The focus for the College of New Jersey football team this fall has been one play at a time, a series, a quarter and a game.

Well, the one game everyone has been waiting for is on the Lions Stadium turf on Saturday when Salisbury visit for a 2pm kick-off.

The No. 6 Gulls are 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. TCNJ is on their heels at 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Besides this being a key game in the conference standings and the Lions’ final home game of the season, there is a little bit of revenge on Salisbury’s side as the Lions won last year 36-27.

“It would be foolish not to build on that experience,” TCNJ coach Eric Jendryaszek said of last year’s win over Salisbury, the Sea Gulls’ first since joining the NJAC.

“Prove it can be done and then how we did it,” Jendryaszek added. “But, this might be the best Salisbury team we’ve seen in a while. Our message is that at the end of the day, it will come down to who executes the game plan best.”

Despite falling behind early last week at Gettysburg, the Lions worked the game plan and won 41-31.

“There are takeaways from every win and every loss, and it was great to see that we didn’t flinch and panic,” Jendryaszek said of the Gettysburg victory. “The defense did their job and we were able to come out and execute, which was awesome.”

What makes this weekend such an exciting game is that these two are the top offensive teams in the conference. Salisbury is averaging 48.4 points and the Lions are scoring at a 33.4 clip.

Salisbury averages an NJAC-best 328.6 yards a game and the Lions average an NJAC-best 334.3 yards a game.

TCNJ came a little closer in the ground game last week when Jayson Schmidt gained 247 yards against Gettysburg, scoring four touchdowns and earning Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“We’ve been waiting for this and it was great to see him reach his potential,” said Schmidt’s Jendryaszek. “Hopefully we can keep it going as we go into the final games. It’s good because it forces the team to choose how they’re going to play us offensively. We are happy where we are and still there are things we can fix.”

Emotions will run high in this game and Jendryaszek knows that if they can’t be controlled, they must be contained.

“We have to focus on every possession,” Jendryaszek said. “For us the reason this game is important is because it’s the next one. We cannot look ahead to William Paterson or Christopher Newport. There will be a lot of excitement in this game and the key will be who does the best.”

It’s been two straight years that the Lions have been in the title chase at the end of the season and there’s plenty of credit to be had.

“It’s great to be in this position, but because of our players, our coaches and our work ethic, it just didn’t happen,” Jendryaszek said. “Once the season ended last year, the guys coming back worked hard and put in the effort and it’s great to see their hard work pay off.”

Another win at Salisbury would be a huge reward.

TCNJ Gameday

WHO: The College of New Jersey (5-2, 2-1 NJAC) vs. No. 6 Salisbury (7-0, 4-0 NJAC))

WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m., Lions Stadium, Ewing

COACHES: TCNJ’s Eric Jendryaszek (1st season, 5-2, 2-1 NJAC) and Salisbury’s Sherman Wood (26th season, 189-79 at Salisbury)

SERIES: TCNJ leads the series 8-6, including a 36-27 win last season

LAST WEEK: Lions beat Gettysburg 41-31, Salisbury beat Rowan, 42-35.

MEANING: Stay in the race for the conference championship

TCNJ SCOUTING REPORT: The Lions battled back to win at Gettysburg and now face an offensive juggernaut in the Sea Gulls, who average 48.4 points per game. Trevor Bopp, who is the NJAC’s leading passer with 2,331 yards this season, will need to limit interceptions as turnovers will be critical in this game. Jayson Schmidt leads the conference in rushing with 113.1 yards per game, and Bopp’s receivers are among the best in Malin Jasinski, Thomas Burke and Ryan Gill. Dave Giulian leads the defense with 66 tackles, Brandon Kuse leads with 5.5 sacks and Justin Kurc has five interceptions. The Lions did a good job creating turnovers and that will be a key against the Seagulls. TCNJ has players and will need to have some big plays and the defense will need to slow down the Salisbury offense.

SALISBURY SCOUTING REPORT: The Seagulls are a top offense and the best defensive team in the NJAC and deserve the national ranking. Ronald Clark is averaging 94.9 yards per game and Dario Belizaire is averaging 65.7 per game. Micah Brubaker is the leading receiver with 14 catches for 424 yards. The defense has 19 sacks and is led by Frankie Giannetti with five sacks. They will be tested by TCNJ’s offensive line and will want to keep the pressure on Bopp. They have just five interceptions. The Seagulls are winning games on both sides of the ball and will look to force their will on TCNJ.

KEY POWER: The TCNJ defensive line against the Salisbury offensive line

ADDITIONAL POINTS: TCNJ’s Schmidt was the NJAC Offensive Player of the Week after 247 rushing yards against Gettysburg. …The NJAC announced this week that Vermont State – Castleton won’t join the conference for football until 2025. …Salisbury avenged two of the teams it lost to in 2023. … TCNJ’s Jasinski’s has 65 receptions and that’s back-to-back of 30 by Christopher Newport’s Colin Hart, who is second with 30. …SyRus McGowan was the NJAC Defensive Player of the Week two straight weeks and Jordan Scipio, who played at Notre Dame, was the Defensive Rookie of the Week. …There are 14 players from Jersey, including Scipio and Hightstown’s Joseph Opoku. … Since joining the NJAC in 2015, Salisbury has won the conference five times. …The Lions head to William Paterson next week. …Other NJAC games this week, William Paterson (1-6, 0-3 NJAC) at Christopher Newport (4-3, 2-1 NJAC), Franklin & Marshall (4-3, 2-2 Centennial) at Kean ( 2 -5, 2-2), Montclair State (3-4, 1-3 NJAC) at Rowan (3-4, 1-2 NJAC).

PREDICTION: Salisbury 44, TCNJ 31