Frostburg (3-4, 1-4 E8)
vs.
Alfred (3-3, 1-3 E8)

Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014
Yunevich Stadium - Noon

Frostburg Game Notes
Live Video & Stats
 

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Setting the Scene
Frostburg State travels to Alfred this Saturday (12:00 pm) to close out the month of October.

The Bobcats sit at 3-4 overall on the season after defeating both Geneva (24-19) and Shenandoah (20-10) in their first two contests and knocking off 25th-ranked Ithaca last Saturday on Homecoming in double overtime (38-37).

Alfred sits at 3-3 overall and 1-3 in the league after winning its first three games and dropping its last three. The Saxons posted wins over Husson (34-17) and RPI (34-31) before opening conference play with a 29-21 win over Buffalo State. AU has since lost three-consecutive times, all in conference, including a 45-42 loss to Brockport last Saturday.

The Series
Saturday's matchup between the Bobcats and Saxons will be the sixth meeting between the schools and the previous four meetings have come in the least four seasons since FSU joined the Empire 8. The two teams first met in 1993 in the season opener for both schools and Frostburg left Alfred wth a 33-31 win.

Alfred holds a slim 3-2 edge in the series.

It's A New Day
DeLane Fitzgerald was named Frostburg's 13th head football coach following a national search in January 2014. Upon his arrival at Frostburg, Fitzgerald quickly filled out his coaching staff and began recruiting his first class. He also set about raising the team's G.P.A. through new study hall rules.

On the field, Fitzgerald has Frostburg off to a 3-4 start. The Bobcats defeated Geneva (24-19) and Shenandoah (20-10) in their first two games before upsetting 25th-ranked Ithaca last week in double overtime (38-37).

Fitzgerald came to Frostburg following an eight-year stint at Southern Virginia in Buena Vista, Va., including the last five seasons as head coach. Prior to his arrival, SVU averaged just two wins per season and after his fifth year, Southern Virginia finished 8-2 and was ranked No. 1 in the United States Collegiate Athletic Conference coaches' poll.

Fitzgerald also has coaching stints at Bethel University (Tenn.), Tennessee-Martin, James Madison and the Bridgton Academy (Maine).

Frostburg Football History
Frostburg is in its 54th year of collegiate football in 2014 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 238-272-8. The Bobcats appeared in the 1993 NCAA Playoffs and have played in seven ECAC Bowl Games, the last coming at Bobcat Stadium against Moravian in 2005.

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

A Win Would ....
- Lift the Bobcats to 239-272-8 overall
- Be the second four-win season for Frostburg in four years
- Hand FSU its 16th win over a school from the state of New York (15-37-1)
- Even the series with Alfred at 3-3

Empire 8 Update
All nine Empire 8 football schools opened their 2014 seasons with a week-one victory. Following last weekend, however, the Empire 8 Athletic Conference is without an undefeated team. St. John Fisher and Buffalo State sit at 5-1 overall, while Salisbury, Ithaca and Brockport are 4-2.

This Week In The Empire 8
All nine Empire 8 teams are in action in week eight of the 2014 football season and eight schools are in conference play. Salisbury visits Ithaca, Frostburg travels to Alfred, Hartwick hosts Brockport and Utica will visit Buffalo State. St. John Fisher travels to Alfred State for a non-league tilt.

Salisbuy at Ithaca - Noon
Frostburg at Alfred - Noon
St. John Fisher at Alfred State - 1:00 pm
Brockport at Hartwick - 2:00 pm
Utica at Buffalo State - 2:00 pm

Empire 8 Preseason Poll
The Frostburg State football team was picked to finish ninth in the 2014 Empire 8 Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll released in late August. St. John Fisher received eight of the nine first-place votes along with 64 points and was picked to win the league title. Salisbury (53 pts.) and Ithaca (52 pts.) round out the top three.

The Coaches
Fitzgerald hit the ground running following his hire at Frostburg State and he quickly filled out his staff with some of the nation's top coaches. Tye Hiatt (OC/QB), John Kelling (DC/LB) and Peter Mayer (ST/DB) will serve as the Bobcats' coordinators. Joining them are Ben Crowder (RB), Sam Daniels (DT), Pete Hansen (DE), Angelo Luvara (T/TE), Nate Sievers (OL), Tyler Condiff (Asst. LB), Kenny Johnson (WR), Tyler Stevens (Asst. WR), Dernard Bryan (Asst. OL), Victor Andersen (Asst. DB) and Tim Arnold (Asst. RB).

Preseason All-American
Frostburg has had several players named Preseason Division III All-Americans by USA College Football over the last few years and this summer junior linebacker Rowan Pinkett was named to the preseason third-team defense.

Pinkett had a breakout season last fall after leading the Bobcats and finishing fifth in the Empire 8 with 104 total tackles. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Empire 8 Second Team. He averaged 10.4 tackles per contest and finished with 10 or more tackles in five games.

Pinkett picked up in week one where he left off a year ago, finishing with 12 total tackles, one tackle for loss with a forced and recovered fumble against Geneva. Those numbers earned him both Empire 8 and ECAC Northeast Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Following seven games, Pinkett leads the Bobcats and is fifth in the league with 61 total tackles. He also paces the conference with three recovered fumbles.

Behind Enemy Lines
Following seven weeks of the 2014 season, sophomore defensive end William Sewell is tied for third in the conference with 7.0 tackles for loss. He is also tied for third with 4.5 sacks.

Secondary Force
After forcing a pair of fumbles against 25th-ranked Ithaca, Bobcat junior defensive back Salaman Riddell is tied for the Empire 8 lead with three force fumbles on the season.

I'll Take That
The Frostburg State defense has generated nine turnovers in seven games this season, five fumbles and four interceptions.

Where The Bobcats Rank
Blocked Kicks - 6
- Sixth in Division III
- First in the Empire 8

Fewest Penalties Per Game - 5.14
- 41st in Division III
- Second in the Empire 8

Time of Possession - 31:41
- 56th in Division III
- Fourth in Empire 8

Junior DL Roland Kamara
    - Ranked seventh in the nation and leads the Empire 8 with two blocked kicks

Junior LB Rowan Pinkett
    - Ranked second in Division III and leads the Empire 8 with three recovered fumbles

Calling the Signals
Senior Ken Emmons returns for his third year as the starting quarterback for the Bobcats and has the talent around him to have his best season to date. He enters his final season ranked ninth in program history in passing yards (2,866), eighth in touchdown passes (18) and seventh in career completions (218).

A year ago, Emmons accounted for 1,718 yards in total offense and 13 total touchdowns. He threw for 1,338 yards and nine touchdowns. Over the past two seasons, Emmons has also rushed for 626 yards and seven touchdowns.

Through seven games, Emmons has accounted for 1,091 yards in total offense and eight touchdowns.

On The Horizon
Frostburg State University, along with Christopher Newport University, Salisbury University and Wesley College recently agreed to become associate football members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) beginning in the 2015-16 academic year. In addition, Southern Virginia will be an affiliate member of the NJAC starting in the fall of 2014 and will elevate to associate member in 2015-16.

Frostburg State currently competes in the Empire 8 as an affiliate football member and will begin its fourth season of competition in the league this fall (2014). The other associate football members, like FSU, compete primarily in the Capital Athletic Conference; the CAC does not sponsor football.

With the addition of the five schools in 2015-16, the NJAC will increase its football membership to 10 institutions, including full-league members Kean University, Montclair State University, Rowan University, The College of New Jersey and William Paterson University.

Last Time Out
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014     -     Frostburg 38, Ithaca 37 (2 OT)

FROSTBURG, Md. - Now that's an exciting Homecoming and signature win first year head coach DeLane Fitzgerald can build a program around.
 
Senior Keith Smith blocked an extra point in the second overtime and senior Ben Sasu and sophomore Isaac Robinson combined for the game-winning touchdown and extra point to hand Frostburg State a thrilling 38-37 double overtime upset of No. 25 Ithaca, Saturday on Homecoming.
 
Frostburg erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime and snap a four-game losing skid. The Bobcats (3-4, 1-4 E8) were outgained in totals yards (325-241) and time of possession (32:47-27:13), but it didn't matter because FSU made key plays when it mattered the most.
 
"This win gives our players something to believe in and lets them know that what our coaching staff is teaching works," said Fitzgerald. "I expect to build off of this win and continue to get better each week."
 
The first big play of the afternoon came on Ithaca's opening series when junior Salaman Riddell jarred the ball loose from Ben Cary and freshman Niles Scott picked it up and rumbled 30 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
 
Late the in the second quarter, Frostburg used another big play, this time on offense to tie the ballgame at 14-14 at intermission. Senior quarterback Ken Emmons scampered for 17 yards into Ithaca territory on third and six and six plays later, he connected with junior wideout Myles Burgess for a 19-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left in the half.
 
The Bombers (4-2, 3-2 E8) kicked a 28-yard field goal in the third quarter and Tristan Brown scored from a yard out to open the fourth quarter as Ithaca built its lead to 10, 24-14.
 
Frostburg began its comeback on its first possession of the fourth quarter. Emmons found Sasu for a 42 yard pass down the home sideline that led to a 28 yard field goal from Robinson that cut the Ithaca lead to 24-17.
 
After holding the Bombers to a three and out, that included a nine yard sack on third down from Scott, Frostburg collected the longest drive of the afternoon by either team and tied the contest at 24-24. FSU started the march at its own seven and on third and 10, Emmons found sophomore Austin Bonsall for 82 yards to the Ithaca 11. The duo hooked up again several plays later, when on third and 19, Emmons floated a pass to the corner of the end zone for Bonsall for a 20 yard score.
 
In overtime, Sasu rushed for a pair of touchdowns, one in each overtime frame. He found the end zone from 10 yards out in the first OT, before Ithaca evened the score when Mike Lopez caught a one yard touchdown.
 
Vito Boffoli hauled in a four yard scoring pass for Ithaca to open the second overtime session, however, Frostburg seized the momentum for good as Smith blocked the extra point attempt that set Frostburg up for the win.
 
Sasu ran twice in the second overtime, first for 13 yards on first down and his second attempt measured just one yard but handed the Bobcats six points and tied the game at 37-37. Robinson calmly knocked home the extra point for the win.
 
FSU entered the game ranked fifth in Division III in blocked kicks, so it came as no surprise to Fitzgerald that his team was due for one at the most crucial time.
 
"We spend more time on special teams and blocking kicks than anyone in the country. Today it paid off at the end of the game. There were a lot of good plays made today by both teams, our team just made one more play at the end of the game."
 
Emmons completed 15-of-25 passes for a season-high 241 yards and two touchdowns, while Sasu finished with 28 yards rushing and two more scores. Bonsall hauled in 114 yards and the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth.
 
"Obviously our players and coaching staff are excited about the victory, but our staff is most proud of the fact that our players competed on every single play of the game and that's what intercollegiate athletics is all about."
 
Tom Dempsey led Ithaca with 325 yards passing (31-of-43) and four touchdowns, while Brown ran for 91 yards on 25 carries.
 
The Bobcat defense limited the Bombers to just 57 rushing yards on 34 carries and sacked Dempsey five times. Scott finished with five total tackles, three for loss, two sacks, including the first quarter fumble recovery for a touchdown. Sophomore J.R. Lowery posted 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and five stops. Ridell added 12 tackles, 11 solo, one tackle for loss and two forced fumbles.