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Football vs. Ithaca

Football

Football Travels to No. 23 Ithaca for Sixth Game of Season

Frostburg State (2-3)
at
No. 23 Ithaca (4-1)

Saturday, October 18, 2008
Butterfield Stadium - 1:00 pm
First-Ever Meeting


Frostburg State Game Notes - Click Here

Live Stats - Visit the home of the Bombers at http://bombers.ithaca.edu/ or click on the link: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/ithaca/football

Television - All Ithaca football games will be streamed over the internet through Stretch Internet at http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=ithaca&o=cal_stamp

Radio - WICB broadcasts all football games during the 2008 season at http://www.wicb.org/.


Setting the Scene
The Bobcats come into the contest looking to get back to .500 as they sit at 2-3 for the season. The FSU defense will have its hands full as they will face a prolific and balanced air attack from the Bombers. The Bobcats have not faced a balanced air/ground attack like that of Ithaca since the opening week at Washington & Jefferson.

Ithaca comes into the contest after a convincing 41-6 victory over Norwich in which tailback Dan Ruggiero rushed for a career high 101 yards. The win brought the Bombers back into the top 25 poll as they enter the week at No.23.

The Series
This contest marks the first matchup in the series between the two teams. Both teams have extensive football histories marked with NCAA appearances and great winning traditions.

The Coaches
Tom Rogish is in his first season as head coach of the Frostburg State University Bobcats. The 12th coach in FSU's 47-year history, Rogish brings over 30 years of coaching experience to the sidelines at Frostburg including 29 years in the collegiate ranks.

Rogish began his collegiate coaching career at Juniata (Division III), but has spent the last 22 years at the Division II level at perennial powers Indiana (Pa.) and Shepherd (W.Va.).

Prior to his arrival in Frostburg, Rogish spent two years on the defensive staff at Shepherd College. The Rams made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2007 including a run to the NCAA Division II Northeast Region championship (2007). Shepherd finished 2007 with one of the top defenses in the country. The Rams were 25th in scoring defense (19.9), 13th in turnover margin (1.2) and 41st in total defense (321.3).

Ithaca coach Mike Welch enters his 13th season with an overall record of 97-35. He has built a reputable program that is always a contender for the Empire 8 championship. Last season he led the Bombers to an NCAA birth where his team lost to national powerhouse Mount Union in the first-round.

What the Coaches are Saying
The Frostburg State football team was picked to finish fourth in the 2008 Atlantic Central Football Conference preseason coaches poll.

Three-time defending champion Wesley recieved five first-place votes to win the conference, while Salisbury picked up three. Both teams have been receiving votes in national preseason polls as the Wolverines have been as high as third and in the top six in all polls, while the Sea Gulls have been in the top 15 in all polls.

2008 ACFC Preseason Coaches Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Wesley 6 (5)
2. Salisbury 9 (3)
3. Apprentice 14
4. Frostburg State 18


Frostburg State Football History
Frostburg State is 223-226-8 all-time in the programs 48-year history.

Home Grown Talent
FSU’s roster consists of 97 players from six different states. The largest number coming from Maryland (88) while neighboring Pennsylvania (4) comes in second.

Here is a breakdown of the FSU roster:
Maryland - 88
Pennsylvania - 4
Virginia - 3
Washington, D.C. - 1
Delaware - 1

A Win for Frostburg State would ...
- Lift FSU to a 224-226-8 record all-time
- Give the Bobcats their first 3-3 record since 2005
- Hand Coach Rogish his first two game winning streak
- Improve the record to 11-15-1 against teams from New York

A Loss for Frostburg State would ...
- Drop the FSU all-time record to 223-227-8
- Give Frostburg State an 0-3 record against ranked opponents this season
- Increase New York teams lead to 16-10-1 against FSU all-time

ACFC Woes ...
Frostburg State comes into the game on an 11-game ACFC losing skid. The Bobcats have not posted a conference victory since a 27-26 victory over Buffalo State in 2005.

Rubber Road Game
Frostburg State snapped a five-game road losing streak with a 21-13 win last week at Southern Virginia. This season the Bobcats are 1-1 away from Bobcat Stadium and are being outscored 62-42 in the two games.

This will be the third road game of the season and FSU will look to continue to improve away from home as they have scored 21 points in each away contest this season.

Leading the Bobcats ...
Junior Bryan Brosnan (Leesburg, Va./Heritage) steps into the spotlight and takes over the quarterback duties for the Bobcats this fall. He picked up his first career win against SUNY Brockport earlier this season.

Brosnan also comes into this week ranked 20th in pass efficiency in the NCAA. After last week Brosnan became the first 1,000 yard passer for FSU since the 2005 season.

Tackle Tale...
The Bobcats defense brings three of the top six tacklers from the ACFC ...

2.) Terryl Monroe- 40
3.) George Feiser- 38
6.) Mike Iheakanwa- 34

No Fly-Zone...
Freshman Rashad James (Washington, Md./Anacostia) will continue his hot start as he leads the conference with seven pass breakups, which will be pivitol against Bomber quarterback Dan Juvan who is averaging over 210.8 yards per game.

Head of the Class...
Junior reciever Makiha Cooper (Baltimore, Md./Forest Park) leads the ACFC in receiving yards per game at 89.2, which is also good enough for 53rd in the country.

Cooper's 446 total receiving yards in the first five games gives him the most receiving yards since Adam Snyder had 480 yards for the entire 2004 season.

Punt of Payne
Junior punter Nick Payne (Frostburg, Md./Northern Garrett) has been keeping pace with national leaders as he has averaged 40.81 yards per punt this season. Payne curently ranks 19th among punters nationally and is leading the ACFC.

Last Time Out...
BUENA VISTA, Va. - Sophomore Anton Wade (Baltimore, Md./Patterson) scored a pair of touchdowns, Frostburg State caused five turnovers and found the endzone three times in the second half to rally past Southern Virginia and spoil its Homecoming with a 21-13 victory, Saturday afternoon.

The win is the second of the season for the Bobcats as they improve their record to 2-3 overal while the Knights drop their fifth-straight game and sit at 1-6. The Bobcat victory evens the series at 1-1 as SVU won last year's meeting 35-20.

SVU outgained the Bobcats in total offense (461-312), rushing yards (226-99) and passing yards (235-213) but FSU turned two fourth quarter interceptions into touchdowns.

Frostburg State trailed 13-7 when junior Chindy Agugua (Gaithersburg, Md./Watkins Mill) changed the momentum of the game for FSU as he picked off a Luke Taylor pass at the Bobcat four-yard line. The Bobcats then marched five plays in 77 yards for the go ahead touchdown as junior quarterback Bryan Brosnan (Leesburg, Va./Heritage) connected with senior fullback Donnie Snyder (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) for his first career score as FSU took a 14-13 lead (7:02).

On the first play of the ensuing SVU drive, Taylor was intercepted again, this time by sophomore Jim Lohr (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) at the Bobcat 44. Frostburg State then used 11 plays to move the 56 yards to the endzone. Wade scored his second touchdown of the afternoon from a yard out to give the Bobcats a 21-13 lead with 2:34 left.

On the final drive of the game, Southern Virginia advanced the ball down to the Frostburg State 27-yard line but Agugua came through with his second interception of the game at the FSU 15 to seal the win for the Bobcats.

Wade finished the game with season-highs in yards (91), carries (17), touchdowns (2) and average yards per carry (5.4). Brosnan, who entered the contest ranked 11th among NCAA Division III quarterbacks in passing efficiency, completed 17-of-29 passes for 213 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Agugua didn't make a tackle on the afternoon but came up big wth two interceptions and now leads the team with three on the season.

Southern Virginia got on the board first when Taylor found Brett Petty for a five-yard touchdown on its second drive for a 6-0 lead and the only score in the opening half of play. Senior linebacker Brendan Clancy (Ellicot City, Md./Mt. Herbon) blocked the extra point and the Knights led 6-0 at the break.

Frostburg State, which struggled offensively in the first half, got it going in the second half as it took its opening drive 54 yards in seven plays for a 7-6 lead as Wade scored his first touchdown of the game. SVU answered on its next possession with an 11-play 76-yard scoring drive as Petty hauled in a 16-yard scoring pass from Taylor as the Knights retook the lead 13-7.

Kline, sophomores Terryl Monroe (Temple Hills, Md./Dematha) and Michael Joseph (Hyattsville, Md./Northwest) and freshman Jon Simpson (Derwood, Md./Covenant) led the way with six tackles each while Kline added a tackle for loss and an interception.
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