FSU Football’s Incredible Season Ends in 70-37 Loss to Mount Union

After a stunning 35-7 upset over Wittenberg in the first round, as well as a dominating 46-27 victory at Washington & Jefferson in the second round, No. 15 Frostburg State’s (11-2) season ended Saturday afternoon in a crushing 70-37 blowout in the hands of No. 2 Mount Union (13-0). Despite the loss, this was the first time in program history that the Bobcats reached the NCAA DIII Quarterfinals.

The rout by the Purple Raiders began early in the first quarter when quarterback Luke Poorman found his target Braeden Friss for a 37-yard touchdown to give UMU a 7-0 lead. Then, Poorman kept the ball to himself as he scrambled his way to the end zone from 25 yards out to extend the lead to 14-0.

At the end of the quarter, Justin Hill hauled in a 45-yard TD pass from Poorman to give the Purple Raiders a 21-0 lead.

Early in the second, senior kicker Hassan Mostafa put the Bobcats on the board with a 37-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 21-3. However, on the ensuing kickoff, Darian LittleJohn soared through the defense and took it 90 yards for a touchdown that gave Mount Union a 28-3 lead.

The Bobcats eventually found the end zone as junior quarterback Connor Cox found junior tight end Christian DiPaola for a 2-yard score after junior wideout Sergio Andino hauled in a tremendous catch while leaping over a Purple Raiders defender.

Craziness ensued in the last four minutes of the half when the FSU and Mount Union scored a combined six touchdowns, with both teams scoring three times each, and they were all TD passes. Cox hooked up with DiPaola, Malik Morris, and Andino, while Poorman passed to Hill, Jared Ruth, and Friss, with the halftime score 49-24 Purple Raiders.

UMU would score three more times thanks to a five-yard TD run from Jawanza Evans-Moore and a 27-yard burst from Josh Petrucelli in the third quarter, followed by the third Poorman-Hill connection of the day in the fourth quarter.

Senior wideout Joe Beckford hauled in two TD passes in the final quarter of the Bobcats’ season from two different quarterbacks: Cox and first-year T.J. Peer.

Cox passed for four TDs, all to different receivers (DiPaola, Morris, Andino, Beckford), which hand him both Frostburg’s single season and career touchdown records. He finished the season with 29 TD passes and currently sits at 58 through three years. Cox also finished the afternoon with 236 yards through the air on 15-of-36 attempts.

Andino made five catches for 165 yards and a TD, while Beckford hauled in eight passes for 96 yards in his final game for the Bobcats. On the ground, Junior running back Jamaal Morant finished the afternoon with 39 yards on 10 carries.

On defense, junior defensive back Josh Scales led FSU with nine tackles and a forced fumble, while senior DB Josh Washington added five tackles, with a sack, tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

For the Purple Raiders, Poorman finished the afternoon with six touchdown passes on just 12 completions for 355 yards.

The Bobcats may be eliminated, but head coach DeLane Fitzgerald has a lot to be proud of changing the entire culture of this football program since 2015. This was an amazing season and hopefully we can expect the same sort of magic next season.