SALISBURY TOWNSHIP - One stat jumped out from Friday's box score more than anything else. And that was the deciding factor in a pivotal Colonial League football clash with district playoff implications on the line.

Despite out-gaining Salisbury in total yards and seeing the Falcons commit nine penalties, Northern Lehigh committed five turnovers that led to 17 Salisbury points. Devin Irwin of Salisbury returned two of the Bulldogs' four lost fumbles for touchdowns en route to a 39-29 win at Salisbury High School."We weren't ready to play a football game tonight," head coach Joe Tout said. "That's on me. Our kids weren't ready. The turnovers were uncharacteristic and that was the game. The two biggest things for us were the turnovers and I didn't think we tackled real well."There's still three weeks left of the season and plenty of football remaining, but Friday's outcome brought the Bulldogs (4-3) and Falcons (4-3) tied in the District 11 standings.The fumbles started early for the Bulldogs, and once the ball started hitting the turf at Salisbury, the avalanche soon followed.Holding a 23-22 lead after scoring the opening touchdown of the second half, the Bulldogs were deep in Salisbury territory looking to take an even bigger lead. Instead, Young's second lost fumble of the night ended up in Irwin's hands, who scampered 75 yards the other way untouched to put Salisbury back ahead at 28-23.Northern Lehigh stayed the course and retook the lead early in the fourth quarter on quarterback Chad Cederberg's third rushing touchdown of the game. But it took the Falcons just 18 seconds to regain the lead for good when Irwin opened Salisbury's next series with a 63-yard scamper to the end zone."Give them a lot of credit in that first half," Tout said. "There quarterback is a special player and he made a lot of plays. The second half was just not good."You can't give up two defensive scores. You're not going to win that, and that bit us tonight."Northern Lehigh capitalized on its unique option-pitch game with Cederberg and Young, but their miscues handling the ball came out of their basic offensive formation."The option wasn't the fumbles," Tout said. "The fumbles were in the I stuff. Every time we fumbled was in the I."We're going to see who wants to be there tomorrow morning," Tout said. "See what kids are going to want to be there, and see what kids are ready to work. Tomorrow is not going to be a fun morning, but we'll see what we're made of.NEARLY IDENTICAL ... Cederberg (131 yards on 24 carries) and Young (134 yards on 23 carries) capped their night's with nearly the same amount of carries and yards in the running game. Both, however, combined for six fumbles, four of which were handed over to the Falcons.STREAK OVER ... Friday night's win was the first time Salisbury defeated Northern Lehigh in nine years and strengthens their bid for a potential district playoff appearance. Salisbury (.539) moves up to No. 3 in the power rankings, while Northern Lehigh (.506) falls to fifth.ALL-AROUND PLAYMAKER ... Irwin, Salisbury's tailback, strong safety and main returner in the kicking game, has scored every way this season besides a punt return and throwing score.