After a heartbreaking loss to Pen Argyl in week one, Salisbury was looking to take out a little frustration on the Northwestern Tigers Friday night. The game started with the Tigers prowling up and down the field to jump out to a 21-0 lead after their first three possessions, but ended with a much more competitive 28-14 final score.

Northwestern had good field position for all three of its opening drives, including starting their third drive of the game from the Salisbury 29-yard line. Meanwhile, Salisbury gained just 21 yards on its first three drives before the Falcons put together a sustained drive early in the second quarter to cut the Tigers lead to 21-7.

On the 72-yard drive, Tim Buda gained 46 yards on the ground, including a two-yard dash into the end zone. He also ripped off a 29-yard jaunt early in the drive to move the Falcons into Northwestern territory.

“Tim has just been fantastic,” said coach Andy Cerco. “He runs hard and he’s tough to bring down, just a tough athlete and he was big for us tonight.”

Buda finished the night with 106 yards on 16 carries for Salisbury.

The early deficit didn’t seem to bother the Falcons as they fought nearly all the way back.

Northwestern put together a 65-yard drive in the middle of the third quarter and quarterback Devon Bollinger hit Tyler Lobach on a seven-yard touchdown pass and Connor de Wit added the extra point to make it 28-7, but again Salisbury didn’t seem to be fazed.

On the next drive, a big kickoff return set them up at the Northwestern 42-yard line and they marched down to the 10-yard line where on second-and-goal, Chad Parton rushed into the end zone to make it 28-14.

“This team doesn’t look at what’s already happened,” said Cerco. “We coach them to get those things out of their head, good or bad things, and focus on what we’re doing now. Whether it’s last week or the last play, there’s nothing that’s going to change that and you have to just focus on what’s in front of you.”

The Salisbury defense struggled to stop the Tigers’ Nick Henry, who put together his second straight 100-plus yard game for Northwestern. The Falcons also allowed 126 yards passing by Bollinger.

Offensively, the Falcons were unable to complete a pass in the second half and were intercepted twice in the first quarter and three times overall in the game.

There were a total of 18 penalties in the game, 11 of them on Salisbury. Both teams were unhappy with the officials at times.