FROSTBURG, Md. – Senior Connor Cox factored in four of Frostburg's five touchdowns and the Bobcat defense stifled Rowan's offense all game in a 34-7 win in FSU's home opener, Saturday.
Last Saturday was originally scheduled to be Frostburg's home opener against Christopher Newport, but the game was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence. Fast forward a week and the Bobcats showed little signs of being rusty from an extra week off.
In fact, Frostburg overcame an early deficit, added another special teams touchdown, forced seven Rowan punts, and had two takeaways all while setting a handful of milestones along the way.
Cox tossed two touchdown passes and ran for two more and junior wideout and special teams guru Malik Morris blocked a punt in the end zone for Frostburg's fifth score on the afternoon.
The win keeps the sixth-ranked Bobcats undefeated at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the NJAC. The win is the 11th in the last 12 home games for the Bobcats and is the third-straight against Rowan. The Profs entered the afternoon at 3-0 and 2-0 in the NJAC.
Rowan scored just one touchdown on the day for an early 7-6 in the first quarter. After that, the FSU defense recovered two fumbles and didn't allow the Profs to gain more than 30 yards on any of their nine remaining drives.
Cox got the offense going with 6:24 left in the opening quarter with a quick slant to Morris, who broke a tackle and raced 68 yards for a 6-0 lead. The drive lasted just two plays and 39 seconds.
The Profs answered with a two-play drive of their own that led to a 60-yard pitch-and-catch from Riley Giles to Elijah Rehm for a brief 7-6 cushion.
On its ensuing possession, Frostburg took the lead for good when Cox connected with senior Sergio Andino for a 14-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
Morris found the end zone for the second time in the game at 5:58 as the speedster came around the outside of the line and blocked a Chris Ireland punt. The ball stayed inbounds and Morris pounced on the rolling ball for his second special teams score in as many games.
In the second half, Cox added a pair of running touchdowns, one in the third and the final in the fourth to set the final at 34-7. Both drives covered 65 yards and Cox' scoring runs covered two and four yards respectively.
Early in the third quarter, Cox found sophomore Lincoln Ikwubuo for a 20 yard pass on first and 10 and with the completion, Cox surpassed FSU Hall of Famer Grant Burrough for the most passing yards in program history.
Senior tailback Jamaal Morant hit a program milestone of his own on the final play of the first quarter when he rushed for 10 yards on first and 10. With the first down carry, he became just the seventh player in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards and the first since Shanorm Young from 2005-07.
Cox finished the afternoon with 257 yards through the air on 15-of-21 completions and two scores. He also punted four times and pinned the Profs on their own one yard-line on two separate occasions. Morant finished with 101 yards on 22 carries to lead the ground attack. Andino hauled in five passes for 43 yards and one score.
On defense, junior Wayne Palmer posted a team-best 10 tackles, while sophomore Zach Strand posted six tackles with two sacks and two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. The Bobcats limited the Profs to just nine first downs and 30 yards rushing on 31 carries.
Giles led the Rowan offense with 132 yards passing and one touchdown on 11-of-18 attempts. Rehm paced the team with 72 yards on four catches, highlighted by his 60-yard touchdown.
Frostburg has a bye next Saturday before returning to the field at No. 7/7 Wesley at 1:00 pm on Oct. 6.
Notes: The win is the 22nd-consecutive victory for the Bobcats when scoring first … The win is the 34th at the helm of Bobcat football for head coach DeLane Fitzgerald and he passed the legendary Jim Crawley for the most wins in program history.