When Andy Cerco took over as Salisbury head coach, the challenges stared him in the face. The writing was on the wall for everyone to see.

Prior to his first season in 2012, Salisbury endured back-to-back letdown seasons that resulted in a 1-19 combined record in 2010 and 2011. The four seasons before Cerco’s arrival all saw the Falcons finish below .500, including another winless campaign in 2008.

But when the former Parkland assistant arrived in Salisbury, he had a vision that would change the culture of Falcon football. And after two adjustment seasons to open his career at Salisbury, the tides started to turn in Salisbury’s favor. The Falcons won a game in his first year, two in 2013, and nearly reached that .500 plateau (for the first time since 2007) last year.

This fall, everything came to fruition in the Falcons’ seven-win regular season, their most league wins since 2001.

“We are so proud of what they’ve done,” Cerco said. “Their four years here have really changed the face of Salisbury football. Being able to earn a spot in the district playoffs, secure a 7-3 regular season, those are all positives.

“Although we don’t like to lose the [District 11 Class AA semifinal] game, there are a lot of positives throughout the year overall.”

The last time Salisbury finished a season with a winning record was in 2006, winning the Eastern Conference tournament and finishing with a 7-5 campaign. The last time a Falcon team finished the Colonial League with a winning record was four years earlier in 2002 (6-4).

Playoffs are a feat that every team strives for on a yearly basis. Some are gifted with the talent to make postseason appearances year after year, while others aren’t as fortunate.

Prior to Friday’s game against Northwestern, the Falcons’ last postseason appearance was in the 2009 district tournament. As the No. 7 seed, Salisbury fell to Northern Lehigh. Two years earlier it was the same outcome against a Lansdale Catholic team in the quarterfinals. Salisbury also qualified in 2001, which was the last time it won seven regular season games, but the outcome was another one-and-done situation.

But while the Falcons have yet to secure that coveted district tournament win, the positives are evident across the board.

“I’m overwhelmingly proud of what they’ve accomplished as a group together,” Cerco said. “They’re an amazing group of kids. They’re a fun group of kids to be around. It’s great that you qualify for the playoffs, but there’s only four teams that end the season with a win.

“Obviously you want to make the playoffs ever year. But to win a state championship in Pennsylvania and end your season with a win, there’s a lot that goes into that.”

There’s also a lot that goes into turning around a program that hadn’t been accustomed to winning. When Cerco took over the program, this group of seniors was entering its freshman year. Four years later and those upperclassmen have been at the forefront of leading this comeback charge to being relevant once again.

Plenty of school records were broken along the way, too.

It starts with quarterback Tevon Weber, who set the single-season record for passing touchdowns this year with 28, breaking Kyle McFarland’s mark set in 2006. He also capped his career with 53 passing scores, another program record. His favorite target in the passing game has been Mason Donaldson, who has the single-season receiving touchdown record (13) and career receiving touchdowns (23). Offensive coordinator Andy Doran estimates that Devin Irwin, who has scored virtually every way on offense, defense and special teams, has near 30 career touchdowns, which is likely a record as well.

“They have an amazing amount of talent,” Cerco said. “They have a lot of football to play in front of them. They’re all going to go on and have college careers, and they’re all going to be successful in life because of the characteristics they possess.”

As a team, the Falcons’ 355 points scored is a program record. And to the best of Doran’s knowledge, so is the 56 points against Catasauqua in Week 8.

Weber, Donaldson, Irwin, Shane Wittman and Kyle Hartzell are receiving interest from colleges to continue their football careers.

The seniors certainly paved the way for the future of Falcons, but their departure won’t end their success. As plenty of underclassmen coming up figure to play huge roles for the Falcons next year, including Alex Kubinec, CJ Wittman and Tyler Thomas, among a number of others.