Defense Holds Off Late Lakers Charge as Football Remains Undefeated

ERIE, Pa. – The Frostburg State Football team picked up a narrow victory over Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon, taking their fourth straight win with a 25-24 final.

In front of a home Laker crowd excited for the program's home opener as a Division I program, Frostburg looked to kickoff, fooling everyone with an onside kick, with senior Brandon Keen recovering his own kick to start the game. With the momentum from the onside kick, redshirt-sophomore Owen Doyle was able to burst through the gap for a 17-yard rush on the second play of the game. He picked up another three yards on the next play, before redshirt-sophomore Myles Fulton ran right for eight yards, putting the Bobcat's at 4th and 4. FSU decided to go for it on Mercyhurst's 29-yard line, as Fulton dropped back and looked downfield, throwing a 25-yard pass to sophomore Trashaun Timmons for a first down. Fulton, then on second-and-goal, sent a four-yard dime to redshirt-sophomore Jordan Marcucci for the first touchdown of the game. Keen knocked down the extra point to give FSU a 7-0 lead just about four minutes into the game.

Lining up to kick off to the Lakers, Frostburg surprised everyone once again with an onside kick, where the Bobcats were able to regain possession at their own 47-yard line, this time from sophomore Harrison Fritz. Fulton came back out to set up Frostburg's offense, hitting Timmons again for an 18-yard gain. Fulton passed his way down field, connecting with juniors Sean Aaron and Amari N'namdi-Hall, with the latter catching a 25-yard touchdown pass, leading to a 14-0 advantage for Frostburg with 8:55 left to play in the first.

Finally receiving the ball after a kick-off, MU marched their way down field on their first dive of the game, before senior Colby Street caused some problems on the defensive end, forcing an incomplete pass off a quarterback hurry. The Lakers were able to set up on FSU's 14-yard line for a 24-yard field goal, but junior Anthony Smith was able to get his hands on it, blocking the kick to keep the game at 14-0.

FSU took possession into the second quarter, as the Bobcats went to punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty called on Mercyhurst allowed the ball to be back in the hands of Frostburg. FSU was unable to add any more points to their score, turning the ball over on downs and giving it back to the Lakers. Mercyhurst picked up the ball just 15 seconds into the second quarter, marching downfield for a 14-6 score. Junior Wylan Harich was able to get his fingertips on the ball of the extra point, blocking the kick to keep the game at 14-6 just less than halfway into the quarter.

The Bobcats took the ball right down into MU's territory, off a 15-yard pick up in the air from Marcucci, followed by a 22-yard run up the middle from redshirt-sophomore Andre Smith. Smith was able to run for nine more yards, coming up just short of the first down, allowing Frostburg to send out Keen for a 14-yard field goal attempt to make the score 17-6. With just under two minutes left in the half, Mercyhurst ran into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown, but were unable to convert the two-point conversion, sending the game into the break with a 17-12 score.

Senior Leonard Scott opened the second half with a sack, helping MU go three-and-out on their first drive of the third. FSU regained possession, pushing for a first down, but turned the ball over to the Lakers off an interception. Mercyhurst took over on FSU's 8-yard line, scoring on a 3rd-and-1 opportunity, again failing to convert the two-point conversion, but taking an 18-17 lead with 9:24 left in the period.

The Bobcats answered right back, with Fulton helping Frostburg earn a first down right away off a 17-yard pick up from Timmons, who then caught another pass for a 12-yard gain, before Doyle pushed through the line on back-to-back carries for a total of 26 yards. Now on MU's 22-yard line, both Fulton and Doyle rushed the ball, before the former hit junior Jeremiah Gibson for a 13-yard touchdown and an FSU lead. N'namdi Hall was then able to tack on two more points to Frostburg's lead, catching a pass to convert the two-point conversion for a 25-18 game heading into the fourth.

The Lakers had no response, as senior Austin Amadi was able to force a fumble by MU, helping senior Vincent Nwachi get his hands on the ball to recover it at Mercyhurst's 39-yard line. The Bobcat's were unable to get anything out of the good field position, turning the ball over on downs. With 13 minutes left in regulation, the Lakers looked for a response but were put back three yards off a sack from senior Yasir Holmes. MU was able to push through, tacking on another score and looking for a two-point conversion to tie up the game, but again couldn't capitalize, leaving the score at 25-24 with Frostburg still on top.

Frostburg was able to run down field and drain the clock, looking for a 40-yard field goal attempt to increase their lead, but unable to put it through the uprights. MU looked to start their next drive on their own 30-yard line, but redshirt-junior Josh McTier forced another Mercyhurst fumble, as Street was able to recover the ball to give the Bobcats possession with 2:55 left to play. FSU's offense was able to pick up two huge first downs to seal the 25-24 victory as time rounded out in their favor.

Fulton threw 18-for-27 on the day for a total of 184 yards in the air. Doyle led the rushing attack for Frostburg with 98 yards on 18 carries, while Smith (57), Aaron (34) and Fulton (22) put up solid efforts on the ground as well. Timmons finished with 69 yards off a team-high five receptions, while N'namdi-Hall was right behind him with 51 yards off four receptions. On the defensive effort, Street led the way with a team-high seven tackles, six being solo. Harich and junior Jaylen Boyd each finished with four, while three other Bobcats finished with three each.

With the win, Frostburg improves to 4-0 on the season, while Mercyhurst drops to 1-4. FSU comes back home to Bobcat Stadium for their next game, hosting West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday, October 5 at 1 PM. For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.