Titans Travel To Maryland For First Meeting With Sea Gulls

The UW-Oshkosh football team will play in the state of Maryland for the first time when it battles Salisbury University on Saturday (Sept. 14). Kickoff for the first meeting between the unbeaten teams is scheduled for 11 a.m. (CDT) at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury, Md.

UW-Oshkosh (1-0) and Salisbury University (1-0) are both receiving votes in D3football.com's Week 1 poll. UW-Oshkosh held off intrastate rival Carthage College, 20-19, in Oshkosh during the season opener while Salisbury University drubbed Albright College by a 63-28 score last Saturday (Sept. 7). in Reading, Pa.

The Titans secured their one-point victory after thwarting Carthage College's potential go-ahead two-point conversion attempt with three minutes remaining in the game. UW-Oshkosh, which allowed just 154 total yards during the season opener, withstood a pair of touchdowns on blocked field goal attempts by Carthage College. The Titan defense collected seven sacks and ceded 26 rushing yards on 0.7 yards per carry.

Salisbury University rolled to its season-opening win, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game before building a 42-7 advantage late in the second quarter. The Sea Gulls gained 360 of their 488 yards on the ground as they ran the ball on 39 of 54 offensive plays. However, three of Salisbury University's 15 pass attempts also went for touchdowns of 49, 19 and 16 yards while the Sea Gulls and Albright College both accumulated 18 first downs despite the 35-point margin of victory.

UW-Oshkosh's standout defensive effort last Saturday limited Carthage College to a 2-for-12 rate on third down while allowing a mere nine first downs overall. Trenton LaCombe led the Titans with a career-high eight tackles, including 4.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. LaCombe's 4.5 tackles for loss rank eighth in the NCAA Division III.

Brady Heimer added a team-leading 2.5 sacks for UW-Oshkosh, which produced 15 tackles for loss in the season opener as Logan Heise, Brandon Hughes, Alex Jagla and Tyler Jensen each contributed sacks. Jacob Edwards' fumble recovery and Calvin Shilling's interception accounted for the Titans' two forced turnovers.

The UW-Oshkosh defense ranks fifth in the country in sacks after its performance last weekend. The Titans, who did not surrender a sack during the season opener, also list ninth nationally in first downs allowed and both penalties (2) and penalty yards (20).

UW-Oshkosh quarterback Kobe Berghammer led the team in both passing and rushing during his collegiate debut, completing 8 of 18 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns while rushing seven times for 67 yards.

Riley Kallas and Peter MacCudden combined for 104 rushing yards on 15 attempts for UW-Oshkosh, which also received three catches and a touchdown from Tony Steger. Kallas also took his lone catch for a 25-yard score.

UW-Oshkosh punter Jayden Haag averaged 35 yards per boot and placed three of his five punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

Titans placekicker Peyton Peterson connected on both of his extra point attempts and went 2-for-5 on field goals. Peterson drilled a career-best 47-yard field goal during the first quarter.

Salisbury University averaged 9.2 yards per carry during its opener. Ten different Sea Gulls logged rushing attempts and three scored touchdowns on the ground as Salisbury's 360 rushing yards were the fourth most in Division III last weekend. Mike-Ryan Mofor paced the Sea Gulls with 10 carries for 132 yards and three scores. Hopeton Mair and Damien King added rushing touchdowns for Salisbury University.

The Sea Gulls used three quarterbacks last Saturday, including Jack Navitsky, who went 5-for-8 passing for 122 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. King was on the receiving end of two Navitsky scoring strikes.

Patrick Bernardo made eight tackles and recovered a fumble to lead the Salisbury University defense, which recorded four sacks and created four turnovers. Sam Pavlik registered a pair of sacks for the Sea Gulls while Sean Carroll, Sam Pagella and Derrick Wright each snared interceptions.

Sea Gulls placekicker Bert Schrecongost did not attempt and field goal and went 9-for-9 on extra points. Michael Gillespie punted three times for Salisbury University last weekend, averaging 29.7 yards per punt.

Salisbury University, which placed second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference last year, has won at least seven games during each of the past nine seasons. Winners of their last four home openers, the Sea Gulls last reached the NCAA Division III postseason in 2015, when they lost by a 45-21 score in the first round to State University of New York at Cortland.

UW-Oshkosh, which has claimed two of the last four Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, owns a 70-16 record since 2012 while advancing to the Division III championship game in 2016, the national semifinals in both 2012 and 2017, and the quarterfinals in 2015.