September 25th, 2022 by WCBC Radio
The Frostburg State Football team narrowly lost to Concord on Saturday afternoon, falling 23-22 in the smallest of margins in a matchup of the Mountain East's two remaining unbeaten teams.
CU started out quickly on their first drive, marching down the field and scoring a touchdown within three minutes, though a missed extra point meant the score was limited to 6-0. FSU's offense struggled during their opening couple drives, being forced into punts on back-to-back possessions.
The Mountain Lions capitalized, driving down the field again, though this time they were held to a field goal to increase the lead to 9-0. Frostburg responded on the next drive, as redshirt freshman Sean Aaron broke through on a 50-yard burst to get the Bobcats on the board at 9-6, as the resulting extra point was fumbled.
Concord continued their long drives at the start of the second quarter, getting all the way down to the FSU four-yard line, but senior Luke Freeman came up with a huge forced fumble that was recovered by redshirt sophomore Vincent Nwachi. Frostburg was unable to get anything going offensively, as a three-and-out gave the ball right back to the Mountain Lions. The offense didn't have to wait long to get back on the field, however, as redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Baxter made a great play on the ball to nab an interception on the first play of CU's drive.
FSU drove down the field on the drive, getting all the way down to the two-yard line, but Concord's defense held firm to stop the Bobcats on fourth down and prevent a score. From the change of possession, the Mountain Lions went the length of the field again, though this time their attempted field goal was missed. Another Frostburg three-and-out gave CU the ball back with 30 seconds left in the half, just enough time to launch a 31-yard hail mary that was caught with no time on the clock, with the extra point putting the lead at 16-6.
The Bobcats' offensive struggles continued at the start of the second half, being forced into another three-and-out, though the resulting punt bounced off a Mountain Lion player and was recovered by senior Zach Willett to get the ball back. Junior Dayne Koontz came on and knocked in a 35-yard field goal to bring FSU within one possession at 16-9.
Concord missed another field goal on their next drive, giving Frostburg a chance to level the score, but the offense was forced to punt after a sack to go into the fourth quarter still down by seven.
CU took a six-minute drive to the house on the resulting possession, getting to a 23-9 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining the game. The teams traded possessions, with FSU eventually getting the ball back with 6:48 remaining and put together their best drive so far. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Lester flung passes down the field, helped out by a pair of Aaron rushes, eventually finding redshirt freshman Jordan Marcucci on a 17-yard touchdown to stay in the game at 23-16.
The Bobcat defense was able to hold Concord on the next possession, handing the offense the ball back with just 1:18 remaining to try and score. Lester started the drive by finding Marcucci on a 20-yard catch-and-run, before throwing back-to-back passes to sophomore Max Davis to get down to the CU 41-yard line. Lester then called his own number on an 18-yard scramble and two plays later found sophomore Evan Branch on an 11-yard catch to get to the Mountain Lion 12. An offside penalty against Concord gave FSU one last hope from seven yards out with five seconds left, as Lester was able to find graduate Justin Brown, who stretched his arm as far as possible to get the ball over the goal line as time expired. The Bobcats lined up to go for two and a potential win, but a false start put the ball five yards back and forced the team to go for an extra point instead. In dramatic fashion, the ball again was fumbled, and senior Aronne Dutton was unable to scamper into the end zone before being tackled, resulting in a Concord victory.
Lester finished the day 13-of-29 for 161 yards and two touchdowns, while Aaron had 101 yards and a touchdown to lead the rushing attack. Marcucci was the top receiver for FSU on the day, racking up five catches for 76 yards and a TD. Freeman led the defense with nine tackles, including three for loss, a sack, and two forced fumbles.
With the loss, Frostburg falls to 3-1 on the year, while Concord now becomes the lone unbeaten team in the MEC at 4-0. The Bobcats return to action on the road next Saturday, October 1 with a long trip to UNC Pembroke set to begin at 1 p.m. Information and updates will be posted at frostburgsports.com.
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