FROSTBURG, Md. – No. 11 Frostburg had an aggressive rally against No. 19 Wesley come up just short as the Bobcats fell in overtime to the Wolverines, 27-24, at Bobcat Stadium, Saturday.
Frostburg (4-1, 3-1) trailed 21-10 in the third quarter and Wesley (4-1, 3-1) had the ball inside the Bobcat 20. Wolverine running back E.J. Lee carried the ball for 13 yards to the FSU five, but sophomore linebacker Monte Jones knocked the ball free and junior defensive back Josh Scales recovered it at the one.
The turnover energized Bobcat Stadium and Frostburg capitalized on the mistake. On first down, sophomore tailback Gavin Lavat took the handoff and raced 79 yards to the Wesley 20.
On the next play, junior quarterback Connor Cox connected with junior Sergio Andino in the corner of the endzone for a 20 yard touchdown as Frostburg trailed just 21-17 late in the third.
The Bobcat defense stepped up and forced a punt and Frostburg scored again to take the lead. Frostburg converted twice on third down on the drive and Cox found senior Joe Beckford for an 18 yard touchdown for a 24-21 edge with 7:40 to play in the fourth
On its ensuing possession, Wesley took advantage of a big kickoff return from Marcquan Greene and Nick Bruhn hit a 26 yard field goal to even things at 24.
On its final possession of regulation, Frostburg methodically moved to the Wesley 32, but a 49 yard field goal from senior Hassan Mostafa was wide right, sending the game to OT.
On its first possession of extra time, Bruhn connected on a 35 yard field goal that put the visitors in the lead at 27-24. The field goal gave the Bobcats a chance to win the game, but a dropped pass inside the Wesley five and a blocked field goal attempt from 40 yards out handed Wesley the victory.
The two schools combined for nearly 1,000 yards in total offense and 43 first downs. The Bobcats held the ball for 37:32 and outgained the Wolverines 501-439.
Frostburg also gashed what was the nation's top defense as Wesley was holding opponents to just 146.6 yards per game. The visitors also entered Saturday with the country's eighth-best rushing defense (51.3).
The Bobcats finished with a season-high 279 yards on the ground behind 43 carries. Lavat posted a career-best 155 yards on just nine carries, while junior Jamal Morant ran for 89 yards on 23 attempts.
Through the air, Cox finished with 222 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 27-of-43 passes. Beckford finished with nine receptions for 81 yards and a score, while junior tight end Christian DiPaola had four catches for 42 yards and a score. He has hauled in a touchdown in four-consecutive games and leads the Bobcats with four TDs on the season.
DiPaola's touchdown came early in the second quarter and evened the score at 7-7 after Khaaliq Burroughs found Alex Kamp for a 10 yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Mostafa knocked home a 29 yard field goal in the second quarter and Frostburg led 10-7 at halftime. Burroughs tossed a pair of third quarter touchdowns for a 21-10 Wesley lead with 9:26 on the scoreboard.
Burroughs finished the afternoon with 244 yards passing and three scores, while Lee carried the ball 24 times for 138 yards.
Defensively, senior defensive back Dante Chinnery posted a career-high 14 tackles, with a tackle for loss and an interception. Senior defensive tackle Niles Scott finished with two tackles for loss and four total stops, while senior Josh Washington posted nine total tackles.
Frostburg returns to action next Saturday at William Paterson at 1:00 pm.
Notes: The Bobcats had a 13-game winning streak snapped in the loss … Wesley was the last team to defeat Frostburg in week three of last season … Frostburg also had an 11-game NJAC winning streak snapped … Frostburg and Wesley shared the NJAC trophy a year ago … The loss also ended an eight-game home win streak.