Callaghan Stadium I Saturday, Sept. 14
Athens, W.Va. I 12:00 pm
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Live Radio - All 11 games will be broadcast on 99.5 WDZN Cumberland/Frostburg
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Frostburg vs. Concord Game Notes
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PRIOR TO KICKOFFÂ Â Â Â Â
The Frostburg State Bobcats travel to Athens, W.Va. this Saturday to battle Concord in an MEC showdown at 12:00 pm.
The Bobcats lost their first Division II football game a week ago to W.Va. State 20-17. Last season, Frostburg finished off a 41-year run at DIII with a perfect 9-0 regular season. The Bobcats also won the New Jersey Athletic Conference Title, reached the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs and hosted its first home NCAA Playoff game since 1993.
Concord dropped its season opener at fourth-ranked Notre Dame (Ohio) 33-10. The Mountain Lions scored first, a 21-yard FG, before Notre Dame scored 20-consecutive points en route to the win. Kyle Akin powered Concord in the loss with 212 yards passing with one TD on 16-of-32 attempts.
The Bobcats have won their last five road games and have come out victorious in 15 of their 16 games away from Bobcat Stadium.
BY THE NUMBERSÂ Â Â Â Â
1 - First season (2019) at the NCAA Division II level for Frostburg State
2 - FSU has appeared in the NCAA Playoffs in each of the last two seasons
3 - The Bobcats have made three-consecutive trips to the postseason between the NCAA Playoffs and ECAC Bowl Game
5 - The Bobcats have five All-Americans in the last five seasons
6 - The number of home games for Frostburg in 2019
9 - Frostburg returns nine defensive starters from the 2018 season
10 - FSU has won 10 of more games in the last three seasons
12 - Seniors on this year's team
18 - Tackles for loss for junior DE Zach Strand during his career
26 - The numbers of wins over a 10-year stretch before Fitzgerald took over
31 - Number of wins over the last three seasons for the Bobcats
36 - Number of starts for senior Ryan Landis as FSU's long snapper
41 - Wins in five-plus seasons under the direction of DeLane Fitzgerald
48 - Frostburg has collected 48 all-conference honorees in the last five years
61 - FSU has scored 61 touchdowns on offense in each of the last two years
PROGRAM HISTORYÂ Â Â Â Â
Frostburg is in its 59th year of collegiate football in 2019 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 271-283-8. The Bobcats have made three appearances in the NCAA DIII Playoffs (1993, 2017 & 2018) and have played in eight ECAC Bowl Games.
The Bobcats have won eight or more games 10 times, nine or more games eight times and have eclipsed the 10-win plateau four times.
AWAY FROMÂ BOBCAT STADIUMÂ Â Â Â Â
The Frostburg football program has been highly successful away from Bobcat Stadium over the last five seasons, boasting 20 wins to just five losses. In fact, the Bobcats were 5-0 outside Frostburg last fall, while in 2017, FSU was 7-1 in road games falling to eventual-national champion Mount Union in the NCAA Playoff quarterfinals in November.
FSU SUCCESS IN SEPTEMBERÂ Â Â Â Â
The Bobcats have enjoyed great success in the month of September, owning an 11-5 mark over the last five seasons. Going back seven years, Frostburg has collected 15 wins in the first month of the college football season.
Frostburg Month-By-Month Over The Last Five Seasons
Month         W-L
September   11-5
October      17-5
November    11-4
THE POSTSEASONÂ Â Â Â Â
DeLane Fitzgerald has been at the helm of the Bobcat program for five full seasons and he has quickly turned Frostburg into a team that competes for a spot in the postseason.
After inheriting a 1-9 squad, Fitzgerald had the Bobcats in an ECAC Bowl in just three seasons and the Bobcats made back-to-back NCAA Playoff appearances in '17 and '18 for the only time in school history.
SCOUTING FROSTBURGÂ Â Â Â Â
2019
- 0-1 Overall in 2019 and 0-1 in the MEC
- Frostburg lost its first NCAA Division II game last week to W.Va. State, 20-17
- Graduate transfer QB Will Brunson threw for 202 yards and two TDs
- Junior RB Gavin Lavat rushed for 99 yards on 22 carries
- Junior Terrell Brown caught 6 passes for 98 yds., returned two kicks for 70 yds.
- Junior Avery Thurman led team with 11 tackles, 2.0 TFLs and one FF
- Lavat ranks third in MEC in rushing, Brown leads league in kick return avg.
- Brown also leads the MEC in all-purpose yards
2018
- 10-1 Overall in 2018, school record 9-0 during regular season
- Second-straight NCAA Playoff appearance
- NJAC Championship; second time in three seasons
- Three-straight postseason appearances (2 NCAA Playoffs, 1 ECAC Bowl Game)
- Ranked inside top 15 in both D3football.com and AFCA Poll
- 10 wins for third-straight season
- Hosted NCAA Payoffs in 2018, first time since 1993
- Bobcats defeated Western New England 42-24 in NCAA First Round
- Frostburg lost to #13 Johns Hopkins 58-27 in NCAA Second Round
- Tied program record with 61 touchdowns
- Offense averaged 435.9 yards per game, good for 39th in the country.
- Defense ranked 15th in nation in TFLs (8.7), 19th in sacks (3.45)
- 10th in DIII in fumbles recovered (14), 14th in passing yards allowed (150.5)
- Five blocked punts; second in nation
- Senior Malik Morris second player in program history with 1,000-plus receiving yards in a season (1,009) - nine receiving TDs
- Morris third in nation in yards per reception (24.02)
- Junior Lincoln Ikwubuo; 34 receptions, 514 yards and five TDs
- Three of the top four leaders in total tackles returning
- Junior Avery Thurman led with 68 tackles
- Junior Zach Strand led with 14.5 TFLs and 7.0 sacks
- Senior Wayne Palmer 65 tackles, five TFLs, 2.5 sacks, two INTs, two FF
SCOUTING CONCORDÂ Â Â Â
2019
- 0-1 Overall in 2019 and 0-1 in MEC
- Lost to fourth-ranked Notre Dame in week one, 33-10
- QB Kyle Akin tossed for 212 yards and one touchdown in loss
2018
- 2-9 Overall in 2018 and 2-8 in MEC
- Head coach Paul Price - fourth season - defensive coordinator from 2011-15
- Price served as Concord's LB coach from 2009-2011
- Mountain Lions averaged 329.5 ypg in total offense with 38 TDs
- Receivers Tywan Pearce and Brandon Plyler combined for 1,193 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns a season ago
- Josh Maxwell rushed for 628 yards and six TDs in 2018
- Sixth in MEC for turnovers (21) in 2018
- Return three of their four starters in the secondary; Ke'Shawn Hall, Jakil Sarhim and Jonathan Roebuck.
PRESEASON POLLÂ Â Â Â Â
Frostburg was picked to finish ninth in its first season as a member of the Mountain East Conference. The Bobcats received 26 votes and were selected ahead of W.Va. Wesleyan (23 pts.) and Wheeling (13 pts.).
Notre Dame (Ohio) was picked to win the league and received 10 of 11 first-place votes. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA Playoff semifinals last fall.
A VICTORY WOULDÂ Â Â Â Â
- Lift the Bobcats to 277-283-8 overall in 59 seasons
- Land Fitzgerald his 42nd victory at the helm of Frostburg
- Be the 21st victory away from Frostburg for the Bobcats in five seasons
- Land FSU its sixth-straight road win
- Be Frostburg's first DII win since leaving Division III
- Be the first win over a school from the state of West Virginia since FSU defeated West Virginia Tech, 38-21 in 1999
30 IS THE MAGIC NUMBERÂ Â Â Â Â
The Bobcats scored over 30 points in nine of their 11 games a season ago, and under Fitzgerald, the Bobcats are 26-1 when scoring 30 or more.
TOUGH TO COME BYÂ Â Â Â Â
In his five-plus seasons at the helm, Fitzgerald has led the Bobcats to a 27-1 record when holding opponents to less than 100 yards rushing.
Frostburg allowed just three 100 yard rushers last season and two came against Salisbury and its triple option attack.
OFFENSIVE MIGHTÂ Â Â Â Â
Over the last two seasons, Frostburg has re-written the record books in terms of offensive output. In 2017, the Bobcats set the program record with 5,439 yards in total offense. In 2018, FSU finished with 4,795 yards in offense, the second-best mark in program history.
OFFENSIVE MIGHT 2.0Â Â Â Â Â
The Bobcats have scored 61 offensive touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. In 2017, Frostburg's 61 TDs broke the program record of 53 touchdowns that was set in 1990.
IT ALL STARTS WITH DEFENSEÂ Â Â Â Â
Frostburg has emerged as one of the nation's most complete defensive units over the last four seasons and has produced a pair of All-Americans in William Sewell and Niles Scott. The Bobcats have ranked inside the top 40 nationally in total defense in each of the last four years, including a national ranking of ninth in 2016.
BLOCK PARTYÂ Â Â Â Â
When Fitzgerald arrived on campus in the winter of 2014, he promised Frostburg would be dominant on special teams and his squads have delivered every season.
The Bobcats blocked six kicks in each of his first three seasons. In 2017, FSU turned back four kicks, while last fall, Frostburg finished with five blocks and all five came on punts.
THE BOBCASTÂ Â Â Â Â
The Frostburg athletic department releases a weekly podcast known as the
Bobcast early each week that talks with all in-season head coaches regarding their team's performances, upcoming games, individual players and much more.
Fans interested in the weekly series can find the podcast through social media or the department's official YouTube account at youtube.com/frostburgsports1.
AFCA GOOD WORKSÂ Â Â Â Â
Bobcat senior long snapper Ryan Landis was nominated prior to the start of the 2019 season for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. Landis is a volunteer fire fighter, helps with Beautify the Burg and is involved in both the Frost Elementary and Grantsville Elementray Reading Programs.
ACADEMIC GRIDIRONÂ Â Â Â Â
FSU senior defensive back Vincent Persichetti was nominated in early August for the William V. Campbell Trophy of the National Football Foundation (NFF) that is awarded to the nation's top football scholar-athlete. Persichetti carries a 3.57 GPA in the classroom and majors in law & society.
ALL-NJAC RETURNERSÂ Â Â Â Â
The Bobcats return four players that garnered All-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) honors a year ago.
Junior defensive end Zach Strand earned All-NJAC First Team honors last fall, while senior defensive back Vincent Persichetti and junior returner Terrell Brown each took home second-team honors. Senior defensive tackle Walter Riley captured Honorable Mention All-NJAC honors.
- Strand totaled 50 tackles, 14.5 TFLs and 7.0 sacks
- Persichetti made 45 tackles, two INTs and eight pass break-ups
- Brown returned 15 kicks for 375 yds. & 28 punts for 424 yds. and 1 TD
- Riley notched 27 tackles, 6.0 TFLs and 2.5 sacks
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GRIDIRON GRADUATESÂ Â Â Â Â
Frostburg has three players that will contribute on the field this year that have already earned their bachelors degree and will suit up for the Bobcats as graduate transfers.
Quarterback Will Brunson is working on his masters degree in recreation and parks management after transfering from the University of Albany. Running back Brady Watson, from nearby Ridgeley, W.Va., is working on his MBA after arriving at FSU from West Virginia University, while defensive back Andrew Ashley is working on his masters in economics after graduating from Monmouth University last fall.
LAST TIME OUTÂ Â Â Â Â
Frostburg opened its much anticipated inaugural season at NCAA Division II with West Virginia State last Thursday night at Bobcat Stadium and fans in attendance were certainly not disappointed.
The Bobcats suffered a narrow 20-17 loss, but they led 17-8 midway through the third. The Yellow Jackets scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:44 to go in the fourth when Austin Hensley tossed a 14-yard touchdown.
Following a W.Va. State field goal in the third, Frostburg forced the Jackets into turnovers on their next three possessions. W.Va. State fumbled the ball away at the FSU one, the Jackets again put the ball on the turf on their next possession on first down and FSU forced the visitors to turn the ball over on downs after a second fumble at the Bobcat one.
Frostburg had one final chance to the tie game following Hensley's TD toss, but junior Jeremy Harrison's 51-yard field goal attempt fell just shot of the crossbar with 12 seconds to play.
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