GAME NOTES (PDF)
 
Albright (0-0, 0-0) vs. No. 8 Salisbury (0-0, 0-0)
• When: Friday, Sept. 3, 2021
• Where: Reading, Pa.
• Stadium: Shirk Stadium (5,000)
• Kickoff: 6 p.m.
• Live Video: VIDEO
• Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Salisbury leads 6-3
• First Meeting: `1995 – Albright won 20-10
• Last Meeting: Sept. 6, 2019 @ Albright – Salisbury won 63-28
• Streak: Salisbury +2
 
The Albright Lions football team will open the 2021 season against No. 8 Salisbury tomorrow, September 3rd at 6 p.m.
 
Friday's contest will be the first regular season contest for the Lions since November 16th, 2019 when they defeated Lebanon Valley 28-23 on senior day. The 2020 regular season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the cancellation of the fall season, the Lions football team was able to practice and work out from September to November. The team played an unusual two-game spring exhibition season against Lebanon Valley and Alvernia. The Lions defeated Alvernia 20-14 at home after being defeated by Lebanon Valley, 46-14.
 
Salisbury was also able to play two games in the spring as the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) put forth a two-division format that gave teams the chance to compete for a divisional title with three games during the month of March The Sea Gulls earned a 32-30 win over Wesley in its final matchup with the school, and a 30-5 victory over Christopher Newport to capture the NJAC South division title. This will be the sixth-straight regular season that the Lions and Sea Gulls will face off to open each team's respective seasons.  


THE LAST MATCHUP
In the teams last meeting in 2019, the Sea Gulls used a big first half to pull away and not look back against the Lions, as they triumphed 63-28 at Shirk Stadium. Salisbury went up 21-0 in the first quarter before taking a 42-13 lead at halftime. Albright scored first in the second half to make it 42-21, but the Sea Gulls responded with three-straight touchdowns to seal the win. Former Albright wide receiver Mike Jordan caught three touchdown passes in the contest.  
 

PRESEASON POLLS:
 Albright placed eighth in the MAC preseason coaches poll after earning 32 total points. Three-time defending league champion Delaware Valley placed first in the poll after earning 99 total points and receiving nine of the 11 possible first place votes. Stevenson grabbed the last two first place votes to place second in the poll, and was followed by Wilkes in third with 76 points, and Widener in fourth with 74 points. Lycoming was slotted in 5th place with 58 points while, King's placed sixth with 49 points. Lebanon Valley came in seventh with 40 points, followed by the Lions in eighth, and Alvernia came in 10th with 25 points. FDU-Florham rounded out the poll in 11th with 24 points.
 
Meanwhile, Salisbury was picked to finish first in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). The defending league champion Sea Gulls earned four of the seven possible first-place votes, while Montclair State garnered two first-place votes, and TCNJ the last first-place vote.
 

TAKING COMMAND
After two seasons of playing limited action, senior quarterback Todd Shelley will assume command under center for the Lions in 2021. Shelley has thrown for 430 yards and two touchdowns during his time with the team. He also served as the starting quarterback for the Lions during the team's two exhibition games in the spring. Shelley completed one touchdown pass in each contest.

 
RETURNING LIONS
Among some of the main returnees for the Lions since their previous regular season in 2019 are seniors wide receiver Kevin Zehner, and running backs Tony Thorpe and Malik Bootman. Zehner had a breakout season in 2019 as he led the team and ranked seventh in the MAC in total receiving yards, and ranked ninth in yards per game at 74.3 He also ranked eighth in receptions and tied for sixth in touchdowns. His efforts earned him All-MAC second team honors. Thorpe and Bootman provided a strong 1-2 punch in the running game as he led the team with 604 yards and six touchdowns, while Bootman combined for 696 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. On defense, the Lions return a pair of senior linebackers in Sam Viera and Daniel Vital.  Viera, who also earned All-MAC second team honors in 2019, registered a career-high 78 tackles (40 solo) along with 9.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and one interception. Viera ranked third in the conference with 8.7 tackles per game, and his 78 tackles ranked him fourth in the conference. Vital finished second on the team with 57 tackles in 2019, and tallying 3.0 TFL and 1.5 sacks.
 

BACK SEVEN EXPERIENCE:
 WIth Viera and Vital leading the linebacking corps, the Lions will also return some experience in the secondary as well. Senior safety Armon Jefferson will return for a fifth season after taking over full-time starting duties in 2019. Jefferson grabbed two interceptions and broke up three passes in 2019. Junior cornerback Omar Sesay will also look to build off a strong 2019 first-year season that saw him intercept two passes and lead the team with six pass break-ups. Sophomores Taylor Heflin and Ryan MacFarlane are expected to take over starting roles in their first seasons with the team.
 

DEFENDING THE PASS
The Lions limited the Cougars to just 121 passing yards last Saturday. It was the fewest passing yards given up by the Lions in the 2019 season. The Cougars came into the game among the top half of the conference in total team passing yards. Albright also held Cougar wide receiver Sam Gillison to just 33 yards on three catches. Gillison entered the contest second in the MAC with nine receiving touchdowns, and third with 94.9 receiving yards per game
 

NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINES
In addition to the many players making their collegiate debuts at Albright tonight, four coaches on the Albright staff will be making their debuts in regular season contests. Mark DeLucia took over as defensive coordinator in the spring after coming from Delaware Valley. Shaun Weaver began as special teams coordinator in spring of 2020, while Albright alumnus John Venditti took over the cornerbacks. Terrell Barnes will also coach his first official game as he will oversee the safeties.
 

ABOUT SALISBURY
The Sea Gulls had one of their best seasons in program history in 2019 as they finished 11-1 overall. Salisbury advanced to the national quarterfinals for the first time since the 2011 season in addition to winning the NJAC Championship outright. Salisbury also tied the NCAA Division III tournament record for largest margin of victory with an 83-0 win to open the postseason against SUNY Maritime. On offense, senior quarterback Jack Lanham will look to build on a breakout 2019 season where he earned D3football.com third-team all-region honors. Lanham was named NJAC Co-Offensive player of the year in addition to earning All-NJAC first team honors. Lanham led the NJAC in total touchdowns (25), second in rushing touchdowns (12), and passing efficiency (178.6), third in total offense (2,025 yards), fifth in scoring (74 points) and rushing (703 yards). The Sea Gulls will also look to get contributions on offense from two-time all-NJAC first team selection Chad Gleason.
 
On defense, senior safety Sean Carroll will return after earning All-American honorable mention from D3football.com in 2019. Carroll led the Salisbury secondary with a team-best five interceptions. Two of his five interceptions were returned for touchdowns, which led the NJAC. Carroll also added 67 tackles, which ranked second on the team and five pass breakups. Carroll's play helped the Sea Gulls rank ninth in the nation in rushing defense, only allowing 74.0 yards per game, and 31st in total defense with opponents only averaging 291.8 yards per contest.