FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Football team earned their Mountain East Conference Champions title with a 35-18 victory over Fairmont State in their regular season finale on Saturday.
 
The Fighting Falcons began the game by winning the toss and starting out on offense, however it wouldn't last very long, as a holding call on a would-be third down conversion was followed by an incompletion and a punt. Marching down the field, the Bobcats were aided by a pass interference call on 2^nd-and-7, then redshirt sophomore Jordan Brooks found sophomore Ray Adames for a 12-yard gain to get into the red zone. Brooks then found classmate Cruiz Paul-Umstead on an out route to convert a 3^rd-and-2, allowing redshirt junior Owen Doyle to power his way for a four-yard touchdown on the next play, as freshman Tyler Cook's point-after went through for a 7-0 lead.
 
Senior Kamari Ramsey then ensured that Fairmont again wouldn't be able to do much on offense, picking off Nino Marzullo and running it back 20 yards in hopes of setting up another Bobcat score. They wouldn't get their desired result, however, as the Falcon defense stepped up to stop Doyle short on third and fourth down from the one for a turnover on downs. Marzullo was able to run his way to a first down on 3^rd-and-3 to avoid a three-and-out, then followed up with a screen pass to LeJay Hatcher for another conversion that brought an end to the first quarter.
 
On a 15-yard pass from Marzullo, the Falcons got into Frostburg territory for the first time, however they wouldn't be staying long, as a false start was followed by seniors Rainer Halveland and CT Taylor combining on a three-yard tackle for loss. Eventually being forced to punt on 4^th-and-15, a short kick and a penalty put the ball at the Bobcat 27. Fairmont wouldn't have to wait long to get the ball back, as on the second play Jevonte Wilson came up with an interception to set the hosts up in great field position.
 
Ramsey continued his strong play with a pass breakup on first down, as another false start was followed by a one-yard run and an incompletion, bringing up 4^th-and-14. The Falcons elected to try a 51-yard field goal, which missed and gave the Bobcats the ball back. On the second play of the drive, Brooks lofted a deep pass down the middle to senior JeVonn Gilyard, who hauled it in and managed to break a tackle, stumbling his way down to the one-yard line. After a one-yard loss, Brooks fired a long pass to the far side that was grabbed by Paul-Umstead just in-bounds as Cook made it a 14-0 game.
 
Fairmont then put together their longest drive of the game, as Marzullo had a couple runs for 11 and 20 yards, however they were halted on junior Daquan Stevenson dropping Hatcher for a loss on first down from the 18. The next two plays generated just one yard, as redshirt sophomore Carter Mazalewski broke up a pass on 3^rd-and-11, with the Falcons having to settle for a field goal from Emmanuel Richardson for their first points of the half at 14-3. Frostburg was able to drive downfield following 23-yard gains from Doyle and Gilyard, however couldn't finish after a missed field goal. The Falcons had a quick three-and-out as the half ended with the Bobcats up by 11.
 
Redshirt junior Austin Paul-Umstead ran the second half kick back 27 yards to set up great field position, as junior Landon Alexander went for a 13-yard and Cruiz Paul-Umstead was found by Brooks for a 22-yard gain down to the 19. Doyle then took the ball on three consecutive carries and a one-yard punch-in for a 21-3 advantage. Senior Jaylen Boyd got the ball back to Frostburg in swift fashion, picking off Marzullo on their third play of the drive.
 
The Bobcats pulled out some trickery after it seemed they had gone three-and-out, as senior Wylan Harich took a fake punt for 33 yards down to the Fairmont 17. The hosts were able to come up with another stop, however, sacking Brooks on third down and blocking Cook's attempted field goal to keep Frostburg off the board. Marzullo and Hatcher then powered their way down the field, the latter bursting through for a 34-yard gain and the latter taking in from eight yards out to pull within 21-10.
 
Brooks was able to prevent a three-and-out on the resulting drive, finding Cruiz Paul-Umstead over the middle for 22 yards to convert a 3^rd-and-6. As the contest ended the final frame, Doyle received a swing pass from Brooks for another third down conversion that got into Falcon territory. Two plays later, it appeared that Frostburg's drive would be ending, as a botched snap over the head of Brooks resulted in an intentional grounding call as he attempted to throw the ball away for a 3^rd-and-35. In a sudden turn of events, redshirt sophomore KJ Smothers took the hand-off and trucked a defender on his way to a 34-yard gain, nearly getting the line to gain. The Bobcats went for it on fourth down and Smothers was entrusted again, muscling his way to get the yardage need to maintain the drive. After another two-yard run, Brooks darted the ball to Cruiz Paul-Umstead on a slant route, trotting his way in for a 35-yard score and a 27-10 advantage after a missed point-after.
 
The Falcons were able to answer back, being helped out by a personal foul penalty and a 22-yard Hatcher run to get into Frostburg territory. After Marzullo found Noah Tucker for a 15-yard gain, he then passed to Joey Ramsey from 18 yards out, as a two-point conversion from Hatcher was successful for a 27-18 score. With seven and a half minutes to go, the Bobcats put together a swift drive, as Doyle, Smothers, and Alexander had runs for 18, 11, 19, and 20 yards that brought them all the way down to the Fairmont two. Smothers would hear his named called to punch it in, as Gilyard made a great catch in the back of the endzone for a successful two-point attempt and 35-18 score.
 
Marzullo had little time to make an impact to have any hopes of a miracle comeback, as senior Josh McTier broke up his first pass before Boyd came up with a sack and back-to-back incompletions resulted in a turnover on downs. After Fairmont burned their three timeouts, Smothers was able to carry the ball 11 yards on a 4^th-and-2 to ice the game and seal the 17-point victory.
 
Brooks finished the day 15-of-21 passing for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as Gilyard and Cruiz Paul-Umstead combined for 10 catches and 180 yards. Doyle and Smothers led the rushing attack with 202 total yards and three scores between the pair. Boyd and Harich drove the defensive effort with a team-high six tackles apiece, while Ramsey notched four tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Frostburg's defense held Marzullo to just 11-of-26 and 75 yards, his lowest total of the season.
 
With the win, the Bobcats improve to 9-2 on the year, while Fairmont ends their campaign at 6-5. Frostburg will share the Mountain East Conference championship with Charleston (WV) but has secured the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament thanks to defeating the Golden Eagles in the head-to-head matchup. They will learn their seeding and opponent on Sunday, November 17 during the NCAA selection show at 6 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.