FROSTBURG, Md. – After a scoreless first quarter, fifth-ranked Wesley scored 27 points in the second quarter to hand Frostburg State a 44-3 loss in the home opener for the Bobcats, Saturday afternoon.
The game represented the first for both schools as members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference. After a lopsided win in their season opener a week ago, the Bobcats settle at 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the NJAC, while the Wolverines open the 2015 campaign at 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the league.
"Wesley is a very good football team," said Bobcat head coach DeLane Fitzgerald. "My expectation is that they (Wesley) will finish towards the top of our conference."
An optimistic Frostburg squad forced Wesley into a pair of early turnovers, both fumbles, but neither team could get going offensively until the second quarter.
On its final drive of the first quarter, FSU totaled 39 yards on seven plays and advanced to the Wesley 38 before the drive stalled. Bobcat freshman quarterback Connor Cox took a shotgun snap and punted the football to the Wesley three where the ball was downed.
"I'm very proud that our young men were ready to play at the beginning of the game today," added Fitzgerald. "Our coaches and players fought very hard in the first quarter. We just weren't able to finish anything offensively or defensively."
From there, Wesley proceeded to march 97 yards on seven plays for its first of four second-quarter touchdowns and a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Joe Callahan tossed a five-yard touchdown to cap Wesley's first scoring drive. He finished the second quarter with four passing touchdowns and finished the game with five.
Frostburg got on the board midway through the second. The Bobcats started their drive at their own 38 thanks to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty prior to the kickoff. Cox found sophomore running back Jordan Brown for 26 yards, the longest play of the drive, as FSU eventually moved to the Wolverine 15 before settling for a junior Isaac Robinson 32-yard field goal.
Wesley added two more touchdowns in the second to lead 27-3 at halftime. The Wolverines continued their surge in the third quarter with 10 points and a touchdown late in the fourth to bring the scoring to a close.
Cox threw for 100 yards on the afternoon and added another 56 on the ground. His favorite target, junior Austin Bonsall hauled in five passes for 34 yards. Cox also totaled 103 yards on three punts, all inside the 20.
"No one in our football program is disheartened one bit about what happened today," said Fitzgerald. "We are going to watch the film and clean up our mistakes, then move on to Southern Virginia tomorrow. We have winners in our football program and our players will learn from this and be a better football team next week."
Callahan, a preseason All-American, threw for 424 yards and five scores on 26 completions. Jamar Baynard finished with 136 yards on 18 carries, while Bryce Shade caught six passes for 162 yards and four touchdowns.
Senior defensive back Salaman Riddell led both teams with 11 tackles, including six solo stop. Sophomore Josh Scales added 10 stops and 0.5 TFL's.
Frostburg State hits the road next Saturday when it travels to Southern Virginia for an NJAC tilt at 1:00 pm.
