FROSTBURG, Md. – Freshman Connor Cox threw for three touchdowns, while senior Mike Ambrose hauled in two, but it wasn't enough for Frostburg as it suffered a 33-27 defeat to Montclair State, Saturday.
The Bobcats (6-3, 5-3 NJAC) finished with 385 yards in offense, but hurt themselves with four turnovers and two missed opportunities on fourth down in the second half.
"We talked with our players all week about winning the turnover battle," said head coach DeLane Fitzgerald. "Then today we lost it 4-to-1 and the fact is we aren't going to win many football games in which we lose the turnover battle."
"I'm proud of our guys persistence for three hours today," added Fitzgerald. "I've said this before, we have good character kids, they are going to play hard all day. We will rebound from this and get back to work tomorrow on the next opponent. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Our coaching staff likes this group of young men."
Cox finished with 163 yards and a season-high three scores behind 14-of-26 attempts. He connected with senior Myles Burgess for 97 yards on eight receptions and one score. Ambrose hauled in two passes as both went for touchdowns.
Freshman Gavin Lavat averaged 6.7 yards per carry after running 15 times for 101 yards. Eighty of his yards came in the second half on seven rushing attempts. Junior Isaac Robinson also connected on field goal attempts of 20 and 22 yards.
Montclair (4-5, 4-4 NJAC) kicker Ryan DeLeon booted a 41-yard field goal early in the first for a quick 3-0 lead.
Junior Austin Bonsall set up Frostburg's first scoring drive as he returned a DeLeon punt 47 yards to the Montclair four. Two plays later, Cox found Burgess for a leaping five-yard touchdown and a 6-3 advantage.
The Red Hawks answered with an Aaron Williams touchdown run that handed the visitors the lead for good at 10-6.
Frostburg never gave up and played through the final whistle as it kept its deficit within one score for much of the game.
Ambrose hauled in the first of his two touchdowns receptions with seven seconds left in the first half. FSU marched 58 yards in eight plays and Cox connected with Ambrose for an 11-yard scoring strike as the Bobcats pulled within 26-17 at the break.
Robinson opened the second half with a 20-yard field goal that cut the score to 26-20, but Montclair answered with a 25-yard touchdown run that opened the gap to 33-20.
Sophomore Josh Piper returned the ensuing kickoff 29 yards and Montclair was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave the Bobcats the ball at the Montclair 45. Cox found Burgess for 33 yards on the first play, while Ambrose capped the drive with his second scoring reception, this time for nine yards, as Frostburg pulled within 33-27.
The Frostburg defense forced the Red Hawks to punt the ball back to the Bobcat offense with just 1:14 left in the fourth quarter. However, Frostburg tossed a late interception inside the final minute to seal the game.
"We had plenty of opportunities of win today, but we just didn't do enough. You must win two of the three phases of the game in order to win and I'm not sure we even won one phase of the game today."
Junior Lyle Fugate posted a career-high 15 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Junior Will Sewell added eight tackles with one sack and one tackle for loss.
Frostburg returns to the field next Saturday at Salisbury for the 17th Annual Regents' Cup game. A kickoff time has yet to be announced.
Football Drops Home Finale To Montclair State
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20151107_3wnp.xml
2015
Montclair State
33
Frostburg State
27
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montclair State (4-5) | 10 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 33 |
| Frostburg State (6-3) | 6 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
Nov 07, 2015