MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Frostburg State Football team used a dominant first quarter to help survive a second half Millersville comeback in a 42-34 victory on the road Thursday night.
 
FSU won the toss and deferred to the hosts, who elected to receive the ball to start the game. Their opening drive lasted less than two minutes as two runs gained just five yards before redshirt junior Dom Tiaga got into the backfield for a sack that forced a punt. The Bobcats got great field position to start, with the resulting kick only going 20 yards while the Marauder defense was whistled for an offside on the first play. Frostburg marched down to the 10-yard line looking to open the scoring, however a holding call halted the offense and a field goal attempt bounced off the left upright to keep things scoreless.
 
MU's offense couldn't get anything going against a stout FSU defensive effort, as their next two drives were cut short by interceptions from senior Kamari Ramsey and junior Tristin Forby. After redshirt junior Myles Fulton dumped a screen off to classmate Owen Doyle for 11 yards and got into Millersville territory, he fired a dart down the middle to a wide open senior JeVonn Gilyard off a 3^rd-and-6, as graduate Brandon Keen's point-after went through for a 7-0 lead.
 
It didn't take long for the Bobcat defense to give their offense the ball back, as two straight tackles for loss from redshirt sophomore Carter Mazalewski and a combination of senior Nick Presson and redshirt sophomore Zack Isaac put the hosts at 3^rd-and-15. QB Ryan Zeltt was able to handle a misplayed snap and fire over the middle for Steven Graves III, however he was upended by sophomore Amari Johnson, losing the ball in the process as the FSU safety fell on it for a third turnover.
 
On the final play of the quarter, Fulton scampered 19 yards and out of bounds to set Frostburg up at the Marauder 22. After a Doyle run up the middle, Fulton fired to redshirt sophomore Tra'Shaun Timmons on a crossing route, easily getting to the end zone for a 14-0 advantage, this time with classmate Harrison Fritz knocking in the extra point. Following the resulting kick-off, play was suspended after a thunderstorm rolled through the area, causing a near 90-minute delay.
 
Out of the break, FSU's defense didn't lose any of their momentum, forcing a quick three-and-out and not allowing a single yard. Junior Landon Alexander then provided an immediate spark to get the drive going, brushing off a pair of tacklers and sprinting 17 yards into MU's side of the field. Fulton then lofted a 26-yard pass to redshirt sophomore Cruiz Paul-Umstead, getting just outside the red zone. After both teams were assessed penalties, Alexander caught a jet sweep from Fulton but saw his lane blocked, as he reversed field and made his way 14 yards to the Marauder 8-yard line. Fulton then executed a perfect play-action bootleg for an easy pitch-and-catch to redshirt sophomore Max Heineman, as Fritz tacked on for a 21-0 score.
 
Millersville had one of their biggest plays of the half on 2^nd-and-10, as Zeltt found Brian Ferguson for a 13-yard gain, however after back-to-back three-yard runs, an incompletion forced another punt. MU finally got a defensive stop  that allowed them to find some life on offense, starting with a 36-yard toss from Zeltt to Colin Hastings. On 2^nd-and-15, Zeltt then found Kam Taylor on a back-shoulder throw that helped set up a three-yard touchdown run by Mekhi Ashby as the hosts cut the lead to 21-7.
 
Once again, Frostburg couldn't get going offensively, as Zeltt drove the Marauder offense downfield again. He started out with a deep pass down the left side to Hastings for 43 yards, then ran it himself 16 yards with a personal foul tacking on another eight. FSU thought they had a stop on 3^rd-and-goal, but a pass interference call gave Millersville another chance, which Jose Lopez took in from two yards for a 21-14 game. Knowing they would receive the second half kick-off, the Bobcats just ran down the clock to the halftime break.
 
Coming out of the break, redshirt sophomore Jordan Brooks took over at QB and twice looked for Paul-Umstead, the first being whistled for pass interference and the second across the middle for a 60-yard catch-and-run touchdown that restored a two-score advantage at 28-14. Frostburg's defense struggled with penalties on the Marauders' resulting drive, being flagged three times on the first five plays and allowing the offense to get just outside the red zone. After a pair of incompletions either side of a five-yard run, MU decided to go for it on fourth down, as Zeltt found Isaac Sines but he was stopped short of the marker by senior Marquise Allsup for another turnover.
 
Frostburg was again hurt by flags, as a personal foul eventually resulted in a 3^rd-and-19 and a need to punt away, giving the Millersville offense another chance to score. It took just two plays for the hosts to strike, as Zeltt threw 35 yards to the end zone for Sines to haul in and get within 28-21. A botched snap on the second play of FSU's drive gave the ball right back to MU looking to tie the score. Three straight passes only netted six total yards, as the Bobcats were able to limit the damage to a 25-yard Trent McDowell field goal and a 28-24 score.
 
On the kick-off, redshirt junior Austin Paul-Umstead gave Frostburg great field position on a 45-yard return. Redshirt sophomore KJ Smothers toted the ball three times for 12 yards, then Brooks found Cruiz Paul-Umstead on 3^rd-and-7 for 26 yards into the red zone, however a holding call during the catch put the ball 10 yards back from the final spot. Another personal foul call against the offense put the Bobcats out of field goal range and were forced to punt.
 
Redshirt sophomore Sam Dominguez did well to pin Millersville back to their own 13 to start their drive. Two first downs made it seem as momentum would continue with the hosts, however they would only get four yards further up the field before being forced to punt themselves. On a much-needed chunk play, Brooks passed short to redshirt sophomore Amirr Coles, who bullied his way 40 yards to the Marauder 43. After back-to-back runs from Doyle gained eight yards, Smothers took over on third down and sprinted 35 yards to the end zone to settle some nerves and go up 35-24.
 
Zeltt continued to impress for MU, leading his team from their own 34 down to the Bobcat 11, including conversions of 3^rd-and-9 and 4^th-and-2. Frostburg was able to lock down in the end, however, holding them to a 27-yard McDowell field goal with things now standing at 35-27. Coming out on the next drive, Alexander carried twice for a combined 34 yards to move up the field, however the next three plays netted just two yards and Dominguez was forced to punt, booting this one 44 yards with the return getting back to the 25.
 
Each side traded penalties, while senior Christian Taylor came off the edge for a sack, putting Millersville into a 2^nd-and-22. Taylor then got into the backfield again, forcing a Zeltt fumble which graduate Lance Blankesnhip was able to recover in the end zone to effectively seal the result up 42-27 with just over two minutes to go. The Marauders tried to make things interesting late on, as a 31-yard throw by Zeltt and two Bobcat penalties allowed a quick two-yard pass to Kam Taylor as the score now stood at 42-34.
 
Effectively needing to recover the onside kick, MU instead kicked it out of bounds with just two timeouts to stop the clock. Doyle was able to make his way nine yards on three carries to set up a nervy 4^th-and-1 decision, which Head Coach Eric Wagoner decided to go for and try to end the game. He entrusted the ball to his most experienced back, as Doyle muscled his way another two yards to get the first down and run out the clock for the eight-point victory.
 
Fulton and Brooks combined to go 15-of-24 for 265 yards and four total touchdowns, with Cruiz Paul-Umstead leading the receiving corps on three catches for 114 yards and a score. Doyle, Alexander, and Smothers combined for 32 carries and 159 yards to round out the offense. Senior Wylan Harich drove the defense with a team-high eight tackles, including one for loss, with Tiaga, Taylor, and Blankenship all adding sacks on the day.
 
Frostburg outgained Millersville 434-363 despite running 17 fewer plays, while also narrowly winning the time of possession battle 31:32-28:28. FSU's defense held the Marauders to just 2.5 yards per carry while also forcing four turnovers and another on downs.
 
With the win, the Bobcats improve to 2-0 on the year, while MU starts their season 0-1. After playing on short rest this week, Frostburg has a bye week upcoming before returning home to face West Liberty on Saturday, September 20 at 1 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.