#15/17 Frostburg (9-1)	vs.	#9/12 Wittenberg (10-0)

NCAA Playoffs First Round
Edwards-Maurer Field  I  Saturday, November 12
Springfield, Ohio  I  12:00 pm

Live Video
Live Stats
Radio - Broadcast by WCBC Radio (Cumberland)

Directions to Wittenberg/Edwards-Maurer Field
Parking  I  Location 1  I  Location 2  I  (Note: Parking lot and locations updated Thursday afternoon)

Frostburg Game Notes
NCAA Playoff Bracket
 

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Setting the Scene
The 15th-ranked Frostburg football team is making just its second-ever trip to the NCAA Playoffs on Saturday after receiving one of five at-large bids to the 32-team field.

The Bobcats, who finished second in the NJAC standings, will travel to ninth-ranked and undefeated Wittenberg for a first-round matchup at noon. The Tigers won the North Coast Athletic Conference this fall and are making their second-straight trip to the NCAA Playoffs.

Frostburg (9-1) enters the playoffs with a full head of steam having won five-straight games, while outscoring its opponents 187-30 during that span. The Bobcats capped their regular season last Saturday with a 14-7 double-overtime win over in-state rival Salisbury in the 19th Annual Regents Cup game. Junior Connor Cox tossed a 27-yard touchdown to junior Christian DiPaola in the second OT frame to earn the win.

Wittenberg (10-0) ended its regular season last Saturday with a 47-21 win over Wooster to cap an undefeated regular season. The Tigers outscored their opponents this fall by an average of nearly 30 points per game and they led the NCAC in total defense (304.0).

The game will be broadcast live via stats and video, courtesy of Wittenberg athletics. Fans can also listen to WCBC's (Cumberland) broadcast by clicking on the listen now link on its website, www.WCBCradio.com.

The Series
Saturday's matchup between Frostburg and Wittenberg will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Frostburg is in its 57th year of football, while the Tigers' program has been around since 1892, a span of 124 seasons.

Scouting Wittenberg
Wittenberg finished its regular season with an unblemished 10-0 overall record and is making its second-straight trip to the NCAA Playoffs. The Tigers sit just three spots ahead of the Bobcats in the D3football.com Top 25 poll and are eight spots ahead of FSU in the AFCA Poll.

The Tigers are outscoring opponents by nearly 30 points per game and eclipsed 40 points in six of 10 regular-season games. WU scored more than 40 points in each of its final two games as it downed Ohio Wesleyan (42-23) and Wooster (47-21).

Wittenberg is ranked 22nd in the country in scoring offense (40.0) and averages 434.6 yards per contest in total offense. On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers are ranked 23rd in Division III in scoring defense as they allow less than two touchdowns per game (13.3). The hosts are also fifth nationally in turnover margin (1.40) and have forced 25 turnovers on the season.

Jake Kennedy paces the Tiger offense with 2,615 yards in total offense with 28 touchdowns. He has thrown for 2,487 yards and 24 scores and he has run for another four TDs on 128 yards.

Three different Wittenberg receivers have hauled in at least 30 receptions. Jeff Tiffner leads the unit with 34 catches for 486 yards and two scores, while Liam Duncan has 600 yards on 31 receptions and eight touchdowns.

DeShawn Sarley averages 5.0 yards per carry and has rushed for 767 yards on 152 attempts with six scores.

Jonathan Seay leads the Tigers defense with 82 total tackles, including 9.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Chandler Ferko is a force on the inside with 9.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.

Wittenberg enters the matchup with Frostburg having won 15-straight games at Edwards-Maurer Field.

Scouting Frostburg
The 15th-ranked Frostburg State football team travels to Wittenberg for its first NCAA DIII playoff game since 1993. The Bobcats earned one of the five at-large bids after capping the 2017 regular season at 9-1 overall and 8-1 in conference play.
 
Fourth-year head coach DeLane Fitzgerald enters his first-ever playoff matchup with a 29-12 (.707) career record as the coach of the Bobcats, including a 19-2 (.904) mark since 2016.
 
Frostburg claimed the Regents Cup for the second-straight year from in-state rival Salisbury last week with a 14-7 double overtime road win. The win was the fifth-straight for the Bobcats, who have outscored opponents 187-30 in that span.
 
The junior tandem of Connor Cox and Christian DiPaola connected for the game-winning 27-yard touchdown strike in the second overtime period to lift Frostburg to the 14-7 victory. The Bobcat defense limited the potent Sea Gull rushing attack to nearly 50 yards under their season average and forced a late fumble to seal the win.
 
The Bobcats led the NJAC in scoring offense (35.0) and have shown a good balance between the run and pass. Overall, Frostburg has converted 56 first downs through the air and 50 on the ground. Junior QB Connor Cox ranks second in program history with 51 career touchdown passes and has tossed 22 this season. Junior wideout Sergio Andino has emerged as the Bobcats top receiving option with 455 yards and 10 touchdowns while junior running back Jamaal Morant leads the rushing attack with 703 yards and seven touchdowns.
 
Frostburg ranks ninth in the nation and leads the NJAC in total defense (233.0). The Bobcats, who rank 13th in the nation in rushing defense, have limited seven teams to 10 points or less this season and rank 15th in NCAA DIII in scoring defense (12.2). Junior defensive back Josh Scales is the team's leading tackler (62) while senior defensive back Dante Chinnery is second on the team with 48 stops this season.

A Closer Look At Wittenberg
The Wittenberg Tigers are the second-winningest program in NCAA Division III history with 754 wins since starting its football program in 1892. Saturday's hosts are also sixth in DIII history with a .672 all-time winning percentage.

Wittenberg has claimed five national championships (1962, 1964, 1969, 1973, 1975) and has finished as the national runner-up twice (1978, 1979). The Tigers have posted 59 winning seasons since 1955 and have collected 503 wins during that time.

Wittenberg has an all-time record of 22-16 in the NCAA Division III Playoffs.

Pulling Rank
Frostburg moved up one spot to 15th in this week's D3football.com Top 25 poll and the Bobcats remained at 17th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 poll.

The Bobcats were ranked 16th a week ago in the D3football.com poll and jumped ahead of undefeated Case Western this week. Frostburg has held strong at 17th in the coaches poll for the last three weeks.

The Bobcats were ranked 17th in the D3football.com preseason poll and they have spent the entire season ranked inside the top 20. The Bobcats were also ranked 15th in the Street & Smith's Preseason Poll, 16th according to the Lindy's Poll and were tabbed 19th in the College Football Yearbook Preseason Poll.

O-H-I-O
Frostburg hasn't lost to a school from the Buckeye State since 1987 when the Bobcats were defeated by Dayton. Since '87, Frostburg is 4-0 against schools from Ohio, most recently defeating Case Western Reserve in both 2012 and 2013. The Case Western Spartans are not only in this year's 32-team NCAA field, but are in the Bobcats' eight-team region of the bracket.

The Last (and First) Time In the NCAA Playoffs
Frostburg's only other appearance in the NCAA Playoffs came back in 1993 and that squad finished at 10-2 overall. The Bobcats posted their first-ever NCAA Playoff win in the first round in dramatic fashion by rallying with 19 fourth-quarter points for a narrow 26-25 win at Wilkes.

After falling behind 25-7 after three quarters of action, Frostburg started its rally when junior quarterback Gilbert Telleria scored from a yard out to narrow the deficit to 25-13 early in the fourth. With 4:41 left, senior halfback Kevin Bellamy posted a 14-yard scoring run that further narrowed the deficit to 25-20. Both scores were setup by Wilkes turnovers and the final touchdown came when freshman Chris Jackson blocked a punt at the Wilkes 21 and junior Germain Norman scooped up the loose ball and raced 20 yards for the game-winner.

In the second round of the playoffs, Frostburg hosted undefeated Washington & Jefferson and the winner would be crowned as the top team in the NCAA South Region.

The Presidents built a 14-0 lead and limited Frostburg to just one touchdown in a 28-7 W&J win. Freshman E.J. Fuller caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Telleria early in the second quarter that narrowed the score to 14-7. However, Washington & Jefferson scored two more touchdowns and finished the afternoon with 359 yards of offense.

Head Coach DeLane Fitzgerald
DeLane Fitzgerald is in his fourth season at the helm of the Frostburg State football program in 2017 and his impact has been immediate. The Bobcats finished 4-6 overall in '14, posted a 6-4 mark in 2015 and rolled to an impressive 10-1 overall mark a year ago. FSU capped the '16 season with nine-straight wins, a share of the NJAC Title, the 18th Annual Regents Cup trophy and the Asa S. Bushnell Bowl Game trophy.

Frostburg hasn't just improved in the win/loss column, but the team GPA has improved every semester since Fitzgerald became head coach. Fitzgerald and his staff also see vast improvements in the weight room and around campus and in the town of Frostburg in terms of volunteer hours.

On the field, the Bobcats posted some of the most impressive numbers last fall. The FSU defense finished ninth nationally in total defense after holding opponents to just 240.6 yards per game. The Bobcats also led the nation in tackles for loss per game (10.7), and allowed just 13 points per game, good for the sixth-best scoring defense in Division III.

Fitzgerald also placed an emphasis in special teams since the day of his arrival at Frostburg. Following the '14 season, the Bobcats finished 17th in the nation in blocked kicks (6) and they finished 18th following the '15 campaign (6). FSU finished the 2015 season ranked 11th in the country in punt returns (15.63) and 15th in kickoff return defense (14.95). Last season, the Bobcats finished first in the NJAC and 12th nationally in blocked kicks.

Through 10 games this fall, the Bobcats are 13th in DIII in rushing defense (76.1), 11th in blocked punts (3) and fourth in kickoff returns (26.79). The Bobcats are also sixth in the nation in team tackles for loss (9.3), 16th in sacks (3.40), ninth in total defense (233.5) and 15th in scoring defense (12.2).

Fitzgerald's Weekly Quotes
"Our players and coaches are excited to be in the 32-team national tournament. It's what our coaching staff and players have worked towards the last four years and what every player in our program has worked extremely hard for every day the last 12 months. This is a great opportunity to show that we belong on the national stage."

"Wittenberg's football program has a lot of tradition as they have won several national titles and more games than I can count over the history of their program. Current head football coach Joe Fincham has won 200 games in his 20 years as head coach at Wittenberg. We are playing a very good and very consistent football program."

"Offensively Wittenberg executes a multiple personnel/formation spread offense led by quarterback #6 Jake Kennedy, running back #2 Deshawn Sarley, wide receiver #14 WR Erik Anderson and wide receiver #1 Jeff Tiffner. To be successful on Saturday, we must contain Kennedy as he is the key to the success of their offense."

"Defensively Wittenberg executes a 4-3 defense led by defensive end #95 Chandler Ferko, linebacker #10 Jonathan Seay and linebacker #33 Terrance Crowe. We have to block these three players to have success on Saturday."

"This is as evenly matched a game as there is in the first round of the tournament. Very similar offenses and defenses, and both with very good football players. Should be a great game on Saturday."

A Win Would ...
- Lift the Bobcats to 265-280-8 overall in 56 seasons
- Land Fitzgerald his 30th victory at the helm of Frostburg
- Hand Frostburg its sixth-straight win
- Be the Bobcats' second NCAA Playoff victory
- Be the ninth-straight win away from Bobcat Stadium
- Give Frostburg its second-straight 10-win season
- Land Frostburg its third 10-win season in program history
- Hand Wittenberg its only loss of the 2017 season
- End Wittenberg's 15-game home winning streak

Oh Captain, My Captain
A foursome of Frostburg players will serve as team captains for Saturday's matchup with Wittenberg: senior offensive linemen Jake Townsend and Christian Walsh, senior defensive back Dante Chinnery and senior defensive tackle Niles Scott.

Frostburg Football History
Frostburg is in its 57th year of collegiate football in 2017 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 264-280-8. Prior to Saturday, the Bobcats last appeared in the 1993 NCAA Playoffs and have played in eight ECAC Bowl Games. The Bobcats capped their 2016 campaign with a 10-1 overall record that included a lopsided 38-14 win over then 22nd-ranked St. John Fisher in the ECAC's Asa S. Bushnell Bowl Game.

The '17 season marks the third year for the Bobcats as a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). It was announced in March 2014 that Frostburg, along with Christopher Newport, Salisbury and Wesley, would become associate members of the NJAC beginning with the 2015 season. Southern Virginia joined the conference a year earlier in 2014.

The NJAC also contains Rowan, Montclair State, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), William Paterson and Kean.

Prior to the NJAC, the Bobcats competed in the Empire 8 from 2011-14 and the Atlantic Central Football Conference for 12 seasons from 1999-2010, capturing league titles in 1999, 2003 and 2004.

Spreading the Wealth
Frostburg enters the playoff matchup with Wittenberg ranked 49th in the country in points per game (35.0). Since their early October loss to Wesley, the Bobcats have rebounded in an impressove way and they are outscoring their opponents 187-30 during their current five-game winning streak

The Bobcats have scored over 40 points in three games this season, the first team to do so since 1994.

Six different players have scored a rushing touchdown for Frostburg this fall and eight players have hauled in a scoring pass. First-year defensive end Zach Strand returned a fumble 75 yards for a score against Montclair and senior Jordan Proctor pounced on a loose ball in the end zone for a score in the season opener against Stevenson.

On offense, junior Connor Cox has thrown 22 touchdowns and his favorite traget is classmate Sergio Andino. On the ground, junior Jamaal Morant has rushed for a team-high seven touchdowns, while classmate Grayson Boyce has found the end zone six times.

Third Down Success
The Bobcats have had plenty of success on third down this season on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, the Bobcats are 28th in the nation in third down conversions at 46.5%, converting 67 of 144 attempts. On defense, Frostburg is allowing opponents to convert just 20.2% (24-119) of their third downs, a mark that is second in the country.

All He Does Is Catch Touchdowns
Bobcat junior receiver Sergio Andino transformed in mid-October into one of the nation's top wideouts after recovering from an early-season injury. Since his first catch against Wesley on Oct. 7, Andino has hauled in 28 passes for 455 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has scored in six-consecutive games and has pulled down two TD passes in four of those contests.

He is finding the endzone on one of every 2.8 receptions and is currently 39th in the nation in touchdown receptions.

On the Defensive
Through the 10-game regular season, Frostburg has held its opponents to 761 rushing yards on 312 carries, a 2.4 yard per carry average. The Bobcats are 29th in the nation in rushing defense, holding three opponents to negative yardage this fall while allowing just two rushing touchdowns on 312 rushing attempts.