#6/#9 Frostburg	vs.	Rowan

Bobcat Stadium  I  Saturday, Sept. 22
Frostburg, Md.  I  1:00 pm
Purchase Tickets  - Frostburg will be charging admission for all home football games this fall

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            ~ All football games, both home and away this season, will be broadcast on WCBC Radio

Frostburg Game Notes (PDF)
 

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Setting the Scene
The sixth-ranked Bobcats kick off their home slate on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Rowan to Bobcat Stadium for a 1:00 pm showdown. FSU was originally scheduled to open its home slate last Saturday with Christopher Newport, however, the game was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence. Frostburg enters the matchup with Rowan at 2-0, while the Profs visit Bobcat Stadium at 3-0.

The Bobcats enter their home opener after two dominating performances in the first two weeks of the season. Frostburg opened the 2018 campaign with a 34-7 win at Stevenson in week one and followed it up with a 47-7 thrashing of TCNJ two weeks ago. FSU opened the season ranked eighth in the D3football.com Week One Top 25 poll and moved up to sixth in the week two poll.

The Bobcats hold a 4-7 overall record against Rowan and have won the last two meetings 24-14 (2016) and 24-10 (2017). The two schools met in six-consecutive seasons between 1966-1971 and then again in back-to-back years in 1986 and 1987. The last three meetings have been as members of the NJAC.

Last fall, Frostburg posted an 11-2 overall record that included a run to the NCAA playoff quarterfinals. FSU knocked off No. 9 Wittenberg (35-7) and No. 10 Washington & Jefferson (46-23) in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Rowan enters the week at 3-0 following wins over Widener (41-34 OT), Southern Virginia (20-17) and William Paterson (22-6). The Profs were picked to finish sixth in the NJAC Preseason Coaches' poll after finishing the 2017 campaign at 4-6 overall and 3-6 in the league.

The Series
Today's matchup between Frostburg and RU is the 12th between the two schools and the Profs lead the series 7-4.

Frostburg has won two of the three meetings since joining the NJAC prior to the 2015 season. However, Rowan won six of the first eight meetings between 1966 and 1987.

Scouting Rowan
Rowan (3-0, 2-0 NJAC) is under the direction of 17th year head coach Jay Accorsi, who also served as an assistant coach for nine seasons prior to being named the head coach in 2002.

Rowan's 3-0 start is the third in the last four seasons for the Profs. Last week, Rowan scored points in every quarter in its win over William Paterson and allowed a late touchdown to lose the shutout against the Pioneers. RU totaled 292 yards in offense, held the ball for 31 minutes and scored all five times it made it to the red zone.

Through three games, the Profs are averaging 358.0 yards per game in offense behinds the league's third-best rushing attack (190.3).

In his first season as the staring RB, John Mannion paced the Profs and is third in the NJAC in rushing at 100.3 yards per contest with two touchdowns. He averages 5.4 yards per carry and ran for over 177 yards on 24 carries against Widener in week one.

Riley Giles has started all three games under center and has thrown for 503 yards on 64-of-83 attempts with two scores. He has completed a pass to nine different receivers while Elijah Rehm has hauled in a team-best 16 receptions.

Defensively, Rowan is allowing 341.0 yards per game in offense, including 219.3 through the air. The Profs are sixth in the NJAC in scoring defense (19.0) and seventh in total defense.

Scouting Frostburg
Frostburg entered the 2018 campaign as one of the hottest teams in Division III with 21 wins over the last two seasons including two postseason appearances. Head coach DeLane Fitzgerald has increased Frostburg's win total in each of his four seasons at the helm after taking over a 1-9 program prior to his arrival.

Last fall, the Bobcats were part of the national playoff equation all season and finished with a school record 11 wins. Frostburg spent the entire season ranked inside the top 25, collected three wins against ranked opponents, beat two of Division III's winningest programs and was one of the final eight teams left standing in the NCAA Playoffs.

Through two games this fall, the Bobcats have carried that momentum from the last two seasons into '18 with a pair of dominating efforts in weeks one and two.

In its season opener, Frostburg rushed past Stevenson, 34-7, behind 176 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. FSU finished with 430 yards in total offense against outmatched Stevenson.
Two weeks ago, the Bobcats visited Ewing, N.J. and came away with a 47-7 win over the TCNJ Lions. Frostburg racked up 405 yards in offense behind 192 on the ground. FSU also scored twice on special teams.

Senior quarterback Connor Cox has completed 20-of-35 passes for 460 yards and three scores in his two games this fall. Junior receiver Malik Morris is currently eighth in the nation in yards per reception (33.29) after hauling in seven receptions for 233 yards and one touchdown.

The Bobcat ground attack is powered by a pair of seniors. Jamaal Morant has carried the ball 33 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns, while Grayson Boyce has rushed for 129 yards and one score on 23 attempts.

The Frostburg offense is currently second in the league in scoring (40.5) and third in total offense (417.5).

Defensively, the Bobcats are led by junior linebacker Wayne Palmer, who has 17 tackles with 2.5 sacks. Sophomore defensive back Avery Thurman is second on the roster with 12 tackles, while senior linebacker Dre'Quan Reed is third with 10 stops, including 4.0 TFLs.

FSU leads the conference in sacks per game (6.0) and total sacks (12) and is second in the league in total defense (223.5).

Head Coach DeLane Fitzgerald
DeLane Fitzgerald is in his fifth season at the helm of Frostburg and has pushed the program to new heights in a short amount of time. He has guided the Bobcats to 33 wins in four years, including 10 wins in 2016 and 11 wins last fall. Fitzgerald has increased his win total in each of his four seasons after inheriting a 1-9 team.

Two weeks ago, Fitzgerald tied the legendary Jim Crawley for the most wins in program history with 33. With a win over Rowan this Saturday, Fitzgerald will become the proram's all-time winningest coach. He is the 13th head coach in the program's 58-year history.

Fitzgerald was one of 23 head football coaches hired in 2014 in Division III. Among those 23, he is third with 33 wins, but is the only coach in the group with two 10+ win seasons.

A Win Would ...
- Lift the Bobcats to 269-281-8 overall in 58 seasons
- Land Fitzgerald his 34th victory at the helm of Frostburg
- Be the third-straight win against Rowan
- Hand the Bobcats their 11th win in the last 12 games at Bobcat Stadium
- Be the 12th-straight win over a school from the state of New Jersey

The Rankings
Frostburg remained at sixth in the D3football.com Week 2 Poll, the highest ranking in program history. FSU entered the season ranked eighth and have spent the last 21 weeks in the D3football.com poll. The initial American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll was also released this week and Frostburg debuted at No. 9.

First To Score
Two weeks ago, the Bobcats scored first against TCNJ on a sophomore Jeremy Harrison field goal and eventually rolled to a 47-7 win. The victory in the NJAC opener for Frostburg marks the 21st-consecutive victory when scoring first. Under DeLane Fitzgerald, FSU is 28-3 overall when having the initial score.

Program History
Frostburg is in its 58th year of collegiate football in 2018 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 268-281-8. The Bobcats have made two appearances in the NCAA Playoffs (1993 & 2017) and have played in eight ECAC Bowl Games.

Home Wins
Over the last two seasons, Frostburg has lost just once at Bobcat Stadium and is 10-1 during that span.

Elite Company
In 2016 and 2017, the Bobcats posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time in program history. Only six other programs in Division III accomplished the same feat in the past two seasons (Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor, UW-Oshkosh, St. Thomas, North Central and Wittenberg).

FSU is one of 12 teams to reach the national quarterfinals in the same timespan.

Most Wins in Division III in 2016 & 2017
# Team    Wins
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor    29
2. Mount Union    27
3. UW-Oshkosh    25
4. St. Thomas    23
T5. Frostburg State    21
T5. North Central (Ill.)    21

61 And Counting
Through two games in his senior season, Bobcat signal caller Connor Cox is currently tied for fifth in Division III among active quarterbacks with 61 career touchdowns.

Cox also needs just 137 yards to pass Grant Burrough and become Frostburg's all-time leader in passing yards.

By Land and Air
Cox is one of eight active quarterbacks in Division III who have thrown for  4,000 yards and run for 1,000 in their career. Of those eight QBs, Cox is fourth in total yards amassing 7,346 total yards behind 6,284 passing and 1,062 rushing yards.

Mr. 2,000
Senior running back Jamaal Morant needs just 50 yards on the ground to eclipse the 2,000 yard plateau for his career. If he reaches 2,000, he will be the eighth Frostburg player to accomplish the feat and the first since Shanorm Young ran for 2,230 from 2005-07.

Big Play Threat
Bobcat junior receiver Malik Morris was second in the NJAC last season in yards per reception at 18.6. All five of his touchdown receptions were 20 yards or greater (57, 43, 72, 46, 20). In the season opener, Morris caught three passes for 149 yards, including a 92 yarder in the first quarter.

Pitch A Tent
The Frostburg defense has made a living in the backfield's of their opponents over the last two seasons. During those 25 games, the Bobcats are averaging 9.5 tackles for loss and 3.57 sacks per contest. Two weeks ago against TCNJ, Frostburg posted 11 TFLs and 8.0 sacks.

He Made It!
Former Frostburg All-American defensive lineman Niles Scott was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad following trainign camp. On Sept. 12, Scott was signed to the Denver Broncos practice squad.

Scott finished his senior season as a Bobcat last fall by being named to the AP Little All-America First Team and the D3football.com All-America Second Team. He finished the season with 51 total tackles, including 16.5 tackles for loss (104 yds.) and 10 sacks (77 yds.).

Oh Captain, My Captain
A quintuple of Frostburg players will serve as team captains for Saturday's  matchup with TCNJ: seniors Riley Hartman, Noah Teeter, Dre'Quan Reed, Boakum Vital and Grayson Boyce.