Frostburg (2-1, 0-1 E8)
vs.
#7 St. John Fisher (2-0, 1-0 E8)

Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014
1:00 pm - Bobcat Stadium

Frostburg Game Notes
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Setting the Scene
Frostburg State returns to the friendly confines of Bobcat Stadium for the fourth game of the season this Saturday. The Bobcats welcome seventh-ranked St. John Fisher for an Empire 8 matchup at 1:00 pm.

Frostburg sits at 2-1 overall on the season after defeating both Geneva (24-19) and Shenandoah (20-10) in its first two contests. Last Saturday, the Bobcats opened Empire 8 play with a 20-12 road loss at Utica.

FSU is off to its first 2-1 start since 2001.

St. John Fisher enters the weekend with a 2-0 mark after downing Otterbein 36-14 in its season opener and defeating Brockport, 36-20, in its Empire 8 opener a week ago.

The Series
Saturday's matchup between the Bobcats and Cardinals will be the fifth meeting between the schools as the two have met in each of the last four seasons. SJFC leads the series 4-0.

Frostburg has narrowed the final margin in all four meetings, losing by just three points (38-35) to the nationally ranked Cardinals last fall in Pittsford, N.Y.

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 2-1 start since 2001. The Bobcats defeated Geneva (24-19) and Shenandoah (20-10) in their first two games before dropping their Empire 8 opener to Utica (20-12) last Saturday. FSU is averaging 282.3 yards of offense and is holding on to the ball for over 35 minutes a game.

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 237-269-8. 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 238-269-8 overall
- Be the first time Frostburg has started 3-1 since 1998; the Bobcats started 6-0 in 1999
- Hand FSU its 15th win over a school from the state of New York (14-34-1)

Empire 8 Update
All nine Empire 8 football schools opened their 2014 seasons with a week-one victory. Following last weekend, however,
four schools remained perfect on the year. Alfred and Utica are the only 3-0 teams in the league, while both Ithaca and St. John Fisher sit at 2-0. Frostburg, Buffalo State and Brockport are currently 2-1.

This Week In The Empire 8
Eight of the nine Empire 8 teams are in action in week four of the 2014 football season and all eight schools are in conference play. Salisbury travels to Buffalo State, St. John Fisher visits Frostburg and Ithaca travels to Alfred. Brockport will travel to Utica to cap the day for a 7:00 pm kickoff.

Salisbury at Buffalo State - 12:00 pm
St. John Fisher at Frostburg State - 1:00 pm
Ithaca at Alfred - 1:00 pm
Brockport at Utica - 7:00 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 three games, Pinkett leads the Bobcats and is fifth in the league with 27 total tackles. Pinkett and sophomore William Sewell lead Frostburg and are tied for seventh 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.

I'll Take That
The Frostburg State defense has generated six turnovers in three games this season. The Bobcats have intercepted a pass in all three games, recovered a pair of fumbles last week at Utica and turned a first quarter fumble against Geneva into a 25-yard touchdown toss and a 17-0 lead.

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 three games, Emmons has accounted for 521 yards in total offense and four 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. At Utica, Emmons ran for 43 yards and a touchdown and threw for another 110 yards (13-of-20).

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. 20, 2014     -     Utica 20, Frostburg 12

UTICA, N.Y - J'Von Evans ran for two touchdowns and Utica handed Frostburg State a 20-12 defeat in the Empire 8 opener for both schools, Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bobcats (2-1) made things interesting late in the game, scoring a touchdown midway through the fourth to narrow their deficit to 20-12. Frostburg had one final drive in the closing minutes stall at Utica's nine that sealed the game.
 
With 6:16 remaining in the ballgame, Frostburg started at its own 31 and drove 60 yards on 14 plays before turning the ball over on downs. On third and 14 at the FSU 27, senior Ken Emmons connected with freshman Thomas Moore for 23 yards to midfield. Three plays later, Emmons hit junior Haydan Roberts for 10 yards to Utica's 41, and sophomore Austin Bonsall later carried the ball for 26 yards to the Pioneer nine. However, the drive stalled, and following a pair of timeouts, Emmons' fourth down pass fell incomplete as Utica took over with just 22 seconds left in the game.
 
Utica, which improved to 3-0 with the win, scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first quarter and surged to a 13-3 lead. Bobcat sophomore Isaac Robinson booted a 25-yard field goal with 2:46 showing in the first quarter for the Bobcats.
 
On the opening drive of the second half, Robinson capped a 54-yard drive with a career-best 40-yard field goal that narrowed the deficit to 13-6.
 
Utica pushed its lead to 20-6 with its third rushing touchdown of the afternoon with seven seconds left in the third quarter.
 
Frostburg answered midway through the fourth, as it moved 71 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. Emmons capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 8:35 remaining.
 
The Bobcat defense tightened up on Utica's ensuing possession, forcing a punt from its own 25 that gave the Bobcats their final possession of the contest.
 
Frostburg held a clear statistical advantage, outgaining Utica in total offense (264-182), first downs (15-12), rushing yards (154-117), passing yards (110-65) and time of possession (38:17-21:43). The Pioneers capitalized on a fumble inside Frostburg territory for its first touchdown and used special teams to set up their final two scores.
 
Senior Ken Emmons threw for 110 yards on 13-of-20 attempts and ran for another 43 yards on 19 carries. He connected with Roberts four times for 46 yards, while freshman Perez Mackell led the team in rushing with 49 yards (10 carries).
 
Quarterback Will Kassar led the Pioneers in both passing yards (65) and rushing yards (70). He ran for a touchdown late in the third that gave the hosts a 20-6 lead.
 
Defensively, junior Salaman Riddell led the bobcats with six tackles, including one for loss. Senior Matt Heacock added five stops with a forced and recovered fumble.