Frostburg State University Athletics

GLENVILLE, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Football team dominated nearly all facets of their 56-7 road victory over Glenville State on Saturday afternoon.
 
GSU won the opening coin toss and elected to kick to FSU, where a potential surprise onside was safely gathered by sophomore Joe Hayes at midfield. Junior KJ Smothers toted the rock early on, going nine yards on a pair of carries while also nabbing a 10-yard screen pass from classmate Peyton Murphy. Quickly facing a 3^rd-and-1, graduate Owen Doyle barreled nine yards to earn the conversion and get into the red zone. After another three-yard gain, Murphy found sophomore Caleb Barnes in the back left corner of the end zone to get the Bobcats on the board, with sophomore Tyler Cook's point-after making it 7-0.
 
The Pioneers swiftly answered, as they took the resulting kick-off 71 yards down to the Frostburg 29-yard line. On 3^rd-and-5 from the 24, JD Sherrod found Kyree Bunny on a cross route to even things up after just three plays. Not to be outdone, junior Tra'Shaun Timmons had a big return of his own, going 35 yards and setting up great field position once more for FSU. Offensive Coordinator Trevor Miller then dipped into his bag of tricks, as Smothers and Murphy worked a flea-flicker, with the latter putting the ball on a platter for Timmons down the left sideline, scoring a 49-yard TD to regain a 14-7 advantage.
 
It appeared that the game would become a showcase of offense, as Sherrod had a 32-yard pass on the first play of Glenville's next drive, however the Bobcat defense locked in to force a field goal attempt. On the 40-yard try, senior Tristin Forby leapt high to get a hand on the ball, getting a block and putting the ball back in Frostburg's hands. On the second play of the drive, Barnes went in motion and got a running start to the right side, burning his defender with speed before corralling Murphy's pass for a 64-yard catch-and-run and a two-touchdown lead.
 
The Bobcat defense stepped up once again on GSU's next possession, as the hosts drove across midfield before graduate Ramal West jumped a Sherrod pass for an interception. Murphy's arm and Doyle's legs methodically moved Frostburg down the field, getting to 3^rd-and-3 at the Glenville 28 to end the first quarter. Kicking off the second period, Murphy found Barnes through the middle to get the conversion, then two plays later, Smothers ran around the left side of his line from 13 yards out to put the score at 28-7.
 
Looking for a way back into the game, the Pioneers picked up a big 47-yard pass from Sherrod to Caden Harris to get all the way down to the Bobcat five-yard line. FSU wouldn't budge from that point, as junior Kurt Thomas and senior Zion Bryson combined on a tackle while junior Carter Mazalewski made another for no gain, then a false start put GSU five yards back. Glenville thought they had a touchdown on third down, however a face mask penalty against the offensive line waved it off, forcing a field goal that missed wide left.
 
On the other side of the ball, Frostburg's offense kept humming, as Murphy had passes to Timmons and junior Max Heineman for gains of 12 and 16 yards, respectively, then Smothers burst through the middle for a. 40-yard score and a 35-7 advantage. Once again, GSU was able to get the ball down the field and into FSU territory but weren't able to capitalize, as Mazalewski made a hit that forced a fumble that fell right into sophomore Osman Fanny's arms.
 
The Bobcats worked the ball into Pioneer territory with Doyle going for a six-yard carry and nine-yard catch, while Murphy dotted to junior Amirr Coles and Barnes for gains of 13 and 19. With time ticking down and Frostburg out of timeouts, Murphy managed to get eight yards out of a third down scramble, as Cook and the field goal unit rushed onto the field, however his kick was blocked at the line to end the half.
 
Glenville managed a quick first down to start the third period but didn't get much else, as Bryson had a sack on third down to force a punt. Smothers helped Murphy convert a 3^rd-and-10 on a shovel pass to keep the drive going, then on a 4^th-and-6 and just outside of field goal range, Frostburg decided to go for it, as senior Austin Paul-Umsted made a great sliding catch for 23 yards and possession in the red zone. A penalty threatened to halt the drive in forcing a 2^nd-and-14, however a play later, Murphy found Timmons on the left side, beating a pair of defenders to the end zone for a 42-7 score.
 
GSU earned just one yard from scrimmage and were sent back five on a penalty for their next drive, needing to punt the ball back to the Bobcat offense. With their stable lead, FSU leaned on the run game, as sophomore Brett Patterson was able to take the ball 31 total yards to the Pioneer five-yard line in ending the quarter, then heard his name called once more to power it in.
 
Frostburg's defense continued their three-and-out streak on the next Glenville drive, however the offense returned the favor, as senior Sam Dominguez heard his name called for the first time all afternoon, punting 41 yards away. Junior Nathan Nosan helped ensure there would be no momentum going the Pioneers' way, getting a tackle for loss on the first play, then after two incompletions, a botched punt attempt resulted in Fanny making a turnover-on-downs tackle in GSU territory.
 
Hayes joined in the ground game for three carries and 21 total yards, as new QB junior Jordan Brooks found sophomore Sean Myers for his first catch of the season to get into the red zone. In another first for FSU, Hayes powered his way through from five yards out to open his collegiate scoring account and making things 56-7. With Glenville unable to produce another first down and having to punt, the Bobcats ran their way down the field, with Hayes and sophomore Rodrigo Delgado going for 66 yards and ticking the final four minutes off the clock for the 49-point victory.
 
Murphy was impressive in his first collegiate start, finishing 19-of-21 for 285 yards and four touchdowns while also setting the program's single-game completion percentage record at 90.5%. Barnes and Timmons led the receiving corps, combining for nine catches, 182 yards, and all four TD's, while Smothers drove the rushing attack on 84 yards and a pair of scores. Fanny helped lead the defense with four tackles, including one for loss, while Bryson notched 1.5 TFL's, a sack, and a forced fumble in the effort.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 3-3 on the year, while Glenville drops to 1-5. FSU will return to Bobcat Stadium for Homecoming Weekend, as they host Charleston (WV) on Saturday, October 17 at 1 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.