Nov 25, 2017 4 min read

The seventh time proved to be a charm for Frostburg State University’s football team.

The Bobcats snapped a six-game losing streak to Washington & Jefferson by converting four turnovers into 17 points and physically dominated Washington & Jefferson in a 46-23 victory in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs Saturday at Cameron Stadium.

The victory sends Frostburg State (11-1) to the national quarterfinals against 12-0 Mount Union, which eliminated Case Western Reserve, 45-16.

W&J, co-champion of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and making its first playoff appearance since 2014, finished the season with an 11-1 record.

Frostburg State has defeated two undefeated teams on the road this postseason and get a chance for a third against Mount Union, which has won 12 Division III championships in its illustrious career.

“I don’t know what you can say about a school that has one win in its history,” said Frostburg head coach DeLane Fitzgerald. “The last time Frostburg made the playoffs, these players weren’t even alive. … We just rebounded and continued to make plays.”

If Fairmont State defeats Mount Union, the Bobcats will have downed the top three winningest programs in Division III history: Wittenburg (2nd, 764) in the first round, W&J (3rd, 735) and Mount Union (1st, 780). Frostburg was the runner-up to Wesley in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Frostburg recovered a fumble, intercepted three Alex Rowse passes and sacked him four times. The Bobcats’ physical play knocked tailback Jordan West out of the game in the second quarter and wide receiver Brandon Barnes out in the first quarter.

“There were a lot of tears shed in that locker room,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “We weren’t crying because we lost. Sure, it hurts. But we were crying because of the finality of it when you are a senior-laden (40) football team. … We ran into a team that was better than us and they deserved to win.”

Frostburg’s defense touted one of the best players in Division III in senior tackle Niles Scott. But the Presidents held him in check. His three tackles and one quarterback sack were pedestrian for a projected middle-round pick in the NFL draft.

Stopping cornerback Vincent Persichetti proved more difficult. The 5-10 sophomore intercepted two of Rowse’s passes in the third quarter.

The first set up a field goal from 23 yards that gave the Bobcats a 27-17 lead. The second set up a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Connor Cox to tight end Christian Dipaolo that made it 34-17.

“A lot of my family came down and I wanted to show them a lot,” said Persichetti, a graduate of Baldwin High School. “(W&J’s) receivers weren’t pressed a lot. When they got pressed, they were a little scared in my opinion.”

Rowse completed 29 of 55 passes for 263 yards. His nine-yard pass to wide receiver Jesse Zubik with 11:16 to play made it a two-score game for the Presidents, 41-23.

But more problems arose a few minutes later when the snap from center was wild and sailed past Rowse and through the back of the end zone for a safety and 43-23 lead for Frostburg.

“We definitely made some mistakes in areas we could have prevented,” said Rowse. “It definitely affected the outcome of the game.”

Zubik finished with game highs in receptions (10) and yards (84). He finished his career with 291 receptions for 4,736 yards and 54 touchdowns.

The Bobcats made it a 23-point lead when Hassan Mostafa kicked his third field goal of the game, this one from 29 yards.

W&J got off to a quick start, driving 70 yards in 1:27 and taking a 7-0 lead on a 21-yard pass to Cody Hearst.

Another key play came when Rowse hit Barnes with a first-down pass at midfield. Barnes fumbled it, Frostburg recovered and drove 51 yards as Jamaal Morant scored from four yards out to make it 17-7.

Morant finished with 82 yards on 21 carries and Gavin Lavat had 146 on 16 tries and scored on a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter. Frostburg ran for 248 yards, the most since Week 3, when Thomas More went for 287.

“They stuck to their game plan,” said W&J cornerback O’Shea Anderson, who had two interceptions to move his season total to nine. “We were just missing tackles and that hurt us (in this game).”

Notes

W&J linebacker Dalton Day had a game-high 18 tackles and safety Luke Merhaut had 12. Defensive end Tom Marra had two of W&J’s three sacks. … Anderson has 13 career interceptions, third most in program history. …. W&J is 23-25 in postseason games.