Frostburg (1-1, 0-1 NJAC)
vs.
Southern Vriginia (0-1, 0-0 NJAC)

Saturday, Sept. 19
The Fields - 1:00 pm

Frostburg Game Notes
Live Stats
Live Video
 

---

Setting the Scene
Frostburg State travels to Southern Virginia for week three of the college football season. Saturday's contest marks the second road game of the season for the Bobcats and the second New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) matchup of the fall.

Frostburg opened the 2015 campaign on Sept. 5 with a 52-21 victory over Geneva in Beaver Falls, Pa. Last weekend, Frostburg suffered a 44-3 setback to fifth-ranked Wesley in FSU's home opener.

The win over the Golden Tornadoes marked the second-most points in a season opener in program history as Frostburg raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead.

Second-year head coach Delane Fitzgerald won his season opener for the second year in a row after guiding the Bobcats to a 4-6 overall record in 2014. He is the only coach in program history to win his first game as the head coach of the Bobcats.

Southern Virginia opened its 2015 campaign two Saturday's ago with a 65-10 loss at Rhodes College. Rhodes scored in all four quarters, including a 30-point second quarter.

The Knights were picked to finish 10th in the NJAC preseason coaches poll and are in their second year as a member of the league.

The Series
Saturday's matchup between the Bobcats and Knights will be the third meeting between the two programs and the series currently sits at 1-1.

Frostburg dropped a home game to Southern Virginia, 35-20, in 2007, but rebounded with a 21-13 victory at SVU in 2008.

Scouting Southern Virginia
Southern Virginia enters the contest at 0-1 following a season-opening loss to Rhodes, 65-10, on Sept. 5.

The Knights posted 140 yards in total offense against the Lynx. Shawn Honeycutt tossed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Cody Barnes late in the fourth and Dylan Dawson booted a 35-yard field goal late in the third for the only SVU points.

A year ago, SVU finished 1-9 overall and 1-6 in the NJAC with its lone win coming against TCNJ, 28-21. In 2013, the Knights won a program record eight games (8-2) under then head coach DeLane Fitzgerald, who now heads the Frostburg program.

The return of DeLane Fitzgerald
Frostburg head coach DeLane Fitzgerald returns to the campus where his head coaching career started as he led the Southern Virginia program from 2009-13. Fitzgerald guided the Knights to 24 wins during is tenure as head coach, while setting the program's single-season win record twice.

In 2013, Fitzgerald powered Southern Virginia to a school record 8-2 overall mark and a No. 1 ranking in the United State Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) coaches' poll.

Fitzgerald also served as SVU's offensive coordinator from 2006-08 before taking over the head job.

Head Coach DeLane Fitzgerald
DeLane Fitzgerald is in his second season at the helm of the Frostburg State football program in 2015 and his impact has been immediate. The Bobcats finished 4-6 overall in '14 that included a 2-6 mark in the Empire 8 and a 38-37 double overtime upset of 25th-ranked Ithaca at Bobcat Stadium on Homecoming.

Frostburg didn't just improve in the win/loss column in Fitzgerald's first season, but statically all over the field. The Bobcats finished fifth in the Empire 8 in scoring defense (27.3) and fifth in total defense (359.6). When compared to the final statistics of the 2013 season, the Bobcats allowed 66 fewer first downs, improved their overall total defense by 104.3 yards per contest, allowed 57.3 fewer yards rushing per game and cut opponents' scoring by 17.4 points per game. Frostburg also led the Empire 8 and finished 12th in the nation for fewest turnovers with 12.
 
Fitzgerald also placed an emphasis on blocked kicks where the Bobcats finished 17th in the country and led the Empire 8 with six.
 
The Bobcats capped the season with four All-Empire 8 selections, three on defense, and a USA College Football All-American.

Fitzgerald was a speaker for the American Football Coaches Association (ACFC) in 2014 and was an AFCA Coaching Mentor in both 2014 and 2015.

Fitzgerald's Weekly Quotes
On the staff's return to Southern Virginia ...
"Coach Hiatt, coach Condiff, coach Sievers, coach Hansen, and myself are excited to return to Southern Virginia to play. We spent a lot of time building up that football program and turning it into something of respectability, cumulating with a 8-2 record and a conference championship in 2013. It's one of the highlights of our athletic careers, we enjoyed our time at SVU."

"It will also be nice to see familiar faces and friends that we haven't seen in a while. Yes, it's safe to say that our coaching staff is excited for this week!"     

On last week's game against fifth-ranked Wesley ...
"Our team learned a lot from last week's game. You always learn a lot about yourself, your assistants, and the players when you play one of the top teams in the country. It has been a good week of meetings and practice for our coaching staff and players, we have good character in our football program and we will be ready to play this week. "

Frostburg Football History
Frostburg is in its 55th year of collegiate football in 2015 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 240-275-8. 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.

The '15 season marks the first year for the Bobcats as a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). It was announced in March 2014 that Frostburg, along with Christopher Newport, Salisbury and Wesley would become associate members of the NJAC beginning with the 2015 season. Southern Virginia joined the conference a year earlier in 2014.

The NJAC also contains Rowan, Montclair State, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), William Paterson and Kean.

Prior to the NJAC, the Bobcats competed in the Empire 8 from 2011-14 and 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 241-275-8 overall
- Mark the second-straight year the Bobcats have opened the season at 2-1
- Hand Frostburg a 2-1 series lead against SVU
- Be the first win as a member of the NJAC
- Hand Fitzgerald his 30th victory as a head coach

Preseason All-Americans
Frostburg has had several players named Preseason Division III All-Americans by USA College Football over the last few years and this summer Frostburg placed three players on the 26th annual All-American list.

Senior defensive back Salaman Riddell led the way after being named a Second Team All-American. Senior linebacker Rowan Pinkett and junior defensive end William Sewell were both placed on the third team.

Riddell finished third last season with 63 tackles and led the team with four pass breakups. A two-time preseason All-American, Pinkett led the Bobcats in tackles for the second-straight season after posting 88 total stops and finishing third in the country with three recovered fumbles. Sewell compiled 67 total tackles and tied for the Empire 8 lead behind 13.5 tackles for loss. He also finished 26th in the country with nine sacks.

All three players earned All-Empire 8 honors following the '14 season.

Speaking of the NJAC
All 10 NJAC schools are in action on the third weekend of the fall season and all 10 are in league play. Kean travels to TCNJ at noon on Saturday to open the weekend while the other four games start at 1:00 pm.

Saturday, September 19
Kean at TCNJ - 12:00 pm
Rowan at William Paterson - 1:00 pm
Salisbury at Montclair State - 1:00 pm
Christopher Newport at Wesley - 1:00 pm
Frostburg at Southern Virginia - 1:00 pm

NJAC Preseason Poll
The NJAC released the 2015 Preseason Coaches Poll in early August and Frostburg State was picked to finish sixth in the 10-team league. The Bobcats were chosen as the league's dark horse team and were picked ahead of seventh-place Kean, William Paterson (8th), TCNJ (9th) and Southern Virginia (10th). Wesley, ranked fifth in the D3football.com preseason poll, was picked to win the conference after receiving nine of 10 first-place votes. Rowan received one first-place vote and was selected to finish second. Salisbury (3rd), Montclair State (4th) and Christopher Newport (5th) round out the five schools selected ahead of Frostburg.

Where they Rank
Following two weeks of the season, Frostburg ranks nationally in several statistical categories. The Bobcats are currently ...
First Downs Gained (38) - 1st in NJAC ... 81st in Division III
Fumbles Recovered (3) - 1st in NJAC ... 21st in DIII
Kickoff Return Defense (9.33 ypr) - 1st in NJAC ... 6th in DIII
Kickoff Returns (22.50 ypr) - 2nd in NJAC ... 64th in DIII
Time of Possession (34:05) - 1st in NJAC ... 27th in DIII
Punt Returns (22.29 ypr) - 2nd in NJAC ... 13th in DIII

Kicker Isaac Robinson
FG Percentage (1.00) - 1st in NJAC ... 1st in DIII
FG's Per Game (1.50) - 1st in NJAC ... 15th in DIII

Sophomore Joe Guididas
Punting (40.9 ypp) - 2nd in NJAC ... 9th in DIII

Senior Myles Burgess
Punt Return TDs (1) - 1st in NJAC ... 2nd DIII

Junior Austin Bonsall
Punt Return TDs (1) - 1st in NJAC ... 2nd DIII


Last Week
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015     -     #5 Wesley 44, Frostburg 3
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.