The Montclair State Red Hawks fell to Salisbury University, 31-12, on Saturday at a rainy Sprague Field. Autumn is in full swing and football weather is officially here…when it's not raining. From the opening kickoff, the weather seemed to affect both teams and was a huge factor all day.
After the Red Hawks went three-and-out on their first drive, they were able to quickly get the ball back after AJ Butler muffed the punt return for Salisbury. Montclair State's offense, once again, could not get anything going and was forced to punt the ball away. Before Michael Fitzpatrick could get the punt away, it was blocked by the Salisbury special teams. They were able to return the block all the way to the house and jump out to a 7-0 lead early.
The first quarter did not get any better on the next drive for the Red Hawks, as Henry Lewis fumbled on the first play from scrimmage immediately giving the ball back to the Salisbury offense. Joey Bildstein carried the ball on every single play for the Sea Gulls, powering his way into the end zone and giving Salisbury a 14-0 lead.
The Red Hawks sophomore quarterback, Aidan McLaughlin and company could not get much going on the offensive end for the Red Hawks in the first. They punted the ball back to Sea Gulls after a five play 14-yard drive. The Salisbury offense started to march down the field once again; however, this time, the Red Hawks defense stood tall and was able to stop the Sea Gulls at the six-yard line and force a field goal.
After both teams punted on their ensuing drives, Montclair State got the ball with six minutes left in the half and looked to finally get on the board. After converting on a huge fourth down, Mclaughlin found Clarence Wilkins for a nine-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to just 24-6 after a missed PAT heading into the first half.
Salisbury University is located in Maryland, a state that was given the nickname “Old Line State" by George Washington because Maryland's "regiments of regulars achieved a reputation as saviors of the revolution and American Independence." While Salisbury's Football team played like the bravest Revolutionary troops despite the rain on Saturday, their opponents showed that they wouldn't go down without a fight in the second half.
However, the half got off to a rocky start for the Red Hawks when their kicker could only drive the ball 26 yards, which allowed Salisbury University to set up shop at their 47-yard line. On the following drive, the Red Hawk defense prevented the Gulls from getting a first down and when the Gulls ran the ball on fourth and seven, Red Hawks senior Defensive Lineman, Eric Cowan stepped up to tackle Bildstein one yard short of the first down marker, forcing Salisbury to turn the ball over to Montclair State.
On the ensuing drive, the Red Hawks went to work with two rushes by Lewis. The first rush gained two yards while the second gained six. Then on third down, McLaughlin found wide receiver Vincent Pinto on a five-yard pass, which gained Montclair State the first down. Then McLaughlin handed the ball to running back Abellany Mendez, who would gain 15 yards on the next three plays. This gave Montclair another first down, but then the Sea Gull defense firmed up, sacking McLaughlin on fourth down this time forcing the Red Hawks to turn the ball over on downs.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Red Hawks began their second drive near midfield. After two runs by Lewis, McLaughlin completed a pass deep downfield to Clarence Wilkins for a 28-yard gain. Now, 23 yards from the endzone, Montclair State were in good position to score, but Salisbury's defense held them back until third down. On the next play, Mendez was tackled in the backfield, but the play was negated due to a Holding penalty on Salisbury, which gave MSU the first down. On the next play, McLaughlin ran the ball and fumbled, recovering the ball at the SU 14. Montclair were unable to gain a first down on the next two plays, which left them a fourth and seven. This is where Salisbury's defense made its mark, sacking McLaughlin 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage and forcing a fumble that they would recover.
Salisbury’s rushing game failed to crack the Red Hawks strong run defense, but on the second play of this drive, MSU defensive lineman, Dmitri Pali was flagged for holding. This moved the Sea Gulls up five yards and the visitors took advantage, rushing for ten more yards before the third quarter ended. Salisbury then benefitted from a 45-yard rush before Bildstein carried the ball into the endzone at 14:02 for the Sea Gulls fourth Touchdown of the game. The PAT attempt went through the uprights to give the visitors a commanding 31-6 lead with almost the whole fourth quarter left to play.
Both defenses stopped the offenses for the next two drives for each team. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Pali gave the Sea Gulls a taste of their own medicine. The fifth-year defensive lineman from Northfield, New Jersey sacked the Salisbury quarterback and forced a fumble that he then recovered. This gave MSU good field position to start their next drive. The Red Hawks started this drive with just under four minutes left in the game, needing a score.
On the first play, McLaughlin stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass downfield to Anthony Roige, who caught the ball in the endzone. However, McLaughlin’s second touchdown pass of the game was too little too late. When Montclair State went for the two-point conversion, ‘Mac’ pitched the ball to Mendez, but the stout tail back was smothered by an alert Sea Gull defense.
Despite the efforts of Montclair State’s defense which fought hard to give them a chance in the second half, Salisbury was too tough for the Red Hawks and with the loss, Montclair State University find themselves with a 3-3 record about halfway through their regular season.
Red Hawks Must Turn Page
Montclair State Football’s next opponent will be their arch-rivals, William Paterson University and next weekend's game in Wayne is one that Head Coach Mike Palazzo and his staff must have circled on their calendar.
These two teams have played each other 52 times since 1971 and the William Paterson Pioneers have only beaten the Red Hawks four times. Last season was one of those times and the Pioneers just squeaked by MSU 17-14.
The Red Hawks will be looking for revenge when they travel a short distance west on Route 46 to Wayne to face their rivals on Oct. 21 at 1:00 p.m.
