It may have been Salisbury's worst loss of the season, but Friday's 47-15 defeat to unbeaten Northwestern brought to light a number of positives.

Head coach Andy Cerco's team battled for the entire game; the Falcons found themselves within two touchdowns at halftime, although a number of dropped touchdowns should have made that score even closer. And according to Cerco, it was the first time since he took over that "we played a very physical game."

But in the end, the loss on Friday night at Salisbury High School dropped the Falcons to 3-3 on the season, while the Tigers (6-0) remained unbeaten as divisional play got underway.

"Overall I think this is a learning experience for us," Cerco said. "We came up against a really good team. Looking at the scoreboard it doesn't look like it, but we played well and with them. We played to their level.

"They made plays and sometimes we didn't. This is going to help us down the line."

After getting to within 20-8 in the final minute of the half, the Tigers broke away in the final 24 minutes with touchdowns on four of their five drives.

It was Northwestern's duo of quarterback Frank Dangello and wide receiver Cam Richardson who continued their dominance after connecting on two touchdowns in the first half.

Richardson took his second carry of the game early in the third quarter, and capped off a quick three-play scoring drive with a 57-yard touchdown scamper to make it 27-8 just 1:20 into the half. Following a lost Falcon fumble, Dangello hit Richardson on a 21-yard slant for a score with 4:25 to go in the third. The duo hooked up once again 2:31 later for their fourth scoring connection and a 40-8 advantage.

Richardson tallied 194 total yards for the Tigers (123 receiving and 71 rushing) along with five touchdowns.

"He's a great player," Cerco said of Richardson. "He'll be playing college football somewhere."

Quarterback Tevon Weber (211 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions) threw his second touchdown of the game early in the fourth that brought it to 40-15. After turnovers by both teams on the following drives, Tyler Foster ran in a score from seven yards out.

Early on it was a game of missed opportunities for the Falcons. The Tigers muffed their first punt return opportunity, but were able to recover the ball in the Falcons' territory. After a turnover on downs on that drive, the Falcons dropped a potential first-down catch deep in Northwestern territory.

The Tigers once again muffed the ensuing Falcons punt. This time Salisbury recovered at their own 2-yard line. But two rushes for zero yards, a holding penalty, and a dropped pass in the end zone resulted in a missed 26-yard field goal in a scoreless game with 4:37 to play in the first.

"Sometimes our players make great plays, and sometimes it's a night where we drop a lot of balls," Cerco said. "That's what happened there. They are a good team, and up front they're physical."

The Falcons had three more drops in the second quarter, one of which was a sure touchdown and one inside the Tigers' 10-yard line that could have resulted in a score, too.

When the Tigers regained control after the Falcons' first miscue, Dangello threw back-to-back scores to Richardson to build a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Dangello rushed for a 9-yard touchdown on the next drive, before Weber found Shane Wittman on a 20-yard scoring strike just before half.

"There were a couple of other balls that if they were caught, we would have scored probably," Cerco said. "That's why you play the game. Some nights it just doesn't work out in your favor."

Coming in, the Falcons knew it would be tough generating a consistent rushing threat against the Tigers' defensive front. Looking at the box score, the Falcons did rush for 115 yards, but a large chunk of that was with the game out of reach.

"We had some difficulty running the ball, and we kind of knew we weren't going to be able to necessarily match up with them man for man," Cerco said. "So we tried to get the ball outside a little bit. They did a good job of defending it."

Wittman led the Falcons with 91 receiving yards. Mason Donaldson caught four balls for 86 yards. Teddy Denver ran for 36 yards on seven carries to pace the running game.

Harry Hall led all rushers with 141 on the ground for Northwestern, and Dangello threw for 145 yards and four scores.