EWING, N.J. – The eighth-ranked Frostburg football team dominated its New Jersey Athletic Conference opener at TCNJ, Saturday, to the tune of 47-7 behind 405 yards of offense.
The Bobcats (2-0) had no trouble finding the end zone as they scored four touchdowns on offense and added two special teams scores.
The win is the 33rd for DeLane Fitzgerald in his five seasons at the helm of the Bobcat football program and moves him into a tie for the most wins in the 58-year history of the program. FSU also improved to 14-0 when it scores a special teams or defensive touchdown under Fitzgerald's tutelage.
The win also improves Frostburg's record under Fitzgerald to 18-0 when allowing fewer than 14 points.
Terrell Brown returned a punt 52 yards for the game's first touchdown with 3:45 to play in the first quarter and junior Malik Morris blocked a punt and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to open action in the third quarter.
While the special teams plays opened the scoring in each half, the second quarter saw most of the action on the afternoon as senior quarter Connor Cox tossed three TD passes in the second frame and sophomore kicker Jeremy Harrison connected on a 20-yard field goal.
Cox opened the second quarter with a 20-yard scoring pass to Morris that made it 17-0, capping the longest drive of the afternoon for the Bobcats (67 yards).
On the ensuing Frostburg drive, Cox added a 10-yard scoring toss to sophomore Christian Thornton for a 24-0 cushion. FSU started the drive at the TCNJ 10 after the Lions (0-2) had a bad snap on their punt on fourth down.
Late in the half, Harrison booted his 20 yarder to make it 27-0. On TCNJ's final drive of the first half, quarterback Andrew Donoghue had his second down passed intercepted by Frostburg junior defensive back Shalen Moore and returned to the Lions' 13 yardline.
On the first play from scrimmage following the INT, Cox tossed his third TD of the quarter, this time a 13-yard strike to sophomore Lincoln Ikwubuo for a 34-0 lead at halftime.
On other side of the ball, the Bobcat defense forced three punts, forced two fumbles, picked off one pass and limited the Lions to just 54 yards of offense in the first half.
Morris' blocked punt was Frostburg's sixth TD of the afternoon and the Bobcats capped their scoring when backup quarterback T.J. Peer capped a 54-yard drive early in the fourth with a four-yard scoring run.
Meanwhile, the Lions managed their only touchdown of the game with five minutes to play in the fourth that cut their deficit to 47-7.
Frostburg finished with 405 yards on 58 plays and held the hosts to just 179 yards on 59 plays. Aside from TCNJ's lone scoring drive covered 80 yards, FSU limited the Lions to just 99 yards on 12 drives. Frostburg also forced New Jersey to punt five times, stopped them on fourth down on three occasions and forced three turnovers.
Cox completed 12-of-20 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was Morris, who hauled in four passes for 84 yards and one score.
The Bobcats also ran for 192 yards on 37 carries behind 88 yards on 17 rushes from senior Jamaal Morant. Senior Grayson Boyce added 66 yards on 10 carries.
Junior Wayne Palmer posted 10 tackles with 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble, while first-year linebacker Michael Morgan had eight stops with a recovered fumble and 0.5 tackles for loss.
Donoghue finished 6-of-13 for 49 yards for TCNJ, while Mark Pacini ran for 77 yards on 16 carries.
The Bobcats return to action next Saturday when they host Christopher Newport in their home opener at Bobcat Stadium at 7:00 pm. Frostburg will also unveil a brand new videoboard in Bobcat Stadium next Saturday and the university will sponsor fireworks following the game.
Notes: Frostburg improves to 7-1-1 all-time against TCNJ … The Bobcats are 10-0 in their last 10 road games during the regular season … FSU has won six-in-a-row in the state of New Jersey … Frostburg has won 21-straight games when scoring first … Frostburg has blocked a punt and returned it for a TD for the third-straight year.