football.
