Frostburg State University Athletics

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The Frostburg State Football team fell to Shepherd 34-26 in their season opener on Saturday afternoon. 

The game opened with each team having short opening possessions and exchanging punts. FSU would take the ball for the majority of the first quarter, going on an eight-plus minute drive. Junior Jordan Brooks had a key third down pass to classmate Tra'Shaun Timmons for 20 yards, while a pass interference call on 3rd-and-11 later kept the drive moving. Brooks had another pair of late down conversions, first finding senior Austin Paul-Umstead for five yards on 4th-and-3, then the pair connected again for 16 on a 3rd-and-10 to get into the red zone. The momentum stopped there, as sophomore Tyler Cook came on and hit a 37-yard field goal to put the Bobcats up 3-0. A penalty on the resulting kick-off gave the Rams great field position right at midfield, as on their first play from the drive took the ball 33 yards to the FSU 17. Two completions and a pair of runs would result in a touchdown for their first lead at 7-3 to end the frame. 

Any Bobcat momentum was swiftly halted as Brooks would have a pass intercepted by D'Myo Hunter, who was brought down at the one-yard line with SU adding a second touchdown to the board. Frostburg went three-and-out in their next possession, as Hunter again provided a spark, going 64 yards for a punt return touchdown to make the score 21-3 Rams. Neither team managed to do much with their next drives, as after forcing a Shepherd punt, Frostburg looked to get downfield.

On a 3rd-and-9, Brooks darted a ball to sophomore Caleb Barnes for 20 yards, as graduate Owen Doyle then took the ball on a carry for six yards into Ram territory. The hope of continuing the drive ended as Brooks scrambled out of the pocket and had the ball knocked out of his hands with SU falling on the loose ball. A pass interference call and two completions for 34 total yards set the hosts up inside FSU's 10, where it seemed they had gotten a key third down stop, however another PI call allowed the Rams to add one more touchdown before the half to lead 28-3. 

The Bobcat defense would come out of the locker room with a comeback in mind, forcing a quick three-and-out on the opening drive. On an eight-and-a-half minute drive, Frostburg was helped out by multiple Shepherd penalties in working the ball up the field. Doyle and senior tailback KJ Smothers toted the ball six times between the pair, as the latter would finish off the 68-yard drive with a one-yard TD rush to get the score to 28-10.

With momentum shifting, FSU's defense again held the Rams to a short drive, causing a punt that was kicked out of the back of the endzone for a safety. Now also receiving the resulting punt, sophomore Sean Myers ran the ball back 22 yards to the 43-yard line to set up the next Bobcat possession. Brooks worked quickly down the field, hitting three straight passes to senior JeVonn Gilyard, Timmons, and junior Ray Adames, with the latter being a 31-yard touchdown in the corner of the endzone to pull within 28-19 at the end of the third.

Frostburg again didn't allow the Rams to move the ball, forcing another punt which senior Landon Alexander took back 25 yards to the Bobcat 46. Just as it seemed the tide of the game was turning, another fumble on a second down sack would get SU the ball back within FSU territory. Taking four minutes off the clock, a 14-yard pass and 13-yard run set Shepherd up for their first score of the second half, with a missed extra point taking things to 34-19. Needing points quickly, Brooks maneuvered the offense down the field with completions to Adames, Paul-Umstead, and junior Amirr Coles to get just outside the red zone. A costly holding call would stop the drive in its tracks, as being out of field goal range, Frostburg wasn't able to convert a 4th-and-16.

Another three-and-out handed the ball back to the Bobcats, though they had just three minutes to find two touchdowns. On the first play, Brooks passed to Gilyard for 17 yards followed by a pass interference on the following snap. Already into Ram territory, Brooks floated a ball Adames for his second TD of the day from 33 yards out to bring things to 34-26. FSU was unable to recover the onside kick, as SU was able to eke out a 4th-and-1 run to tick the clock down to zero and hold on for the win. 

Brooks would finish the game 29-of-44, throwing for 307 yard and a pair of TDs. Adames had a career day, going for 125 yards on six catches and two TDs. Junior safety Amari Johnson led the Bobcat defense with six tackles, followed closely by classmate Tristin Forby's five.