Football Falls in Undefeated Match Up with Charleston on Homecoming

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Football team lost their first game of the season on Saturday, falling in Bobcat Stadium to No. 13 Charleston (WV) by a score of 48-7 in the team's Homecoming Game. 
 
Sophomore Harrison Fritz kicked off to Charleston to start the game, with the Golden Eagles starting their drive at their 35-yard line after a touchback.  UC marched down field right away, running the ball most of the drive.  Seniors Yasir Holmes and Leonard Scott were able to tag team a tackle to allow Charleston no yards on Frostburg's 15-yard line.  The Golden Eagles then threw for a pass, setting them up for a first and goal opportunity, allowing them to run in for the first score of the game and a 7-0 lead.  With their first possession of the game, Frostburg looked to rush down field as well, but were quickly denied by UC's defense, seeing the ball for three and out.  Sophomore Sammy Dominguez punted the ball 55 yards, putting the ball at the Golden Eagles five-yard line.  The Bobcats defense showed up ready, causing UC to only see three plays for one yard, as Scott came up with a big tackle and senior Lance Blankenship was credited with a huge sack, giving the ball right back to FSU with under six left in the first. 
 
Redshirt sophomore Myles Fulton quickly threw a pass to sophomore Trashaun Timmons for a pickup of 18 yards to start the drive.  Fulton then hit redshirt sophomore Jordan Marcucci for a two-yard gain, before redshirt sophomore Owen Doyle tried to march into the endzone, but only picked up two yards.  Trying to push in the endzone, Doyle, Fulton, and redshirt sophomore Blake White all tried to pick up yards that would carry the Bobcats into the endzone, but Charleston was able to cause Frostburg to turn the ball over on downs with two minutes left.  The Golden Eagles ran to midfield and picked up three first downs to end the quarter with the ball and on top 7-0.
 
Junior Wylan Harich was credited with two big tackles to start the second, trying to do everything he could to stop UC's run game.  Charleston had no problem taking the ball down field, knotting an 18-yard touchdown run and the extra point to jump in front 14-0.  Marcucci stood down field to receive the kickoff, as the ball was bobbled around and ended up in the hands of the Golden Eagles, putting them back in scoring position.  Scott was credited with another sack, as Harich recorded a tackle pushing UC back four yards, but Charleston was still able to add another score on the board, this time missing the extra point, but seeing themselves up 20-0 with around nine left in the half. 
 
Junior Sean Aaron worked hard on the ground to secure a first down, but FSU was unable to push ayt further down field.  The Bobcats went for it on 4^th and 3, but were unable to connect on a pass, turning the ball over on downs.  UC started off their drive with a 31-yard burst down field, with senior DJ Denson pushing the runner out of bounds.  The Golden Eagles were called for a false start, but that did no damage to their offense, as they tacked on another seven points to their advantage for a 27-0 lead.  On their next possession, sophomore Jordan Brooks came into the quarterback spot, hitting the hands of juniors Amari N'namdi-Hall and Jeremiah Gibson for a total gain of 24 yards.  Brooks then threw to Timmons for a seven yard gain, but Frostburg was unable to pick up the extra yardage to get the first down, giving UC the ball one more time before the break.  The Bobcats defense didn't allow Charleston to get in any kind of scoring position, as the half ended 27-0 in favor of the Golden Eagles. 
 
Marcucci returned the ball 11 yards to start the second half, with Doyle running five yards to the right for the first play of the third quarter.  FSU was unable to secure a first down, bringing out Dominguez to punt.  On the second play of their drive, Charleston busted through the offensive line for a 54-yard run, helping them set up for a 12-yard touchdown later on.  The Golden Eagles tacked on the extra point, increasing the score to 34-0 with over four minutes gone in the quarter.  Aaron ran for eight yards to start the next drive for FSU, before Brooks connected with N'namdi-Hall for a 36-yard reception, but it was brought back because of a holding call on Frostburg.  Brooks then looked down field to sophomore Cruiz Paul-Umstead, but Charleston was called for pass interference, giving the Bobcats the first down.  Trying to push down field and get into scoring position, Brooks looked to throw deep down field, but was picked off, ending the Frostburg's drive. 
 
UC took over at their three-yard line with 8:03 left in the quarter.  The Golden Eagles connected on a pass down field, allowing the run game to slowly do the rest.  The defense of Holmes, senior Mitchell West, junior Jaylen Boyd, and redshirt juniorJosh McTier were all credited with multiple tackles on the drive, but Charleston was able to secure another seven points, pushing in front 41-0 with just 26 seconds left in the third.  FSU planned to start on their 25-yard line to start the fourth. 
 
Doyle started the fourth with a strong 19-yard rush up the middle, earning the first down for Frostburg.  Charleston didn't allow the Bobcats to pick up anymore yards, as UC picked up a sack and recovered the ball when it popped out, setting their offense up at Frostburg's 33-yard line.  The Golden Eagles did what they did all game, as the Bobcats struggled to keep them content, as Charleston ran in for their final score of the game, pushing the score to 48-0. 
 
FSU started their final drive of the game at their own 25-yard line, as Aaron and redshirt sophomore Andre Smith combined on the rushing attack to move the ball up field.  Sophomore KJ Smothers got in on the running action, picking up five yards on two carries.  Brooks then dropped back for a pass play, hitting Smothers to the left, allowing him to push in for the six-yard touchdown and Frostburg's first score of the game.  Senior Brandon Keen came out for the extra point, slotting in through the uprights for a 48-7 game.  Charleston regained possession with 2:20 left in regulation, picking up one first down and kneeling the rest of the game, allowing the final score to read 48-7. 
 
Brooks finished 8-for-14 in the air for 114 yards and one touchdown.  Fulton went a quick 2-for-6 in the air for 20 yards.  Doyle led the rushing game going for 39 yards on 10 carries, while Aaron was next with 26 yards on seven carries.  N'namdi-Hall caught three passes for 45 yards, while Maarcucci was next with two receptions for 35 yards.  Boyd finished the day with 12 total tackles, while Holmes tallied eight and Harich reached six. 
 
With the loss, Frostburg moves to 6-1 on the season, while Charleson improves to 7-0.  The Bobcats stay at home for their next contest, taking on Wheeling in a Thursday night game on October 24 at 7 PM where the game will be televised by MASN.  For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.