While Friday night's scoreboard showed a 35-7 loss to Palisades, Salisbury football head coach Andy Cerco noted a number positives that displayed the team's character and continuity.

Battling a number of injuries along the offensive line, as well as an ejection from one of those linemen during the first half, a number of Falcons stepped up for the greater good of the team.

In need of someone to fill the left tackle position, it was a skill position player who voluntarily took on the challenge against the Pirates (6-1). Teddy Denver's move from running back to the offensive line after halftime is the type of sacrifice Cerco is looking for from his team.

"We lost a couple of kids, and we potentially lost another, and we had skilled kids volunteering to play the offensive line," Cerco said. "Teddy Denver went from running back to left tackle because we needed him to.

"That's a player and a good character kid that we can build things here with. That's the kind of team player that we have here at Salisbury.

"We didn't even ask him. He came to us and said, 'Coach, I'm going to play left tackle because we need someone to.'"

Nicholas Sikora also battled through some pain in the first half and finished the game.

"Those two, their attitude [and] their effort is what we need here," Cerco said.

The Falcons (1-6) started off the game on a solid note. The defense held the Pirates to a three-and-out on their first possession, and the offense then produced an 11-play drive that advanced the ball to the Pirates' 26-yard line before a turnover gave the ball back to the Pirates.

"Starting the game, I felt we handled it well," Cerco said. "We got a stop defensively. We moved the ball.

"When we've got to move guys around it's tough. We have a running back playing left tackle. I don't know what team can do that and move the ball."

After the Pirates got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter on a Christian Gretzinger five-yard touchdown run, the Falcons responded on the ensuing kickoff. Devin Irwin returned the kick 93 yards to the Pirates' two-yard line.

However, the Falcons couldn't cross the goal line in four consecutive runs, turning the ball back over to the Pirates.

"They're a good football team, and they play hard and get after it," Cerco said. "I looked at it as, our effort was phenomenal, [and] we competed."

Gretzinger, who had 154 rushing yards and four touchdowns, scored twice in a span of 1:27 at the end of the second quarter to put the Pirates ahead 21-0 at the break.

"We were there to make plays, and we just weren't finishing at times defensively," Cerco said.

Gretzinger and Jesse Snyder added touchdown runs in the second half to make it 35-0 early in the fourth quarter. JD Donnely added 89 yards on the ground, including 57 after halftime.

The Falcons got on the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter when Tevon Weber found Shane Wittman for a 43-yard touchdown pass.

Weber threw for 68 yards with a touchdown and interception, Hunter Roth tallied 32 receiving yards, and Troy Parton's 11 yards on four carries led the Falcons.

This week, Salisbury will travel to Wilson for a Saturday afternoon kickoff. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.