FROSTBURG, Md. – Frostburg State fell behind by 22 points and couldn’t recover before losing 22-7 to Buffalo State in Empire 8 football action, Saturday on Homecoming.
Box Score
The Bengals (4-4, 2-3 E8) built a 22-0 lead before the Bobcats (3-4, 1-4 E8) found the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Frostburg tied its longest drive of the game, marching 75 yards on 11 plays. Sophomore Ken Emmons capped the drive with a two-yard scoring pass to freshman Haydan Roberts.
Buffalo State scored twice in the first quarter for a 9-0 lead. Nate Benoit booted a 26 yard field goal at 10:25 and Casey Kacz hooked up with Ryan Carney for a 39 yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion try failed and the visitors led 9-0.
Neither team produced any points in the second quarter, but Buffalo State scored on its opening drive of the third quarter. The Bengals collected the longest drive of the afternoon by either team as they drove 77 yards on 12 plays. Backup quarterbacl Ryan Lehotsky tossed a nine yard touchdown to John Beers for a 15-0 edge.
Buffalo State capitalized on a turnover on downs by FSU for its final score of the game. The Bengals needed just 34 yards and Sherman Nelson ran in from 11 yards out for the 22-0 advantage.
The Bobcats took the ensuing kickoff and moved 75 yards for their only score.
Frostburg totaled 272 yards of offense. Junior Chuky Iweh and sophomore JD Hook powered a Bobcat ground attack that ran for 175 yards on 33 rushes. Iweh finished with 97 yards on 13 attempts while Hook carried the ball 14 times for 92 yards.
FSU missed a pair of scoring opportunities in the first half that might have produced a different outcome. The Bobcats drove 75 yards but failed to score on fourth down at the Buffalo State one. Two drives later, Frostburg drove to the Bengal eight, but a 25 yard field goal hit the right upright and bounced back onto the field.
Buffalo State totaled 439 yards of offense, behind 295 through the air. The Bengals also rushed for 144 yards on 31 carries. Lehotsky finished with 158 yards passing on 12-of-24 attempts and one score. Rich Pete led the way with 73 yards on nine carries.
Defensively, senior Brendon Blanchette made nine stops to lead the Bobcats, while sophomore Tavis Henry finished with eight tackles. Both players finished with 0.5 tackles for loss.
Frostburg State returns to action next Saturday when it hosts St. John Fisher at noon.
