The Salisbury football team dropped it’s second game of the season, falling 31-14 at Saucon Valley to fall to 0-2 on the season.

The Falcons fell behind early as the Panthers’ senior quarterback Dante Mahaffey ran the ball in for the opening score of the game just a few plays after Salisbury’s opening drive ended with a blocked punt.

Salisbury then put together a long but unfruitful 11-play drive that ended in a turnover on downs. Saucon Valley took over and marched 54 yards in 12 plays, capping the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Mahaffey to senior receiver Eternal Aris, making the score 14-0.

The Falcons put together another long drive, going 66 yards in 10 plays before the Panthers stopped them, forcing another turnover on downs.

The Panthers’ offense continued moving the ball effectively as it stormed 81 yards down the field before missing a field goal with just seconds left in the half.

Salisbury’s quarterback junior Nick Beck took a knee on the following play, sending both teams to the locker room with Saucon Valley leading 14-0 at half.

Salisbury received the opening kickoff of the second half and wasted no time putting points on the board.

Beck connected with senior tight end Jake Gibbons for 37 yards, ran for 21 yards on the next play and then hit senior running back Chase Fenstermaker with a pass for a 14-yard gain.

Beck finished the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown, bringing the score to 14-7.

Saucon Valley answered back on its next drive picking up 60 yards and wrapping up the drive with senior running back Damian Garcia rushing for a 14-yard touchdown, putting the Falcons back down by 14.

The Falcons failed to advance the ball on their next drive, going three and out.

The Panthers then made the score 28-7 with their next drive as Mahaffey completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Alexander Magnotta.

Salisbury would answer back with a drive of its own as the offense slowly worked its way down the field with a 12-play drive that covered 80 yards and ended with Beck finding sophomore receiver Jacob Bucchin on a 20-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 14 points.

Saucon Valley put three more points on the board when its senior kicker Jacob Christopher nailed a 32-yard field goal, making the score 31-14, which is where it would stay.

The Falcons will look to bounce back and break into the win column next week as they face Notre Dame (Green Pond).

This will be a tough matchup for Salisbury as the Crusaders have proved to have a high-powered offense scoring 47 points in their opener against Saucon Valley and 53 points last week against Southern Lehigh.

The Crusaders put up a similar score when they played the Falcons last year, winning 51-22.

The Falcons will need to find a way to contain Notre Dame’s senior quarterback Collin Quintano, who threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns in his teams win on Friday.

They will also need to find a way to get the offense going earlier as the team failed to put up any points in the first half this week and was completely shutout in the season.

Salisbury hosts Notre Dame Friday at 7 p.m.