Frostburg State (3-5, 1-1)
vs.
No. 23 Salisbury (7-2, 1-1)
Tenth Annual Regents Cup
Annapolis, Md. - 7:00 pm
Naval-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Live Stats
http://www.sidearmstats.com/frostburg/football
Game Notes
http://www.frostburgsports.com/custompages/football/salisbury%20game%20notes.pdf
Setting the Scene ...
Frostburg State returns to the field after snapping a ten game conference losing streak as it defeated Apprentice 20-7, last weekend. The Bobcats look to double thier win total of the last two seasons as they shoot for their fourth victory this season. Currently, FSU has the second toughest schedule in NCAA Division III sitting only behind opponent Salisbury.
Salisbury comes into the contest ranked No. 23 in the NCAA and looking to improve its record to 9-2. The Sea Gulls had last week off to contemplate a 36-21 loss to ACFC power Wesley. SU will come out looking to show their power as a top 25 program against the FSU defense as the Sea Gull offense averages over 450 yards per game.
The Series ...
The Sea Gulls come into this weekends contest on a four game winning streak within the series. They lead the overall series at 16-19-0. The Bobcats will look to get on the board early and often as Salisbury has owned the overall points margin outscoring FSU 130-60 since 2004.
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).
Coach Sherman Wood is in his tenth season as the head coach of the Salisbury University football program. Coach Wood is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a combined record of 60-33 through nine seasons. Coach Wood led the Sea Gulls to their sixth straight winning season last season and the school's first NCAA postseason appearance since 2004.
In nine years at his Alma Mater Coach Wood has won back-to-back Atlantic Central Football Conference championships (2004, ‘05), led the Sea Gulls to three NCAA tournament berths (2002, '04, '07), the ECAC Southeast Bowl Championship (2005) and the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl Championship (2006).
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 224-228-8 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 225-228-8 record all-time
- Cut into the Sea Gulls series lead to and bring series to 17-19
- Snap the Salisbury four-game series winning streak.
- Give FSU as many wins as it registered in 2006 & 2007 combined
A Loss for Frostburg State would ...
- Drop the FSU all-time record to 224-229-8
- Extend the Sea Gulls series winning streak in the series to five games
- Give Salisbury 20 wins in the series
Sticky Fingers ...
Frostburg State leads the conference in turnover margin as they have gained on 18 turnovers compared to the 14 the team has lost. The Bobcats have a +0.50 per game turnover margin.
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 29th in pass efficiency in the NCAA. Brosnan has become the first 1,500+ yard passer for FSU since the 2005 season.
Seeing Red ...
The FSU offense currently sits just behind the Sea Gulls in red-zone scoring with an 84.2 percent success rate. The Bobcats have seven rushing touchdowns and six passing from within the 20 yd line. Salisbury holds a slim edge over FSU as they convert 85.4 percent within the red-zone. The Sea Gulls are not as balanced though, as they have rushed for 29 TDs and passed for only two.
Tackle Monster ...
Junior George Feiser (Hagerstown, Md./Smithsburg) has made a strong impression in his first season with FSU. Feiser is second in the conference averaging 7.2 tackles per game and 58 tackles overall.
Feiser will lead the defense this week against the rushing attack of Salisbury that has accumulated over 3,500 yards and leads the conference in most offensive categories.
No Fly-Zone ...
The FSU secondary leads the ACFC with ten interceptions this season as they have five of the top seven pass defenders in the conference.
Freshman Rashad James (Washington, Md./Anacostia) hopes to continue his solid first season as he leads the conference with eight pass breakups.
The Bobcat pass defense also boasts the ACFC leaders in
interceptions with freshman Kevin Mathews (Temple Hills, Md./Oxon Hill). Mathews is 32nd in the NCAA with his 0.57 interceptions per game.
Head of the Class ...
Junior reciever Makiha Cooper (Baltimore, Md./Forest Park) leads the ACFC in receiving yards per game at 85.8.
Cooper has 686 total receiving yards in the first eight games gives him the most receiving yards since 2000.
Punt of Payne ...
Junior punter Nick Payne (Frostburg, Md./Northern Garrett) has been keeping pace with national leaders as he has averaged 38.42 yards per punt this season with a long of 65 yards.
Last Time Out ...
Frostburg, Md. – Junior Bryan Brosnan (Leesburg, Va./Heritage) tossed a pair of touchdown passes late in the second quarter to guide Frostburg State to a 20-7 victory over Apprentice in Atlantic Central Football Conference action, Saturday at a cold and cloudy Bobcat Stadium.
The victory hands FSU (3-5, 1-1) its first ACFC win since the Bobcats defeated Buffalo State 27-26 in 2005. The Builders fall to 1-7 and 0-3 in the league with their sixth-straight loss.
After a missed field goal on its first drive and two punts on its next two possessions, Frostburg State got its offense going late in the second quarter.
With a little over five minutes left in the half, senior fullback Donnie Snyder (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) recovered a fumbled punt return at midfield and Frostburg State needed just five plays to find the endzone for a 7-0 lead.
Brosnan hooked up with junior wideout Avery Willie (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) for a 40-yard touchdown strike as FSU took advantage of its best starting field position of the opening half.
After a three and out for the Builders, the Bobcats started at their own 38 yardline and need just four plays to score its second touchdown in as many series.
Sophomore running back Anthony King (Germantown, Md./Northwest) rushed for 11 yards on the first play and Brosnan connected with senior tight end Ben Tate (Camp Springs, Md./Crossland) for 34 yards down to the Builder 17. Two plays later, Brosnan lofted a pass into the corner of the endzone and junior Makiha Cooper (Baltimore, Md./Forest Park) came up with his sixth score of the season as the Bobcats moved ahead 14-0.
Junior kicker Matt Winnegar (Frostburg, Md./Beall) booted a pair of field goals in the third quarter and the Builders cracked onto the scoreboard early in the fourth to cap the scoring.
FSU led in total yards 355-294 and the Bobcat defense held the Apprentice rushing attack to just 74 yards on 25 carries and forced four turnovers.
Winnegar’s first field goal came with 5:45 left in the third quarter from 18 yards and he followed it with his second with only 25 seconds remaining in the quarter from 34 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball junior Chindy Agugua (Gaithersburg, MD/Watkins Mill) and freshman Kevin Harris (Joppatowne, Md./Joppatowne) led the way with seven tackles a piece. Senior Mike Lorentzen (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) had a great day on senior day as he contributed four tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
