Frostburg (2-0)
vs.
Utica (2-0)

Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014
12:00 pm
Charles A. Gaetano Stadium

Frostburg Game Notes
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Setting the Scene
Frostburg State has its second-straight road game this Saturday when it visits Utica College in Utica, N.Y. The Bobcats and Pioneers enter the Saturday showdown at 2-0 and the meeting will be the Empire 8 opener for both schools.

Frostburg defeated Geneva 24-19 in its season opener and beat Shenandoah 20-10 last Saturday in the first meeting between the schools.

Utica shutout Misericordia 55-0 in its opener and posted a 23-16 win over Union (N.Y.) last weekend.

The Series
Saturday's matchup between Frostburg and Utica will be the fourth meeting between the schools. FSU captured the first meeting, 44-24, in 2011, but Utica has rebounded to capture the last two.

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 its first 2-0 start since 1999. The Bobcats defeated Geneva (24-19) and Shenandoah (20-10) and are averaging 291.5 yards of offense, while holding the ball for 34:00 minutes per contest.

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 237-268-8. 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 238-268-8 overall
- Be the first time Frostburg has started 3-0 since 1999
- Be the eighth 3-0 start in program history
- Hand FSU its 15th win over a school from the state of New York (15-33-1)

Empire 8 Update
All nine Empire 8 football schools opened their 2014 seasons with a week-one victory. Following last weekend, however,
five schools moved to 2-0, two teams suffered their first losses of the season and two schools had a bye week. Frostburg, along with Alfred, Brockport, Buffalo State and Utica all earned their second wins.

This Week In The Empire 8
Eight of the nine Empire 8 teams are in action in week three of the 2014 football season and all eight schools enter league play. Frostburg travels to Utica, Alfred visits Buffalo State, Hartwick travels to Ithaca and St. John Fisher rounds out the day when it faces Brockport.

Frostburg State at Utica - 12:00 pm
Alfred at Buffalo State - 12:00 pm
Hartwick at Ithaca - 1:00 pm
St. John Fisher at Brockport - 6:00 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 two games, Pinkett leads the Bobcats and is tied for second in the league with 23 total tackles. Pinkett and sophomore William Sewell lead Frostburg and are tied for second in the Empire 8 with 3.0 tackles for loss.

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.

And Then There Were Three ....
Following last weekend's action, only three football teams in the state of Maryland at any collegiate level remain undefeated. Frostburg is joined by Johns Hopkins and Stevenson as the only teams without a blemish on their record.

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 two games, Emmons has accounted for 368 yards in total offense and three touchdowns. He ran for a score and threw for another in FSU's 24-19 win over Geneva. Last Saturday, he completed 12-of-16 passes for 171 yards and ran for a fourth quarter score that helped seal a 20-10 win over Shenandoah.

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, Sept. 13, 2014     -     Frostburg 20, Shenandoah 10

WINCHESTER, Va. – Senior running back Ben Sasu ran for two touchdowns and Frostburg State dealt Shenandoah a 20-10 defeat on Saturday night.
 
Sasu put the Bobcats up 7-0 in the first quarter and Frostburg never trailed en route to its first 2-0 start since 1999. Shenandoah was looking for its first 2-0 start since starting the program prior to 2000, but settled at 1-1 with the loss.
 
Frostburg held the ball for nearly 34 minutes and ran for three touchdowns while the Bobcat defense stopped the Hornets on fourth down three times on the evening, including twice in the fourth quarter.
 
Sasu led the Bobcats with 75 rushing yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. He scored the first touchdown with 5:14 showing in the first quarter. The Frostburg defense stopped Shenandoah on fourth and eight at the FSU 25 and the offense used that momentum to the tune of a 10-play 75-yard drive. Sasu finished the drive with a 25 yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.
 
Both teams punted twice in the second quarter, but SU managed to trim the deficit to 7-3 when Jacob Newton booted a 27-yard field goal with 2:44 remaining until halftime.
 
Sasu and the Bobcats opened second half action with another touchdown and a 13-3 lead. Frostburg marched 65 yards on 11 plays and Sasu scored from 14 yards out for his second touchdown of the ball game.
 
Shenandoah answered on its ensuing drive as it put together a 77-yard drive that culminated in a Kye Hopkins one-yard touchdown run that brought the deficit to three, 13-10.
 
Frostburg had the final say, however, as it scored on its ensuing possession. Following SU's touchdown, junior Percy Haskins returned the kickoff 39 yards to midfield. Ten plays and 51 yards later, senior quarterback Ken Emmons ran for a one-yard touchdown with 13:06 showing in the fourth for the game's final points.
 
The FSU defense then sealed the win with a stop on fourth and 10 at the FSU 28 (11:26) and another on fourth and seven at the Bobcat 13 (5:08).
 
Emmons finished with 171 yards passing on 12-of-16 attempts (75%). His favorite target was junior Haydan Roberts, who caught six passes for 85 yards, including a 29 yarder on Frostburg's final scoring drive.
 
Cedrick Delaney finished with 135 rushing yards on 13 carries to highlight Shenandoah, which finished with 402 yards in total offense. Quarterback Drew Ferguson completed 18-of-33 passes for 165 yards.
 
Junior Rowan Pinkett, the reigning ECAC Northeast and Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week finished with 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. Senior linebacker Matt Heacock also made 11 tackles and added an interception.