Frostburg State University Athletics

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Football team fell 27-24 to Wheeling at home on Saturday afternoon.
 
WU won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball, where they proceeded to use the ground game to charge down the field into Bobcat territory. After getting a third down conversion, Landon Lutz put a pass down the right sideline to find Manny Ortega-Garcia for the game's opening score. On the resulting point-after, a false start put the Cardinals five yards back, as graduate Kamari Ramsey then broke through the line to block the kick, as senior Will Burns picked the ball up and ran it back all the way to make the score 6-2.
 
FSU wasn't able to get much going in their first offensive possession, as Wheeling looked to get right back into the scoring column. Dawaun Green had a 20-yard run on the first play of the drive, as Lutz then connected again with Ortega-Garcia for 15 before things halted following an offensive pass interference on third down. A short pass to Torrence Walker ended up going for another 15, as Green tried to rush forward to convert on 4^th-and-1 but sophomore Isaiah Osafo-Mensah made a stop at the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs.
 
Junior KJ Smothers had a 19-yard carry to get Frostburg into WU territory but the offense could only get another four yards in three plays, as sophomore Tyler Cook came out for a 44-yard field goal, just pushing it wide right. The Cardinals chipped their way down the field in the final minutes of the first quarter, as Lutz had completions of 13 and 8 yards to get just outside the red zone headed to the second.
 
Osafo-Mensah joined graduate Rainer Halveland to make a second down stop, then Burns broke up a pass intended for Ortega-Garcia on third down, as this time the Cardinals missed their field goal attempt from 36 yards. The Bobcats had some help moving the ball on their next drive, as 29 yards were gained from Wheeling penalties, with graduate Owen Doyle also carrying the ball six times for 38 yards in getting inside the 10. From that point, Frostburg would have the costly penalties, going all the way back to 2^nd-and-goal from the 32, with junior Peyton Murphy getting a good chunk of it back on a 22-yard strike to sophomore Brett Patterson. After a third down incompletion, Cook came on from 28 yards out and this time knocked it through for a 6-5 score.
 
WU quickly made their way up the field on the resulting possession, as Lutz had completions to Sajari Love on 30 and 22 yards before calling his own number from 28 yards out to stretch the lead out to 13-5. The Bobcats looked for a quick response, as Murphy found junior Ray Adames for 35 yards on the first play, however a holding call effectively halted the drive and forced a punt. Frostburg's defense stepped up to prevent the Cardinals from working a two-minute drill, as senior Zion Bryson and Ramsey joined in on a sack while Burns had another pass breakup to take the game into the half.
 
Getting the ball to start the third period, FSU looked reenergized from the kick-off, as Smothers went for three carries and 31 yards while Murphy found junior Tra'Shaun Timmons for 25 yards into Wheeling territory. WU's defense locked in from there, as an incompletion on third down brought Cook back out, knocking in his second field goal of the day from 34 yards to pull within 13-8. Lutz was able to find Love for a 20-yard catch on 3^rd-and-7 to keep their next drive going, however junior Carter Mazalewski and Halveland worked back-to-back sacks soon after to force a Cardinal punt.
 
With momentum on their side, Murphy found Timmons for 17 yards to convert a 3^rd-and-5 before the pair connected again two plays later, with the former passing deep down the right side and the latter running in the rest of the way to take Frostburg's first lead of the day at 16-13 following Murphy's two-point conversion run. Wheeling took the final four and a half minutes of the third quarter off the clock, getting deep into Bobcat territory after some chunk plays. From the 11-yard line, Green took the ball twice and punched in, putting the Cardinals back up 20-16.
 
Neither team could get much going on their next possessions, as FSU looked like they were set to put together a drive following Murphy's third down converting run and 15-yard strike to sophomore Caleb Barnes, however an interception intended for Timmons gave WU the ball back. Frostburg managed to force another punt but on the second play of the next possession, a fumble was narrowly recovered by the visitors to get possession back. This time, Wheeling made the most of it, as Lutz had a 12-yard completion to Love before Ayden McKinstry hit from a yard out to go up 27-16.
 
Needing a quick score, Murphy swiftly got the Bobcats up field, finding Timmons for 23 yards, senior Daysen Shell for 11, and finally senior Austin Paul-Umstead for 26, as he muscled his way over the goal line for a touchdown. Seeking to get within a field goal, Murphy found Shell over the middle for a successful two-point try, making things 27-24. A short kick kept the ball with the Cardinals, as FSU spent a pair of timeouts hoping to get the ball back on a 3^rd-and-7. Lutz had other ideas, finding Love deep down the far sideline for a 32-yard catch that put the game out of reach, running the clock down for the three-point win.
 
Murphy had 13 completions for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as Timmons was by far his favorite target on six catches for 156 yards and a score. Halveland helped lead the defense with seven tackles, including two for a loss and a sack.
 
With the loss, Frostburg drops to 4-4 on the year, while Wheeling improves to 4-4. FSU will conclude their three-game homestand on Saturday, October 31 to face Delta State at 12 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.