Frostburg (2-3, 0-3 E8)
vs.
Brockport (2-2, 0-2 E8)

Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium - 1:00 pm

Frostburg Game Notes
Live Video/Stats
 

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Setting the Scene
Frostburg State travels to Brockport N.Y. to take on the College at Brockport in an Empire 8 showdown this Saturday at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium at 1:00 pm.

The Bobcats sit at 3-2 overall on the season after defeating both Geneva (24-19) and Shenandoah (20-10) in their first two contests. FSU has endured three losses since starting conference play to Utica (20-12),  seventh-ranked St. John Fisher (48-7) and Buffalo State (31-14).

Brockport is currently 2-2 overall after opening the season with back-to-back wins over Oberlin (45-10) and Cortland (17-14). However, the Golden Eagles have dropped theri last two games, both in Empire 8 play to St. John Fisher (36-20) and Utica (42-28).

The Series
Saturday's matchup between the Bobcats and Golden Eagles will be the 19th meeting between the schools, but they haven't met since 2009. Brockport currently leads the series 13-5.

Prior to meeting as Empire 8 opponents, Frostburg and Brockport met from 2004-07 as members of the Atlantic Central Football Conference.

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 2-3 start. The Bobcats defeated Geneva (24-19) and Shenandoah (20-10) in their first two games. Over the last three weeks, Frostburg has suffered a trio of Empire 8 losses against Utica (20-12), seventh-ranked  St. John Fisher (48-7) and Buffalo State (31-14).

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 237-271-8. 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 238-271-8 overall
- Be the first 3-3 start for Frostburg since 2005
- Hand FSU its 15th win over a school from the state of New York (14-36-1)
- Be the second road victory of the season (Shenandoah, 20-10)

Empire 8 Update
All nine Empire 8 football schools opened their 2014 seasons with a week-one victory. Following last weekend, however, Ithaca is the only school left in the league without a loss as the Bombers sit at 4-0. Buffalo State (4-1), St. John Fisher (3-1) and Utica (4-1) all boast just one loss.

This Week In The Empire 8
Eight of the nine Empire 8 teams are in action in week six of the 2014 football season and all eight schools are in conference play. Utica travels to Salisbury, Buffalo State visits Ithaca, Frostburg travels to Brockport and Hartwick pays a visit to St. John Fisher.

Utica at Salisbury - 12:00 pm
Buffalo State at Ithaca - 1:00 pm
Frostburg at Brockport - 1:00 pm
Hartwick at St. John Fisher - 1:00 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 five games, Pinkett leads the Bobcats and is sixth in the league with 41 total tackles. He also paces the conference with three recovered fumbles.

Behind Enemy Lines
Following five weeks of the 2014 season, sophomore defensive end William Sewell is tied for the conference lead with 5.5 tackles for loss. He is also third in the league with three sacks and is tied for 21st with 25 total tackles.

Speaking of Defense
Along with Pinkett, the Frostburg State defensive unit returns some of the top players in the Empire 8. Three Bobcats garnered All-Empire 8 honors and three players finished in the top-10 in the league in total tackles. Pinkett led the group with 104 total tackles and Second Team All-Empire 8 honors. Junior safety Marcus Moody earned second-team honors and finished sixth in the conference behind 96 total tackles. Senior safety Keith Smith finished 10th in the conference with 83 tackles. Up front, junior Roland Kamara has started every game since his arrival at Frostburg and he capped his sophomore season with Second Team All-Empire 8 honors and 30 tackles. Junior defensive back Salaman Riddell will help bolster the secondary after pacing the league with 62 solo tackles last season.

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

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 five games, Emmons has accounted for 779 yards in total offense and six touchdowns. He is currently eighth in the Empire 8 at 155.8 yards in offense per game.

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. 4, 2014     -     Buffalo State 31, Frostburg 14

FROSTBURG, Md. – Buffalo State scored a pair of second half touchdowns and used a late fourth-down fourth-quarter stop to seal a 31-14 victory over Frostburg State, Saturday.

The Bobcats (2-3, 0-3 E8) held the ball for over 35 minutes but couldn't find the end zone in the second half to close the gap on the visiting Bengals (4-1, 2-1 E8), who extended a 17-7 halftime lead to 31-14 with just over five minutes to go in the ballgame.
 
Frostburg had one final opportunity to narrow the deficit and seize momentum late in the game. Senior punter Zach Tuckmantel buried the Bengals at their own four yard line with 11:20 showing in the fourth. After three plays that resulted in just two yards, Buffalo State punter Joe Going booted an 11 yard punt that setup Frostburg at the 17. A pass interference call in the end zone handed FSU first and goal at the BSC two yard line. However, after three plays, Frostburg faced fourth and goal from the one and the Bengals stuffed a fake field goal to keep their lead at 24-14.
 
BSC sealed the win by marching 97 yards on four plays to increase its lead to 31-14 after Tre Jones scored on a 28-yard run.
 
Buffalo State finished with 434 yards in offense behind Kyle Hoppy's 225 passing yards (7-of-15). He tossed a 92-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 43 yarder in the third, while Rich Pete carried the ball 18 times for 121 yards and BSC's first touchdown.
 
Bobcat senior quarterback Ken Emmons scored the game's first touchdown with a three-yard scamper in the first quarter that gave the hosts a 7-0 lead. Sophomore tailback Marcus Smith highlighted the drive with a 64 yard run up the home sideline before being carried out of bounds at the Buffalo State one. Three plays later, Emmons scored and sophomore Isaac Robinson converted the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
 
Buffalo State answered with three scores on their next three possessions. Pete scored from 48 yards out, Hoppy found Ryan Carney for a 92 yard touchdown toss and Mark Montana kicked an 18 yard field goal as the visitors grabbed a 17-7 lead late in the first quarter.
 
Frostburg mounted its second longest drive of the ballgame, six plays 50 yards, midway through the second quarter that narrowed the score to 17-14. Senior running back Ben Sasu carried the ball three times for 25 yards, including a 13 yard scoring run with 6:03 left in the first half.
 
In the third quarter, Hoppy tossed a 43 yard touchdown pass to Billy Joiner and Jones' 28 yard run with 5:19 left in the fourth sealed the victory.
 
Emmons threw for 117 yards and ran for another 20, including a touchdown. Smith led Frostburg with 79 yards on 16 carries, while Sasu finished with 63 yards on 16 carries. Sophomore Aaron Turner caught three passes for 36 yards.
 
Senior Keith Smith led the Bobcat defense with 10 tackles, while junior Rowan Pinkett added nine. Sophomore William Sewell posted 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.