Salisbury fumbles chances against Muhlenberg
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The No. 12 Salisbury University football team had its chances in the first round of the NCAA Division III championship against No. 9 Muhlenberg College but the Sea Gulls were unable to capitalize as the Mules advanced to the second round with a 31-21 win on a chilly overcast Saturday afternoon at Scotty Wood Stadium before a packed crowd of 4,312.

The Sea Gulls (9-2) lost three fumbles including two on consecutive offensive plays late in the fourth quarter that resulted in 10 points for Muhlenberg. This was the sixth NCAA appearance for the Sea Gulls, first since 2004, as Salisbury has not won a NCAA playoff game since 1986.

Muhlenberg (11-0) set a school record with its 11th win in a season and will advance to the NCAA second round for the first time since 2002 where the Mules will face No. 6 Wesley (10-1) next Saturday in Dover, Del.

“I give all the credit in the world to Muhlenberg because they came up with big plays,” said SU coach Sherman Wood, who is 0-3 in NCAA playoff games at his Alma Mater. “I am very proud of our guys because they played hard and it could have gone a different way if we did not have those two turnovers [at the end of the game].”

The Mules jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead just nine minutes into the first quarter as John DeLuca ran for a pair of scores. The first came on an 18-yard run to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive on Muhlenberg’s first possession and the second capped a seven-play, 67-yard drive as DeLuca ran in from 29 yards out.

DeLuca ran for 89 of his game-high 186 yards in the first quarter and finished the contest with three rushing touchdowns, all in the first 16 minutes of the game.

The Sea Gulls answered the second Muhlenberg score as sophomore Valdase Morris scampered 54 yards to pull SU within one possession at 14-6. The snap on the extra points was dropped and sophomore Keith Polizois’ rush attempted was stopped.

Muhlenberg led 21-6 after DeLuca found the end zone from 1-yard out early in the second quarter. The Mules had an opportunity to go up three scores on their next possession but their fake field goal attempt was stopped on the 1-yard line. Holder Jim Jeffers hit placekicker Jordon Grube who was stood up by a host of Sea Gulls to turn the ball over to the offense.

The maroon and gold capitalized on the defensive stand as the offense marched 99 yards on 12 plays capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from senior Jamar Garner to make the score 21-13 with 4:54 to play in the half.

The Mules’ eight-point advantage held true through halftime.

Salisbury managed only 182 yards of total offense in the first half to Muhlenberg’s 259 yards. The Mule quarterback Eric Santagato was 10-of-12 for 115 yards in the first half and finished the game 15-of-23 for 193 yards and one touchdown.

“At halftime we really thought we could compete against those guys. We thought they opened up the playbook in the first half,” said Wood. “We didn’t make any drastic adjustments. We changed up the coverage a little bit, got a little more physical and understood what they were doing.”

The SU defense that allowed 142 yards rushing in the first half stood its ground in the second half as it held the Mules to 28 yards on the ground.

SU was led by junior Jarrell Chandler who had a team-high nine tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one pass breakup. Junior Matt Barnes and sophomore Antione Cuff each recorded eight tackles.

SU’s offense was held to a season-low 154 yards on the ground but threw for a season-high 210 yards to finish the game with 364 yards of offense. Muhlenberg outgained Salisbury by one yard, 365-364.

The Sea Gulls had an opportunity to pull within five points of Muhlenberg in the third quarter but senior kicker Brendan Kincaid had his 33-yard field goal attempt blocked.  

The maroon and gold seemed to seize the momentum of the game midway through the fourth quarter when junior Ronnie Curley hooked up with junior Kevin Tillage on a 77-yard scoring strike. Garner rumbled in from two yards out for the two-point conversion to tie the score at 21 with 7:33 to play in the game.

“It floated a little bit so I had to slow down to catch it,” said Tillage of the his touchdown grab. “Once I caught it I just ran it in.”

The Salisbury defense held the Mules’ offense to a three and out but Muhlenberg’s defense forced a Curley fumble on SU’s first play after the punt at the 6:16 mark. The turnover set up a Jordan Grube 38-yard field goal that proved to be the game-winner.

The Sea Gulls lost the ball on their next offensive play as Morris had the ball jarred loose as the Mules recovered near midfield with less than five minutes in the game. Santagato found Edward DeRisi for a 31-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring and give the Mules the 10-point win.

Morris finished the game with a team-high 59 yards rushing and 84 yards receiving and Curley was 8-of-15 for 210 yards and one touchdown.