ATHENS, W. Va. – The Frostburg State football team dropped their Saturday road game to Concord 41-31.
CU started off the game with the ball and moved quickly down the field, with a 23-yards carry and facemask penalty leading to Devin Kargman finding Ethan Jackson to go up 7-0 FSU would respond in their opening drive, as junior Jordan Brooks would go 4--for-4 for 65 yards, the last one being a 34-yard strike to classmate Tra'Shaun Timmons, making things 7-6 with a missed point after.
The Mountain Lions again took to the air in getting their offense going, hitting chunks for 8, 9, and 14 yards before Kargman hit Dom Collins on a 40-yard catch-and-run, retaking the lead 14-6. Brooks looked to lead the Bobcats back in response, going to Timmons for 17 yards and senior Daysen Shell for 16 to get into Concord territory. The drive came to a halt, however, with a 4th-and-4 resulting in an incompletion and turnover on downs.
Frostburg's defense stepped up on the resulting drive, with graduates Kamari Ramsey and Rainer Halveland combining on a third down sack, then junior Anthony Palmisano blocked the punt to set FSU up in great field position. A targeting call helped the Bobcats get into the red zone at the end of the quarter, then on the first play to start the second, Brooks was intercepted at the eight-yard line. His defensive unit picked him back up, as sophomore Isaiah Osafo-Mensah sacked Kargman for eight yards on third down, then the snap from the resulting punt was mishandled, allowing a combined tackle in the end zone for a safety.
Getting the ball back as well, the offense got going with Brooks finding sophomore Caleb Barnes for 20 yards to convert a 3rd-and-5, then a penalty put the ball all the way inside the 10. CU's defense locked down, forcing a fourth down from which sophomore Tyler Cook knocked in a 22-yard field goal to pull within 14-11. Halveland looked to spark the defense with a first down sack of Kargman, however the Mountain Lion signal caller bounced back two plays later, finding Collins for 39 yards and then firing a 23-yard score to push the lead to double digits.
FSU was plagued by penalties on the resulting drive, eventually facing a 3rd-and-28 from which senior Sam Dominguez was called in to boot a 55-yard punt. As it appeared CU would take full momentum into the half, sophomore Gavin Kendrick broke up a pass on first down before jumping a route to come away with an interception on second down, running it all the way back for a 53-yard pick six, as Cook's point after made things 21-18. With less than a minute remaining, the Mountain Lions swiftly maneuvered down field, getting into the red zone before Christain Torres hit a 22-yard field goal at the buzzer to go into the half up 24-18.
Frostburg would start the second half with the ball but wouldn't have it for long, as Elijah Owens intercepted Brooks on the first play from scrimmage. Concord would turn the turnover into three points, as junior Kurt Thomas came up with a big third down tackle for loss to stop the drive, with Torres hitting from 25 out for a 27-18 score. After getting a couple first downs through the ground game, Brooks found Shell for 24 yards and Barnes for 27 on a 3rd-and-28, as senior KJ Smothers kept the drive going by converting a 4th-and-1. Timmons made another catch down the sideline to gain 31 yards, setting Smothers up for a touchdown with another kick being blocked for a 27-24 score.
Kargman looked to continue the Mountain Lions' offensive pursuit with a 23-yard gain to Que Moore, however the Bobcat defense only allowed one more yard in three plays to force a punt. Helped out by a Concord penalty, Smothers took the ball twice for 25 yards while graduate Owen Doyle netted a 13-yard gain to get the ball into the red zone headed to the fourth quarter.
Frostburg would take its first lead of the game to start the final frame, as Brooks would hit sophomore Caleb Barnes for a 15-yard touchdown and make things 31-27. Concord would go down the field in four minutes to retake the lead, as a pass interference on 3rd-and-7 put the ball at the five-yard line for Greg Burrell to find pay dirt at 34-31.
After a forcing a three and out and another Dominguez punt, the Mountain Lions would go on another drive with Kargman hitting Collins on a third-down conversion and later a penalty getting Concord into the red zone. On 4th-and-1 from the 12-yard line, Kargman found Jackson for a dagger touchdown and a 41-31 lead with just over four minutes to play.
Needing a quick score, Brooks darted to Timmons for 31 yards, then later in the drive FSU was bailed out on a fourth-down heave with a pass interference call to keep the drive going. The momentum stopped there, however, as Brooks was intercepted by Bradley Harris to get CU the ball back with three minutes to go. There would be a glimmer of hope for Frostburg, as Halveland broke through on third down for a sack fumble that was recovered by Thomas. On the other side, however, the Mountain Lions would force a sack fumble of their own, this time running out the clock for their 41-31 win.
Brooks finished with 22 completions for 298 yards and a pair of scores, with Timmons his favorite target on seven catches, 129 yards and a TD. Halveland led the defense with 14 tackles, a whopping six of them for loss, as well as 2.5 sacks and the forced fumble.
With the loss, Frostburg moves to 2-3 on the year while Concord improves to 3-2. FSU will next travel to play at Glenville State on Saturday, October 10 starting at 1 PM. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.
