Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University football team is back in action on Sprague Field when they welcome in #5/#5 Salisbury on Saturday.

GAME INFO
The game at Sprague Field is set for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff. Live coverage links and additional information on the event can be found at montclairathletics.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Montclair fell in the second annual Breakfast Bowl to Rowan, 38-26, this past Saturday. Montclair won the toss and deferred to the second half, setting up Rowan for the first possession of the game. Rowan went to the air early and pushed themselves down the field for an opening-drive touchdown that was capped off by a 19-yard touchdown throw for the 7-0 lead. The Profs forced a Red Hawk three-and-out, but were forced to punt on their next possession. A botched catch on the Rowan punt was recovered by TYLER JACKSON and set Montclair up with great starting field position at the Rowan 32. CHRISTOPHER ARNOLD grinded his way down to the Profs' 4-yard line, where LUKE HENRICH capped off the drive with a rushing touchdown to tie the game 7-7. Both teams had long drives to finish off the first quarter, but both were halted by defensive stops, with Montclair forcing a punt on their own 37 and Rowan creating a turnover on downs on their own 36. A six-play, 64-yard drive that went into the beginning of the second quarter and scored on a four-yard run. They went for two and converted for a 15-7 win. DIANTE WILSON opened up the next drive with a 38-yard burst on the ground, but Montclair was not able to put a score into the endzone and had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by ROGER RUBINETTI and cut the lead to 15-10. Rowan drove down to the Montclair 21 and missed a 38-yard field goal that gave some life to the Red Hawk sideline. KHALIL FORBES made two big catches and set Wilson up with a 24-yard touchdown run to help Montclair take the lead. A well-executed two-point conversion saw ALEX RODRIGUEZ run it in for an 18-15 lead, one they took into the half after stopping a 12-play, 78-yard Rowan drive at the goal line. Both teams exchanged punts on their first possessions of the drive. Montclair started its next drive on its own 14, where on the first play, a pass intended for Red Hawk receiver bounced off his shoulder pads and into the hands of a Profs defensive back, who ran it in for a pick six and flipped the game in Rowan's favor, 22-18. The Profs' defense stalled the Red Hawk offense again and started their next drive on the Montclair 40, where they eventually ripped off a 32-yard touchdown run for a 29-18 advantage. After punting once again, Montclair went on defense and helped its offense, when, on fourth and three from the Rowan 42, ALEX BUCHWALD got a strip sack, which was recovered by DANIEL KIKTA, who ran it down to the Rowan 16. The Red Hawks were unable to capitalize, however, when to low snaps turned into a turnover at the Rowan 24. The game went into the fourth quarter with Rowan converting a 52-yard field goal to take a 32-18 lead. A fumble on the next Montclair possession allowed Rowan to punch in one more touchdown from six yards out to take a 38-18 advantage. Montclair, starting from its own 21-yard line, used an 11-play, 79-yard drive to cut the ate into the lead. The drive was sparked by Forbes, who contributed three catches for 43 yards and was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run. TJ KACHALA converted the two-point conversion on a throw to Arnold for a 38-26 score. Time was against the Red Hawks, and with 4:29 remaining in the game, Rowan used a 9-play, 78-yard drive that included a 54-yard gain on a fake punt to ice the game that helped them regain the Breakfast Bowl trophy.


2025 TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (2-3, 1-1 NJAC)
Passing Yards: LUKE HENRICH, 802
Passing Touchdowns: LUKE HENRICH, 4
Rushing Yards: DIANTE WILSON, 424
Rushing Touchdowns: DIANTE WILSON, 8
Receiving Yards: TJ KACHALA, 339
Receiving Touchdowns: TJ KACHALA, 2

Tackles: ALEX BUCHWALD, 44
Tackles for Loss: ALEX BUCHWALD, 9.5
Sacks: ALEX BUCHWALD, 2.0
Forced Fumbles: ALEX BUCHWALD, 2.0
Fumble Recoveries: Five Tied with 1
Interceptions: N/A
Pass Breakups: Five tied with 2

Field Goals Made: Roger Rubenetti, 4
PAT's Made: Roger Rubenetti, 11
Punting Yards Average: Roger Rubenetti, 36.71
 
SALSBURY (5-0, 2-0 NJAC)
Passing Yards: SyRus McGowan, 724
Passing Touchdowns: SyRus McGowan, 8
Rushing Yards: SyRus McGowan, 360
Rushing Touchdowns: SyRus McGowan, 6
Receiving Yards: Daniel Clark, 264
Receiving Touchdowns: Dario Belizare, 5

Tackles: Colin Wargo, 31
Tackles for Loss: Chase Lomax, 5.0
Sacks: Oliver Morgan, 2.0
Forced Fumbles: AJ Ryker, 1
Fumble Recoveries: Three tied with 1
Interceptions: Three tied with 1
Pass Breakups: Kilo Mack, 3

Field Goals Made: Tucker Smack, 1
PAT's Made: Tucker Smack, 28
Punting Yards Average: Noah Christenson, 45.80

SCOUTING SALISBURY
The Seagulls enter this NJAC showdown as the #5 team in the nation according to the D3football.com and AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) national polls. They sport a perfect 5-0 record and 2-0 NJAC record after downing Kean last Saturday, 38-24. In 2024, Salisbury had a perfect 10-0 regular season and 6-0 NJAC record en route to being crowned the conference champions. In the NCAA Tournament, they defeated King's (33-13) and Randolph-Macon (35-14), before they were finally bested by national runner up Mount Union, 38-17 to finish 12-1. According to the 2025 NJAC Preseason Poll, they are the favorites to repeat as conference champions.

SERIES HISTORY
The Red Hawks and the Seagulls face off in matchup number 19 in their series. Salisbury has a 10-8 advantage and has won the past nine contests against Montclair.   

LAST MEETING
These two programs met last season on October 19, where Salisbury earned a decisive 44-8 win.
 
NEXT TIME OUT
Montclair State University will head up north to play its first NJAC matchup against Vermont State-Castleton on Saturday, October 25. Kickoff for their inaugural conference face-off is set for 12:00 p.m.