WHEELING, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Football team continued their undefeated start to the season with a narrow 20-16 road victory over Wheeling on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bobcats could not have asked for a better start, as the Cardinals received to start the game and on the very first play, threw an interception to graduate Mike Morgan, who scampered into the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead. Just six plays later, redshirt sophomore Wylan Harich picked the ball off, setting FSU up with great field position. The drive ended up stalling out, and senior Dayne Koontz was unable to convert the field goal to keep the sides a touchdown apart.
 
WU put together a strong drive on the resulting possession, but an intentional grounding penalty on third down pushed them out of field goal range to force a punt. Frostburg coughed up a fumble on a third down sack that was picked up by Akheem Mitchell, who had a standout first half for the hosts. Wheeling's drive took them into the second quarter, where it was now their turn to miss a field goal after redshirt junior Rashaan Simpson made a key tackle on third down.
 
FSU couldn't muster anything on offense, allowing the Cardinals to put together their best drive of the game. With a quick rush and pass game, WU pushed all the way to the Bobcat 13, but Simpson came up with a huge sack to limit the damage to a made field goal off the foot of Joao Lima. The Wheeling kicker was called into action just a minute later, as a pass from senior Graham Walker deflected in the air and was grabbed by Masiah Thorne. Again, FSU held the Cardinals to just a field goal, with the score standing at 7-6.
 
On an awkward kick-off that turned into an onside kick, Wheeling kept their momentum going by recovering the ball, which eventually set up a 12-yard TD pass to give the hosts their first lead at 13-7. Frostburg finally found their offense in the final three minutes of the quarter, as sophomore Sean Aaron had the highlight play with a 30-yard run to surge into Cardinal territory. Walker then found redshirt sophomore Jamil Bishop for 16 yards on a key 3^rd-and-12 conversion to keep the drive alive. Sophomore Amari N'namdi-Hall capped off the drive with a fantastic catch in the left side of the end zone, with Walker floating a ball after getting hit to put FSU ahead 14-13 at the half.
 
Frostburg got the ball to begin the third quarter, but a holding penalty contributed to a quick three-and-out. Wheeling marched down the field, getting all the way to the Bobcat one-yard line, but junior Yasir Holmes made three straight tackles to set up fourth down. The Cardinals decided to go for it, but as their running back slipped, Harich swooped in to make the tackle for the goal line stand.
 
Another drive stalled out for the Bobcat offense, but senior Jaylen Parks came up with a sack on WU's drive that forced a punt. FSU took the ball into the fourth quarter, working their way down the field and into the red zone. Penalties cost the Bobcats, as they were pushed back and had to go for a field goal, which missed wide. Wheeling went right down the field again, with a 35-yard pass taking them into Frostburg territory, eventually setting up Lima for a 44-yard make to regain the lead 16-14.
 
FSU wasted no time taking the advantage back, as on the first play Walker found Bishop on an 11-yard slant, then two plays later senior Devin Thompson powered his way for a 39-yard rush to get into the red zone. The Walker-Bishop connection paid off again for 13 yards to get to the six, where Aaron sped to the outside and dove to the pilon for the score. The Bobcats went for two in attempts to make it a six-point lead, but Aaron stumbled on the handoff to make things 20-16.
 
Senior Mitchell West stepped up big time as Wheeling looked to drive back down the field, jumping in front of an intended receiver to intercept the ball and hand things off to the FSU offense. WU was able to keep the Bobcats constrained on the first three plays, setting up a 4^th-and-3. The Bobcat coaching staff drew up a brilliant play call, setting up a play action, as Walker threw to graduate Will Hall on an out route to pick up the needed yardage inside the final two minutes. An unsportsmanlike penalty gave Frostburg another first down, where Walker knelt the clock down for the victory.
 
The Bobcats racked up 155 yards on the ground, led by Thompson's 90 on 10 carries, as Bishop led the receiving corps with seven catches for 87 yards. The defense stood tall throughout the game, racking up four interceptions to go with a pair of sacks and seven tackles for loss. Holmes and Simpson were the leaders, combining for 13 tackles and four TFL's, while redshirt junior Colby Street had seven total tackles.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 2-0 while Wheeling falls to 1-1. FSU is back in action on Saturday, September 16 for the home opener against West Liberty at 1 p.m. It will also be Staff Recognition Day in Bobcat Stadium. Information and updates will be posted at frostburgsports.com.