Frostburg (1-1, 1-1 MEC)	vs.	West Liberty (1-1, 1-1 MEC)

Bobcat Stadium I Thursday, Sept. 19
Frostburg, Md. I 7:00 pm

Directions
Tickets - Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets through the link to avoid delays at the entrance to Bobcat Stadium
Tailgating Policies

Live Video
Live Stats
Live Radio - All 11 games will be broadcast on 99.5 WDZN Cumberland/Frostburg
Frostburg vs. Concord Game Notes
 

---

PRIOR TO KICKOFF      
The Frostburg State Bobcats host West Liberty this Thursday at Bobcat Stadium in the second home game of the season at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday's matchup will be the third Mountain East Conference game for both schools and both teams enter the matchup at 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the league. The matchup with West Liberty will be the third DII game for Frostburg and the second home game of the season.

Frostburg rolled past Concord a week ago with 31 unanswered points after the Mountain Lions pulled to within a touchdown in the second quarter. The Bobcats totaled 456 yards in offense and ran for five touchdowns in the victory.

FSU and WLU have met six times prior to Thursday and the Hilltoppers hold a 3-2-1 lead in the series. The last meeting came at Bobcat Stadium in 1986 and FSU won the meeting 15-6.

West Liberty defeated Wheeling 33-30 to kick off the 2019 campaign and the Hilltoppers dropped a 43-24 decision to No. 4 Notre Dame last weekend.

BY THE NUMBERS      
0 - Number of sacks allowed by Frostburg this season
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 (2016, 2017 & 2018)
5 - The Bobcats have five All-Americans in the last five seasons
6 - The number of home games for Frostburg in 2019
9 - The number of touchdowns scored for Frostburg in 2019
10 - FSU has won 10 of more games in the last three seasons
12 - Seniors on this year's team
18.5 - 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
37 - Number of starts for senior Ryan Landis as FSU's long snapper
42 - 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 HISTORY      
Frostburg is in its 59th year of collegiate football in 2019 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 272-283-8. 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.

WELCOME TO BOBCAT STADIUM      
The Frostburg football program has been impressive over the last three seasons at home at Bobcat Stadium. During that span, FSU has won 16 games against just three losses.

In 2016, the Bobcats were a perfect 6-0, while a year ago, Frostburg was 4-0 at home during the regular season and defeated Western New England, 42-24, in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs at Bobcat Stadium.

FSU SUCCESS IN SEPTEMBER      
The Bobcats have enjoyed great success in the month of September, owning an 12-5 mark over the last five seasons. Going back seven years, Frostburg has collected 16 wins in the first month of the college football season.

Frostburg Month-By-Month Over The Last Five Seasons
Month    W-L
September    12-5
October    17-5
November    11-4

THE POSTSEASON      
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 FROSTBURG      
2019
- 1-1 Overall in 2019 and 1-1 in the MEC
- Frostburg collected its first Division II win last week with a 52-14 win over Concord
- FSU racked up 456 yards in total offense against Concord; ran for five TDs
- Junior RB Gavin Lavat ran for 141 yards on 17 carries and three TDs
- FSU scored 31 unanswered points to seal the win
- Graduate transfer Will Brunson completed 14-of-20 passes for 217 yds. and one TD
- Frostburg lost to W.Va. State in week one, 20-17
- FSU led 17-11 in the third quarter before State rallied for the win
- Lavat is second in the MEC in rishing (120.0 ypg)
- Brunson is sixth in MEC in passing yards (419) and yards per game (209.5)

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
- Tied program record with 61 touchdowns

SCOUTING WEST LIBERTY     
2019
- Four defensive starters return; including First Team All-MEC defensive back Josh Ojo and Second Team All-MEC defensive linemen Cody Rine and defensive back Logan Deri
- Currently ranked 7th in MEC in offense with 10 TDs and 27 ppg
- Currently ranked 8th in MEC in defense allowing 16 TDs and 38.7 ppg
- QB Zach Phillips currently ranks fifth in MEC passing averaging 233 ypg and seven TDs
- WR Isaiah Robinson ranks 8th in MEC receiving averaging 81 ypg and three TDs
- RB Thomas Cole currently ranks 4th in MEC scoring averaging 10.0 ppg and 5 TDs

2018
- 3-8 Overall
- Second-straight three-win season
- Head coach Roger Waialae – 15th season
- Waialae served as West Liberty's assistant coach 1992-2004
- Waialae served as Bethany College (W.Va.) offensive coordinator two years before coming to West Liberty
- Hilltoppers rushed for 113.5 yards per game; ranked 139th nationally
- Charles Westbrook led at 59.4 ypg and four TDs
- Receiver Shane Phillips and Ridge Durbin combined for 945 receiving yards and eight touchdowns a season ago
- Tied for third in MEC for most turnovers gained (21)

ADDITIONAL WLU NOTES     
- The Hilltoppers have a 60-15 record since 2005 when outrushing their opponents but are just 45-46 when they have more passing yards.
- Two games into the 2019 season, the aggressive West Liberty defense ranks among the Top 20 nationally with 9.0 tackles-for-loss

PRESEASON POLL      
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.

UNDER THE LIGHTS      
Under Fitzgerald, Frostburg is nearly perfect at 10-1 in night games both home and away from Bobcat Stadium. In fact, prior to the Bobcats' home opening loss at night to West Virginia State, Frostburg was a perfect 5-0 in season openers under Fitzgerald and all five wins had come under the lights.

A VICTORY WOULD      
- Lift the Bobcats to 278-283-8 overall in 59 seasons
- Land Fitzgerald his 43rd victory at the helm of Frostburg
- Be FSU's 17th win in the last 19 home games
- Be Frostburg's second win at Division II
- Even the series with West Liberty at 3-3-1
- Hand the Bobcats their first win over WLU since 1986
- Improve Frostburg's record to 13-5 in September over the last five seasons

30 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER      
The Bobcats scored over 30 points in nine of their 11 games a season ago, and under Fitzgerald, the Bobcats are 27-1 when scoring 30 or more.

TOUGH TO COME BY      
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.

LEANING ON LAVAT      
Junior RB Gavin Lavat has moved into second place in the MEC statistics in rushing this season as he averages 120.0 yards per game over FSU's first two games at Division II.

He opened the season with 99 yards on 22 carried against W.Va. State, while last Saturday against Concord, he carried the ball just 17 times for 141 yards with the Bobcats' first three TDs. He has rushed for over 100 yards five times as Bobcat.

BOBCATS IN THE MEC      
Through two MEC games this fall, Frostburg is ranked fourth in the league in scoring (34.5), fourth in rushing offense (200.5), seventh in passing offense (214.0) and fourth in total offense (414.5).

On the other side of the ball, the Bobcat defense leads the MEC in scoring (17.0), is sixth in rushing defense (175.0) and is eighth in total defense (449.0).

FINDING THE END ZONE      
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.

So far this fall, Frostburg is averaging 4.5 TDs per game and if that pace continues, the Bobcats will find the end zone nearly 50 times in their first season at DII.

BLOCK PARTY      
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.

AFCA GOOD WORKS      
Bobcat senior long snapper Ryan Landis was selected to the Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 2019 Good Works Team®. He was one of 22 student-athletes from the 137 nominees that were selected for their leadership in local communities and overall commitment to giving back.

Landis is a volunteer firefighter and a volunteer with his local rescue squad, in addition to a multitude of community service projects along with his Bobcat teammates.
 
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team will be invited to the 2020 Allstate® Sugar Bowl® and will join Tim Tebow and Allstate volunteers to give back to New Orleans through a special community service project. Allstate will recognize the team during the halftime show.

He is the first Good Works Team selection in program history.

ACADEMIC GRIDIRON      
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.
 
GRIDIRON GRADUATES      
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 OUT      
Frostburg made history last Saturday with it's first NCAA Division II win when it rolled past Concord 52-14 in Athens. FSU sealed the win with 31 unanswered points that broke open the contest.

FSU racked up 456 yards in total offense behind 230 on the ground. Junior tailback Gavin Lavat ran for 141 yards on 17 carries with a career-best three touchdowns.

While the offense was lighting up the scoreboard, the Bobcat defense was keeping the Mountain Lions off balance. Four Concord drives finished with negative yardage and another three drives finished with less than five yards in offense. FSU forced the hosts to punt six times and forced a turnover on downs on three occasions. The Bobcats finished with 11 tackles for loss and five sacks.