NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Randall Smedley rushed for 250 yards and four touchdowns for visiting Salisbury University as they knocked off The Apprentice School 31-7 in an Atlantic Central Football Conference action on Saturday at Apprentice Field.
The Sea Gulls cashed in on a Paul Moore interception return that gave the visitors the ball at the Builder 21. Apprentice School tightened up on defense and forced a 30-yard field goal from A.J. Rosenthal with 11:11 left in the first quarter.
Salisbury benefitted from a turnover to gain possession at the Builder two yardline. Smedley scored his first touchdown on a one-yard plunge with 4:02 left for a 10-0 advantage.
After a scoreless second quarter, the Sea Gulls broke through as Smedley scampered 80 yards for a touchdown with 3:42 left to take a 17-0 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Smedley scored on a five-yard run with 11:17 left and a seven-yard run with 2:17 left to put the guests ahead 31-0.
Apprentice School forced the Sea Gulls into seven turnovers, six fumbles and an interception but were never able to cash in off a turnover. The Builders scored following Smedley's fourth touchdown on a six-play, 74-yard drive as freshman Trey Tillman connected with senior Bryan Cain for a 27-yard scoring pass with one minute left in the game.
Tillman threw for 234 yards completing 19-of-30 passes. Cain was the leading receiver with eight catches for 92 yards, while Al Little caught six for 79 yards. Freshman Izhia Roundtree was the leading rusher for Apprentice School with 28 yards. Defensively, Aaron Finley had seven tackles, including two for a loss of seven yards. Freshman Brock Bulllock and sophomores Johnathan Jones and Robert Balarabe had six tackles each.
The Builders now hit the road for the next four games, starting in Dover, Delaware against third-ranked Wesley College in a 1 pm kickoff on October 9.
Salisbury 31, Apprentice School 7 Salisbury 10 0 7 14-- 31 Apprentice 0 0 0 7-- 7 First Quarter S: Rosenthal 30 FG, 11:11 S: Smedley 1 run (Rosenthal kick), 4:02 Third Quarter S: Smedley 80 run (Rosenthal kick), 3:42 Fourth Quarter S: Smedley 5 run (Rosenthal kick), 11:17 S: Smedley 7 run (Rosenthal kick), 2:17 A: Cain 27 pass from Tillman (Foor kick), 1:00 A: 2829 SAL APP First Downs 17 15 Rushes-Yds 51-420 37-(-35) Passing Yds 0 234 Att-Cmp-Int 5-0-1 30-19-1 Return Yds 72 74 Punts-Avg 2-39.5 7-35.9 Fumbles-Lost 8-6 2-2 Possession Time 24:38 35:22 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: Salisbury, Smedley 21-250; Griffin 14-79; Woolson 4-48; Briscoe 3-24; Benedetti 1-8; Coates 1-6; Anderson 1-6; Jones 5-5; Norwood 1-(-6); Apprentice, Roundtree 19-28; Fedd 6-8; Fullard 1-3; Shahlamian 1-2; Stacy 1-(-1); Team 1-(-2); Foor 1-(-7); Tillman 7-(-66). PASSING: Salisbury, Griffin 0-4-1-0; Team 0-1-0-0; Jones 0-0-0-0; Apprentice, Tillman 19-30-1-234. RECEIVING: Apprentice, Cain 8-92; Little 6-79; Shahlamian 3-24; Roundtree 2-39.