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| At 139 yards per game, Ronald Clark leads a potent Salisbury Sea Gulls rushing attack. Photo by Mike Atherton, d3photography.com |
By Joe Sager
D3sports.com
It had been a while since Salisbury last sat out the postseason.
The 2023 campaign was the first full campaign since 2003 that didn’t have the Sea Gulls involved in a postseason game of some sort.
This fall, they have put teams on notice that it was more of a fluke than a trend.
Salisbury, besieged by major injuries to seven players last year, finished with a 6-4 mark. The Sea Gulls are already halfway to that win total and have done it in style, too — knocking off ranked opponents Muhlenberg (59-38) and Johns Hopkins (41-13) the past two weeks.
“We don’t plan on slowing down, either,” Salisbury senior quarterback Gage Katzenell-Hall said. “We’re supposed to get better every week. That’s our plan and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Only the schedule can stall the Sea Gulls (3-0) this week as they are off this Saturday before returning to action Oct. 5 against Christopher Newport.
“I feel that we have some momentum,” Salisbury coach Sherman Wood said. “We hope to keep it going and try to keep our kids as focused as possible.
“I am definitely pleased with the start of the season, in particular with how things went the previous year. Missing the postseason — we took that to heart going through the winter and spring. To get off to that start, especially against the caliber of teams we played is great. Once you get a group of kids who believe in what we’re doing and have some confidence knowing they can play with people, anything is possible.”
Salisbury opened the year with a 48-26 win over Washington and Lee. The No. 11 Sea Gulls followed it with victories over then-No. 18 Muhlenberg and then-No. 8 Johns Hopkins.
“We’re feeling good about our start, but we can’t get too caught up in the hype,” Salisbury senior running back Ronald Clark said. “We have to keep working. The coaches will keep us very motivated throughout the week.”
So far, the team has boasted one of the country’s top scoring offenses (50.3 points per game). The Sea Gulls are third in the country at 356.3 rushing yards per game.
“You have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line,” Clark said. “They have improved a lot since last year. They lead the way. Our skilled guys just follow.”
Salisbury has a bevy of skilled players, too. Clark ranks eighth in the country with 417 rushing yards. Dario Belizaire (232 yards), Michael Cox (134) and Jaden Davis (111) have found plenty of success on the ground, too.
“Having that depth, I think it motivates us and makes us practice and play a lot better. We know, if we slack, our spot can get taken,” Clark said. “I think we wear teams out a lot, too, because we can go with relentless effort. We’re a very physical football team.”
The depth isn’t just in the backfield, either. Micah Brubaker and Daniel Clark lead the team in receiving.
“Our coaches are putting us in great positions to be successful. The offensive line is playing outstanding. We have really talented players on offense, too,” Katzenell-Hall said. “We go three deep at pretty much every offensive skill position. All those guys good enough to play. Micah and Dan are outstanding at receiver. Alex Richards and (Belizaire) are the other receivers. It’s so hard to spread the ball around because we have so many good players at literally every spot.”
It’s been a good problem to have for the Sea Gulls, who feel they can attack on the ground and through the air.
“We can win in whichever way the defense gives us,” Katzenell-Hall said. “If they want us to run it 30 times a game, we will. If they want us to run it 50 times, we will. We have the talent to do it. If a team wants us to throw 25 times, we will. That’s the sign of a good offense. Whatever they will let you do, you have to believe you can do it. I know we can. We’ve proven it. I am interested to see how teams defend us in the future.”
Salisbury has some extra time to prepare for its NJAC opener against Christopher Newport on Oct. 5. The Sea Gulls dropped a 24-14 decision to the Captains last season and finished 4-2 in the conference.
“I think we’re excited and also motivated this year, especially since last year didn’t go our way,” Clark said. “I think, every day, the team gets closer and closer. I am just happy to be a part of it.”
Wood believes his team has the focus to continue its improvement.
“I am not taking anything for granted. I think they are going to work even harder now. Once you see good things can happen and where we are, you want to keep that ship sailing,” he said. “That’s my gut. I believe they are willing to work as hard as they can and try not to lose any momentum. We’ll be ready. We still have some things we need to improve. My goal is to make sure we’re not overconfident and we have that same tunnel vision we’ve had the last couple weeks.”
