#17 Frostburg (10-1, 8-1 NJAC)  vs  #18 Stevenson (9-2, 8-1 MAC)
2017 Season Opener

Bobcat Stadium  I  Admission is Free!
Thursday, August 31  I  7:00 pm
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Frostburg Game Notes
 

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Setting the Scene
Seventeenth-ranked Frostburg State hosts 18th-ranked Stevenson in a much anticipated season-opener for both schools Thursday at Bobcat Stadium. It's the first meeting between the two teams and Thursday night marks the first time Frostburg enters a season ranked inside the D3football.com Top 25 poll.

FSU enters the matchup with a nine-game winning streak that dates back to week three of last season and the streak includes six-straight victories at Bobcat Stadium

Frostburg is also a perfect 6-0 in night games during head coach DeLane Fitzgerald's three seasons at the helm. During his tenure, the Bobcats are 3-0 at home during night games and have outscored their opponents by over 14 points in those three contests.

Last fall, Frostburg capped one of the best seasons in program history with a 10-1 overall record that included a share of the NJAC title, the 18th Annual Regents Cup Trophy and the Asa S. Bushnell Bowl Game Championship following a 38-14 victory over 22nd-ranked St. John Fisher.

Stevenson is coming off a 9-2 campaign that included a trip to the NCAA Playoffs. The Mustangs are in just their seventh season with DIII football as they started the program prior to the 2011 season.

The Series
Thursday's matchup between the Bobcats and Mustangs is the first meeting between the two Maryland schools.

Frostburg is in its 57th year of competition and boasts 255 wins, while Stevenson started football in 2011 and has 34 wins.

Scouting Stevenson
The 18th-ranked Stevenson Mustangs have steadily improved under the direction of seventh-year head coach Ed Hottle. A 1999 graduate of Frostburg State University, Hottle has guided the Mustangs to a 34-29 record during his tenure and won the 2016 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Coach of the Year award. Stevenson concluded the 2016 campaign with a 9-2 overall record with an 8-1 mark in the MAC.

The Mustangs claimed their first-ever MAC football championship with a 28-10 victory over Lycoming and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2016, ultimately falling to Wesley in a first-round playoff matchup.

Behind a spread-style offense, the Mustangs led the MAC in scoring offense (37.5), total points (412) and touchdowns (55) in 2016. Stevenson returns seven starters from last season, including senior wide receiver Preston Addo, who caught 47 passes for 799 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Mustangs return six starters to their 3-4 scheme, which finished third in the MAC in scoring defense (17.5) and fourth in total defense (312.7). Stevenson brings back both its leading tacklers from a year ago in LB Ashton Leschke and DB Izaiha Pitts. Leschke led the charge last season with 88 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and five pass breakups, while Pitts recorded 83 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and one interception.

Scouting Frostburg
Frostburg is in its fourth season under DeLane Fitzgerald. He has increased Frostburg's win total in each of his first three years and his squad enters the season coming off a 10-1 year, and a share of the 2016 NJAC Championship.

The Bobcats finished 2016 as the NJAC's top-ranked total defense by holding opponents to 240.6 yards per game, the ninth-best mark in the country. 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.

On offense, Frostburg finished fifth in the NJAC at 312.5 yards per game behind the league's fifth-best passing attack (172.0 ypg) and fifth-best rushing attack (140.5).

Last season, senior preseason All-American defensive tackle Niles Scott finished third in the NJAC in sacks (9) and fifth in tackles per loss (17.5). Senior defensive end Jordan Procter ranked second in the NJAC and led the Bobcats in sacks (9.5) after a spectacular five-sack performance in the Bobcats' season finale victory over No. 22 St. John Fisher. Procter's 18.5 tackles for loss placed him third among NJAC leaders.

On offense, junior quarterback Connor Cox finished last season second in the conference in total offense by accounting for 199.5 yards per game with 23 total touchdowns. Junior Jamaal Morant led the Bobcat ground game last season with 816 yards on 187 carries and four touchdowns. Senior Russell Neverdon finished third in the NJAC in receiving yards per game (76.8) and fourth in receptions per game (4.5) and yards per catch (17.2). His 10 touchdown catches last season were tied for first in the conference.

Preseason Ranking
Both Frostburg and Stevenson head into Thursday's matchup ranked inside the D3football.com Preaseason Top 25 Poll. The Bobcats check in at 17th, while the Mustangs are one spot back in 18th.

Last fall, FSU finished 10-1 overall and was ranked 23rd in the final D3football.com Top 25 Poll and they reached 24th in the final AFCA Division III Top 25 Poll.

The Bobcats are also ranked 15th in the Street & Smith's preseason poll, 16th according to the Lindy's poll and are 19th in the College Football Yearbook Preseason Poll.

FSU was picked to finish second in the NJAC and received two first-place votes.

Meanwhile, Stevenson is coming off a 9-2 overall record and appeared in the NCAA Playoffs. The Mustangs were ranked 20th in the final D3football.com Top 25 poll.

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.

Fitzgerald's Weekly Quotes
On Stevenson ...
"Stevenson is a well-coached football program, their coaches have done a great job of building a winning mentality and maintaining it."

On the Frostburg offense and defense...
"With 10 starters returning and a couple of new additions, we expect our offense to be more physical and put more points on the scoreboard. On defense, we return seven quality players and several quality backups, we should be good again on the defensive side of the football.

On the matchup ...
"We've been working towards this season since November 18, 2016 and if we are not ready to play on Thursday night, it'll be our own fault. We can be as good as we want to be this fall."

"Stevenson will have as good a passing attack as we will see this fall! #10 Dan Williams is as good as any QB in D3 football. #12 Devin Salisbury, #11 Preston Addo, and #1 Dequan Elison are very good at the WR position."

"Stevenson's LB core all return and they can run, hit, and play. They will be led defensively by #33 Ashton Leschke, #32 Mike Datu, #35 Thomas Camper, and #48 J.T. Arias."

"Thursday night will be like a lot of early season games: execution, turnovers, and special teams will be the deciding factors."   

A Win Would ...
- Lift the Bobcats to 256-279-8 overall in 56 seasons
- Hand the Bobcats their fourth-straight season-opening win
- Lift Fitzgerald's record to 4-0 in season openers at FSU
- Give the Bobcats a 1-0 edge in the series with Stevenson
- Land Fitzgerald his 21st victory at the helm of Frostburg
- Hand Frostburg its 10th-straight win dating back to week three of the 2016 season
- Be Frostburg's third win over a ranked opponent in four seasons
- Keep Frostburg's record perfect in night games (7-0) under coach Fitzgerald
- Hand FSU its seventh-straight home win

Speaking of the NJAC
All 10 NJAC schools are in action on the first weekend of the 2017 regular season and only one matchup is a league contest. Opening weekend features two Thursday and two Friday matchups, while the final three contests will take place on Saturday.

Thursday, Aug. 31
#18 Stevenson at #17 Frostburg - 7:00 pm
#11 Wesley at #20 Delaware Valley - 7:00 pm

Friday, Sept. 1
FDU-Florham at TCNJ - 7:00 pm
Salisbury at Albright - 7:00 pm

Saturday, Sept. 2
William Paterson at RPI - 1:00 pm
Widener at Rowan - 7:00 pm
Christopher Newport  at Southern Virginia - 7:00 pm

Preseason All-American
Bobcat senior defensive tackle Niles Scott has racked up the preseason awards heading into his final season in a Bobcat uniform. Scott received preseason All-American honors from D3football.com, HERO Sports, Street & Smith's and Lindy's Sports.

He capped his junior campaign ranked 47th in the country in TFLs (1.6) and 49th in sacks (0.82).

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

NJAC Preseason Poll
The NJAC released the 2017 Preseason Coaches Poll in early August and Frostburg State was picked to finish second in the 10-team league. The Bobcats received two first-place votes after being selected as the league's dark horse prior to both the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Wesley was selected to finish a top the league standings after receiving eight first-place votes. Salisbury sits one spot behind Frostburg in third, followed by Rowan.

Kean, the 2017 dark horse selection, is projected fifth. Christopher Newport, Montclair State, Southern Virginia, William Paterson and TCNJ round out the poll, slotted at the six through ten spots.

Frostburg Football History
Frostburg is in its 57th year of collegiate football in 2017 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 255-279-8. The Bobcats 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.

Providing Versatility
Senior wideout Russell Neverdon heads into his final season looking to build off a breakout junior campaign. Neverdon hauled in 49 passes for 845 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and garnered Second Team All-NJAC honors.

As a return specialist, Neverdon was named to the All-NJAC First Team after running 25 punts for 229 yards (9.2 avg.) and nine kicks for 175 yards (19.4 avg.).

Talent and Experience On D Line
The defensive line will once again be a strength for the Bobcats in 2017, returning a wealth of experience and talent from last year's group. Seniors Niles Scott and Jordan Procter headline the unit that held opponents to 89.8 rushing yards/game in 2016, the lowest total in the conference by nearly 30 yards. The Bobcats also recorded 118 tackles and for loss and 41 sacks in 2016.

Joining them are senior Pacom Tsague, junior Boakum Vital, freshman Zach Strand and sophomores Paul Kumpar and Walter Riley.

Offensive Line Depth
The offensive line has multiple starters returning   that will take the lead in 2017. Seniors and three-year starters Jake Townsend and Christian Walsh will anchor the left side of the line, junior O'Shane McCall returns at center, junior Joey Powell will get the nod at right guard and junior Riley Hartman will step into the right tackle spot in the season-opener.

Last season, the Frostburg offense averaged 312.5 yards per game in total offense and 24.4 points per game. Townsend was selected to the All-NJAC First Team and was named an ECAC Division III South All-Star.

Under Center
Junior QB Connor Cox is back for his third season as the Bobcats' signal caller in 2017. Cox has proven to be a dual threat quarterback during his career at Frostburg, finishing second in the NJAC with 199.5 yards of total offense per game in 2016.