Salisbury averaged right around 30 points per game last season. The Falcons have upped that to 35 points per game this season. One of the keys is the passing of senior quarterback Tevon Weber, who has thrown for just under 700 yards this season.

The passing game presents a challenge for Northwestern (3-2), but much of the challenge comes in making sure that Weber’s favorite target, Mason Donaldson, is covered. Donaldson has caught the lion’s share of Weber’s passes this season, pulling down 20 of the 47 completions that Weber has made. After Donaldson, no other Falcon receiver has more than seven catches to their credit.

“They’re a team that likes throwing the football,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “We just have to work on us and try to get better. If we focus on what we need to do, we can put a dent in their passing game.”

Northwestern holds a decided defensive advantage in the game, coming in ranked second in the Colonial League. Salisbury (3-2), meanwhile, is third from the bottom. While the Tigers defense is especially tough on opponents’ rushing attacks, they are somewhat unheralded in what they can do against the pass. The Northwestern secondary is strong on their own, but they’re made better by a strong, veteran front line putting pressure on quarterbacks.

Weber is also much more of a stay in the pocket type quarterback than some of the ones that Northwestern has faced recently, making the pass rush that much more effective.

On both sides of the ball, Northwestern will be missing Chet Karpyn, who will miss at least a few more weeks with an injury. As normally happens with the Tigers, coach Snyder has been able to work down the depth chart to find players who can rotate in and fill holes. But those players don’t fill Karpyn’s size.

“We just have to realize that Chet’s not there for us right now,” Snyder said. “We don’t make excuses, we just go to the next in line and we expect our back-up guys to be ready. If you’re going to be a good team you have to have guys ready to step in, and we’re fortunate that we have guys who can do that.”

Quarterback Dylan Snyder was also banged up late in the game against Saucon Valley last week, suffering a right shoulder injury that made it difficult for him to even take a snap, let alone throw the ball. With Snyder hurting and Karpyn out, the Tigers may simply put things on the back of Harry Hall and let him run as much as possible.

Hall is well within striking distance of two school records, both belonging to Brett Snyder, the brother of coach Snyder. Hall needs 140 yards to break Snyder’s career record of 4,281 yards rushing yards. He’s also just four touchdowns shy of Snyder’s 51 career touchdowns, another school record. In addition to those school records, Hall has an outside shot at reaching the 5,000 yard rushing mark, which has only been accomplished once in the Colonial League, by Northern Lehigh’s Cody Remaley. Hall is currently 859 yards shy of 5,000, meaning he would need to average 171 yards per game over the five remaining regular season games to reach the mark. He’s averaging 154 yards on the ground per game.

After playing at home this week, the Tigers are back on the road against Southern Lehigh in Week 7. The 140 yards that Hall needs are definitely within reach of setting at home against Salisbury, but the four touchdowns might need to wait. Of course, when Hall sets his mind to something, it’s generally a safe bet that he’ll get there.