Salisbury ends season with tough loss in ECAC Southwest Bowl; Hudson breaks school record
ANNVILLE, Pa. - Senior defensive back Brandon Hudson (Delmar, Md.) placed his name atop the single-season interception list for Salisbury when he picked off his ninth pass of the season and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown, but it was not enough as the Salisbury University football team dropped a 37-21 decision to Lebanon Valley College in the 2009 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Southwest Bowl at Arnold Field on Saturday afternoon. Regardless of the loss, Salisbury still holds a 3-2 record all-time in ECAC bowls. The loss was the sixth of the year for SU on the road.
In the first ever meeting between the two schools, SU clung to a 21-20 lead after three quarters of play. The Dutchmen, who capitalized on two big Sea Gull mistakes, posted 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to race away with the ECAC Southwest Bowl championship in their first ever postseason home game.
Salisbury (5-6), the defending ECAC Southwest Bowl champions, netted 184 yards of total offense on the day with 134 of those yards being derived from the ground. Junior quarterback Sean Kelly (Fallston, Md.) raced for a team-high 50 yards while senior slotback William Midgette (Salisbury, Md.) ran for 29 and one score. Sophomore slotback Randal Smedley (Frederick, Md.) notched 27 yards on five carries and one touchdown. The receiving corps was led by senior slotback Valdase Morris (Salisbury, Md.), who caught one pass for 35 yards.
Lebanon Valley (9-2) opened up the scoring in the game when Ben Guiles ran in from 41-yards out to give LVC a 6-0 lead at the 11:29 mark. Salisbury would immediately fire back with a score of its own as Smedley capped a 10 play, 66 yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The 7-6 lead would hold up for four minutes before LVC would tack on another touchdown to close out the games first frame.
SU proved to be resilient once again as on the ensuing drive, Midgette rushed in for SU's second 4-yard touchdown scamper of the day. Midgette's score marked the 30th rushing touchdown of the year for SU. The lead lasted for just five minutes thanks in part to a 5-yard touchdown strike from Colt Zarilla to Joe Brennan. They were the final points of the half for either team as the Dutchmen led by six points, 20-13, heading into the halftime.
In what has been a consistent trend for Salisbury this season, the defense came up big late in the game. The unit found itself deep in its own territory as the Dutchmen used eight plays and two big third down conversions to land on the Salisbury 35-yard line. SU did not break; on the next play, Hudson posted his fifth interception in the past five games and raced it back for the score. The 72 yards collected by Hudson after the catch brought his yards after an interception total to 158 this season. The total yardage is the most gained by a SU player in the past four seasons.
Hudson's score gave SU its final lead of the day as LVC collected the game's final three scores to run away with its ninth victory of the season.
The Sea Gull defense was spearheaded by Hudson, who ended his collegiate career with the big interception return and seven tackles. Junior linebacker Justin Chura (Lothian, Md.)notched a team-high nine tackles while freshman linebacker Matt McMurdo (Chalfont, Pa.) had eight. Chura led SU on the day with seven solo tackles. Senior punter Andrew Geisert (White Plains, Md.) played a vital role for SU as he connected on four punts for a total of 142 yards. Of the four punts that Geisert booted, two were placed inside the 20-yard line.
The Dutchmen were led by Ben Guiles, who picked up 113 yards rushing and one touchdown on 11 carries. Caleb Fick was 9-for-17 through the air for 174 yards and had two scores. Sean Donovan caught six passes for 105 yards while Alex Gilchrist posted a game-high 10 tackles.
The contest was the final one of the season for Salisbury. SU will take a streak of 75 consecutive games in which the Sea Gulls have scored at least one point in a game into the 2010 campaign. The current record started at the beginning of the 2003 season.
