A win is a win, and a loss is a loss at the end of the day. But sometimes a loss can have a positive effect on a team.

Take last Friday night for example. When Salisbury hosted unbeaten Notre Dame (Green Pond), one of the Colonial League’s top teams and a highly-ranked squad in the state, not many expected the host Falcons to come out with a win.

And while Salisbury didn’t take down the unbeaten Crusaders, the Falcons may have opened some eyes in front of their home crowd. Due in large part to their defensive play, the two teams played to a scoreless game at halftime before Notre Dame scored two touchdowns in the third quarter en route to a 31-0 victory.

“We just sat down on Sunday night and did some talking to come up with this plan defensively,” head coach Andy Cerco said. “We sold it to our kids. They bought in, and that’s evident in how they played. Even here at the end I think we had a couple of stops. Our kids could have folded again, and they don’t.”

Notre Dame, which accounted for 40 plays compared to Salisbury’s 20 in the first half, moved the ball at will between the 20-yard lines in the first two quarters. But once the Crusaders got near the red zone area, the Falcon defense was there to make a stand.

The Crusaders’ first drive, a nine-play march that reached Salisbury’s 33-yard line, looked to be a prelude to a touchdown for the high-scoring offense. Instead, quarterback Cole DeFranco’s pass was intercepted by Christian Butz.

On their next series, a Falcon stop on fourth down ended a Crusader 12-play drive without a score.

“We need to play like that every week,” Cerco said. “We need to find a way to play like that every week, and then we’re sitting here having a different conversation.”

DeFranco led the Crusaders down the field on Notre Dame’s ensuing drive, but his fumble on the 10th and final play of that drive once again turned the ball back over to Salisbury. Shane Simononis was credited with the strip, while Peter Forestieri recovered the loose ball.

The Crusaders drove down to Salisbury’s 6-yard line on their next possession, but Salisbury’s defense was there for a key fourth-and-two stop.

Despite the defensive stops flowing one after the other, Salisbury’s offense struggled in the first half. The Falcons gained just 86 total yards compared to 232 for the Crusaders and didn’t cross midfield.

“We said we’re going to have to score, whether it’s on defense, special teams or offense,” Cerco said. “It didn’t matter where the score came from.”

Salisbury’s offensive woes continued in the second half, however, as the Falcons ran into three-and-outs on three of their first four drives. The Crusaders finally found pay dirt midway through the third quarter when running back Mitch Daniel scored from eight yards out to put the visitors ahead 7-0. Daniel scored again just minutes later, this run from 21 yards out, that put Notre Dame in front 14-0 with just under a minute remaining in the quarter.

Then, a couple of Salisbury turnovers helped Notre Dame pull away. After a lost fumble by Falcon quarterback Cam Vaka, DeFranco threw his first and only touchdown pass to make it a 21-0 game. A fumble on Salisbury’s next drive, and a Crusader field goal made it a four-score lead with 6:15 to play in regulation.

Despite the scoreless effort against Notre Dame, there were opportunities for the offense to light up the scoreboard. There were two instances in the second half where Falcon running back Timmy Buda got behind the Crusaders’ secondary and had plenty of field in front of him, but a couple of overthrown balls kept Salisbury’s scoring threats at a minimum.

“That’s why we continued to call that play because it was there,” Cerco said. “Schematically what they were showing us, that play was there. That just comes down to timing, reps together, and all that stuff.”

Salisbury looks to get back in the win column and move to .500 against Palisades on Friday night. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Palisades High School.