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Rowan trailed by one with 2:48 left, 70 yards from the end zone and with two third-and-12s still ahead of it. Nate Maiers converted both, and Nigel Jennings ran the last 8 yards with 56 seconds to go.
Rowan's defense then sacked SyRus McGowan on fourth down to seal a 26-21 win over No. 12 Salisbury in the D3football.com Top 25 on Saturday at Sea Gull Stadium. The Profs spoiled Salisbury's homecoming and snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series. It was their first win over the Sea Gulls since 2016 and their first in Salisbury since 1992.
The Profs moved to 4-1 and 2-0 in the NJAC, while Salisbury fell to 4-1 and 1-1.
The Profs got a gift on Salisbury's first snap. Justus Peyton forced a fumble and Amir Reason-Dallas recovered at the Salisbury 35, but Tahmir Jones blocked the 51-yard field goal that followed. AJ Ryker intercepted McGowan later in the quarter, and Maiers ran in from 7 yards out for a 7-0 lead.
McGowan ran Salisbury back into it. He scored from 12 yards with seven seconds left in the first quarter. Jennings answered with a 47-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1, and McGowan tied it again from 2 yards out. Ezra Williams-Thomas picked McGowan off with 5:56 left in the half, but the Salisbury quarterback broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown run at the 2:00 mark. Salisbury led 21-14 at the break.
That was all Salisbury got. Rowan held the Sea Gulls to 63 yards after halftime.
Maiers hit Jackson Gallagher for a 5-yard touchdown with 11:19 left, but the extra point missed and Salisbury still led 21-20. The Sea Gulls then turned it over on downs at the Rowan 30.
That set up the winning drive. Maiers found Luke Hoke for 18 yards on the first third-and-12 and Michael Zarfati for 14 on the second. He then scrambled for 18 more, and a targeting penalty on Salisbury's Dylan Lyerly moved the ball to the 12. Jennings took it from there. The two-point try failed, and Rowan led 26-21.
Salisbury had one more chance. A Rowan penalty on the kickoff gave the Sea Gulls the ball near midfield, and they drove to the Rowan 21. Reason-Dallas and Carter Williams combined on a sack, a delay of game pushed Salisbury back, and Giaini Derameaux dropped McGowan on fourth-and-16 with seven seconds left.
Maiers finished 18 of 36 for 197 yards. Jennings carried 11 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns, and linebacker Xavier McBride made 10 tackles and forced a fumble.
McGowan ran 18 times for 92 yards and three touchdowns but completed just 9 of 24 passes for 146 yards. Kris Paul led Salisbury with 11 tackles.
Salisbury fell to No. 21 in the poll, and Rowan entered at No. 24. Voters still weighed Rowan's 35-14 home loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor in the opener.
Rowan had come close in the last two meetings. Salisbury won 42-35 at home in 2024 and 31-28 in Glassboro last fall. This time the Profs made the last stop.
"I think the 21-point home loss to UMHB caps how high the Profs can go," D3football.com's Keith McMillan, a Top 25 voter, wrote on X.
The win puts Rowan in a three-way tie with Christopher Newport and Montclair State at 2-0 in the NJAC, whose champion gets an automatic playoff bid. Rowan still plays both, at Christopher Newport on Oct. 31 and at home against Montclair State on Nov. 13. First it hosts Kean on Saturday. Salisbury plays at Castleton.
