FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Football team led start to finish in a commanding 49-16 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan at home on Saturday afternoon.
 
Receiving the kick the start the game, FSU was given a boost as an offside and out of bounds penalty gave them a favorable start on the 40-yard line. Within two plays, Frostburg had already gotten down to the Wesleyan 15, as redshirt sophomore Myles Fulton found classmate Jordan Marcucci for a 17-yard gain, then Owen Doyle ran down the right sideline for 28 yards on a chunk play. After a short completion from Fulton to junior Nick McCarthy, Doyle toted the ball twice for 11 combined yards and the opening score, with senior Brandon Keen's kick making it 7-0.
 
On WVWC's first drive, they picked up nine yards across to plays, but a false start followed by a combined sack between junior Jaylen Boyd and graduate Rob Jackson swiftly forced a punt on 4^th-and-15. Committing to try and block the punt, FSU went without a return man, as Wesleyan got the punt off for 58 yards down to the Frostburg 22. The first three plays of the drive resulted in nine yards, but rather than punt on 4^th-and-1, junior Sean Aaron muscled his way up the middle to gain the necessary yardage and keep the drive alive. Fulton later found junior Amari N'namdi-Hall for a 22-yard catch-and-run, then dropped a pair to redshirt sophomore Cruiz Paul-Umstead for gains of 14 and 32, the latter going in for another TD and a 14-0 lead.
 
WVWC was forced into a three-and-out, but quickly got the ball back after Kevin Nelson did well to intercept a deep Fulton pass destined for junior Jeremiah Gibson. The resulting drive came to nothing, however, as senior Yasir Holmes and junior Marquise Allsup combined for a pair of sacks, while the following punt was taken 13 yards back by N'namdi-Hall to the Wesleyan 20. Doyle ended the quarter with a five-yard rush, then Fulton opened the second with a 15-yard QB draw into the endzone for a 21-0 score.
 
Frostburg held WVWC to a three-and-out once more on the next possession, with freshman Malik Johnson and senior Austin Amadi coming up with a stop for a loss on 3^rd-and-1 to bring the drive to a halt. A holding call midway through FSU's next drive helped to force a 40-yard field goal attempt, which was put wide left. Holmes and senior Colby Street helped ensure the resulting Wesleyan drive got nowhere with a combined sack, as the teams traded punts.
 
Getting the ball on the Frostburg 47, WVWC needed just three plays to get all of them, with a 26-yard strike from Nathan Payne to Immanuel Scott putting the visitors on the board, but junior Wylan Harich came up with a blocked kick on the extra point to keep the score to 21-6.
 
With just three minutes until the half, Fulton's favorite target became N'namdi-Hall, as the two connected on three catches for a combined 43 yards, swiftly marching down the field. As the clock neared the final minute, Doyle powered through from 10 yards out to put Frostburg up 28-6. FSU's defense came up with yet another sack before the period ended, as Boyd brought Payne down to conclude the first 30.
 
As Wesleyan received the ball to start the second half, their first possession stalled at midfield, with Holmes getting to Payne once again to force a punt. After the ball was downed at the Frostburg 19, Doyle broke through for 45 yards to set FSU up in WVWC territory down to the 36. Aaron then took the rock a total of four times for 17  yards to get into the red zone, where on fourth down, he was found in the endzone by Fulton, just keeping his feet inbounds for a 35-6 score.
 
Both teams were called for penalties on the next Wesleyan drive, where they were able to get down to the five-yard line, but forced to settle for a field goal. Surprising the home crowd, WVWC recovered an onside kick to get the ball back, but were unable to advance very far on a three-and-out. After a penalty during the punt and another on the first play of the drive, Frostburg found themselves at their own three-yard line to start the fourth quarter.
 
Doyle got FSU some breathing room on a 17-yard run, then after a three-yard gain to pick up a first down, Fulton fired down the left sideline to a wide-open Gibson, who had an open 77-yard path to the house for a 42-9 lead. Another WVWC punt gave Frostburg the ball at the Wesleyan 44, where on the second play, sophomore Jordan Brooks came in for Fulton and found Paul-Umstead for a 15-yard gain. A pass interference call helped move the ball into the red zone, where sophomore KJ Smothers had a pair of carries for 16 yards and his first touchdown of the season for a 40-point advantage.
 
WVWC nearly turned the ball over on downs after reaching the FSU 18, but a pass interference gave them a fresh set and eventually paved the way for a one-yard sneak from Payne to end the scoring at 49-16. Frostburg still put up a dangerous drive on their final possession, as freshman Rodrigo Delgado and redshirt-sophomore Nathaniel Lamb combined for four carries and 55 yards, but the clock expired with the final 33-point victory.
 
In a balanced attack of 525 yards of total offense, Fulton went 15-of-23 for 249 yards and three touchdowns, while the ground game touted 261 total yards, led by Doyle's career-best 120 and pair of scores. N'namdi-Hall tied his career-high with six catches for a game-high 81 yards, as Boyd swarmed on defense, making a career-high 10 tackles, including two for loss and 1.5 sacks. Holmes wasn't too far behind, making six combined tackles with four TFL's and 2.5 sacks.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 5-0, while WVWC drops to 0-5. FSU hits the road next Saturday, October 12 to face Glenville State at 1:30 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.