Salisbury head coach Andy Cerco and the Falcons know that a similar start to last week’s victory over Pen Argyl isn’t a recipe for success.

The Falcons were able to respond from an early 14-0 deficit against the Knights over the weekend to win 35-14. But as Salisbury (3-2) travels to Northwestern (3-2) to take on one of the top teams in the Colonial League on Friday night, the Falcons have to get off to a faster start if they hope to have success on the road.

“That’s always important in any game, to start fast,” Cerco said. “Hopefully we can pull it together and come out with a similar start to two weeks ago [against Bangor].

“One thing that was extremely important was that the players stayed the course. They understood what we’re capable of doing, and they really understood that what occurred early in the game wasn’t the end of the world. It shows a good amount of resiliency.”

Northwestern’s offense goes through running back Harry Hall, one of the top ball carriers in the league. Through five games, the senior tailback has accumulated 745 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground on 103 attempts for an average of seven yards per carry.

In last week’s showdown against unbeaten Saucon Valley, Hall ran for 116 yards and accounted for two of the Tigers’ three touchdowns.

“He’s a good running back. That’s the bottom line,” Cerco said. “He does a really good job with their scheme. They do a lot of things with motion to gain an advantage. Overall he’s a talented football player.

Northwestern’s offensive attack isn’t as one-dimensional as some of the run-heavy teams that Salisbury has already faced. Tiger quarterback Dylan Snyder has thrown the ball 52 times this season, completing 28 of those passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns.

It’s an offense in which Cerco and the Falcons have to prepare for both phases, but in particular Hall’s ability out of the backfield. Snyder is a productive runner as well, tallying 240 yards and three scores at the midway point of the season.

“He’s right there with the best running backs in the league,” said Cerco.

Dylan Lobach has been the Tigers’ most productive wideout, hauling in a team-high 156 yards and three touchdowns. Joe Colucci leads the team in receptions with 10 for 109 yards, and Trevor Cunningham has found the end zone twice.

“The player they have at quarterback now is a good quarterback and understands their system,” Cerco said. “He understands what they’re trying to accomplish offensively. Their coaching staff does a great job of coaching them up in both the running and passing games. There are a lot of things that we need to account for defensively.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Northwestern’s Tiger Stadium.