Last week, Salisbury played its best half of football since head coach Andy Cerco's took the helm three years ago. it came in the final 24 minutes against Saucon Valley.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, the road doesn't get any easier even though they'll be returning to their home turf.

A week after facing last season's Eastern Conference Class AAA champion Panthers, the Falcons host a Palisades (0-1) squad that finished as District 11 Class AA runners-up and won eight games in 2013.

The Falcons are hoping last week's success late in the game is a turning point for a squad that has struggled over the past few seasons. If the final two quarters are any indication, although extremely early in the season, the Falcons may have fully bought into Cerco's system and finally found their niche.

"During our film session on Sunday, we reviewed Friday night's game and the only thing we did was we played the second half straight through," Cerco said. "When we took the lead 36-33, we cut the film off and said this is the expectation. This is what we expect Salisbury football to look like from now until those guys are done. That is the intention. That is the expectation.

"Saucon Valley is a playoff team from last year. We went out and competed with them, and we sent a message."

A big part of the Pirates' success last season rode on the legs of running back Christian Gretzinger. After a season in which the Colonial League Second-Team selection ran for a school record just under 1,600 rushing yards, Gretzinger returns for his senior season.

Last week against Southern Lehigh, Gretzinger finished with 27 yards on nine carries.

"They have a pretty good running back," Cerco said. "He is a quick kid. We noticed watching film that he is a downhill runner, and if he has a crease, he hits it hard. If our defense is able to build a flat wall and make him run sideline to sideline, he's a lot easier to track down and tackle.

"Seeing him last year, our kids kind of understand what he is like as a running back first-hand. A lot of our players are returners."

However, while the Pirates' top running back returns after posting 21 rushing touchdowns last season, much of that starting offensive line in 2013 is not. Tackles Ben Henry (First Team) and Barry Weaver (Second Team), guard Wyatt Schilling (Honorable Mention) and center J.T. Lynch (Honorable Mention) were all selected to the Colonial League All-Area team. Schilling is the lone returner of that group.

Junior quarterback Austin Krauss led the Pirates last week going 9-for-15 with 107 yards through the air. Junior wideout Devin Ramsden benefited the most from Krauss' day. Ramsden led the Pirates with 61 receiving yards on five catches.

"Their receivers are a pretty talented group," Cerco said. "Their quarterback is pretty good, and he throws a nice ball. He seems to have good rhythm with his receivers."

Last week, the Falcons rushed for a total of 201 yards. Devin Irwin recorded a team-high 95 yards on eight carries, while Shane Wittman finished with 94 on the ground on just four attempts.

In all, five running backs attempted carries against Saucon Valley. Expect the Falcons to adopt a similar game plan against the Pirates this week, while looking to keep that balance from a week ago.

"That's pretty much how we're going to be running things this year, a running back by committee," Cerco said. "We have two halfbacks and a fullback. We try to distribute the ball evenly, and they all rotate.

"He [Tevon Weber] is a talented quarterback. Our goal going into every game is to be balanced. In order to do that, he's got to throw the ball around 20 or more times a game. We're not going to be a team that throws twice."

Friday is "Race for Adam Night" as well, with donations going toward the Race for Adam Foundation.