Fairmont State falls to Frostburg State 50-20 in season finale

Nov. 11—FAIRMONT — In their finale of the regular season, Fairmont State University football hosted the other FSU in the Mountain East Conference, Frostburg State University. Both teams entered the game ranked in NCAA DII Super Region One, Fairmont State eight and Frostburg State nine.

Frostburg State snapped its two-game skid and Fairmont State's three-game win streak, taking the road win 50-20 at Duvall-Rosier Field Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats strengthened its postseason hopes and ended any for the Falcons.

"I can't say enough about the guys in that locker room," Fairmont State Head Coach Jason Woodman said. "I think that they impacted me more than I impacted them this year, and it's tough to see it end like this. I feel like they've earned a lot more than what they put out there today."

It also made a sad ending for Fairmont State's senior day. While only graduating three seniors, Randy Robinson, John Holland and Sam Fairley, the impact of those senior's was certainly felt throughout the season.

"I've been to a few schools, but Fairmont [State] was basically the last," transfer senior Fairley said. "This is my final year and I came here. I appreciate these guys embracing me in. I hope they can carry on the turnaround we had from 3-8 to 8-3."

Frostburg State had complete control the entire game. The Bobcats outpaced Fairmont State in almost every statistic: 429 total yards to 180, 21 first downs to 10 and four sacks to one, to name a few.

"They're known for being hard nosed, tough guys that play hard, and that's exactly what they did." Woodman said. "They came out and grounded the ball a little bit and made a couple plays when they had to. We weren't able to sustain drives and keep the ball on offense. Our defense got worn down, and that's what happens."

Frostburg State opened the scoring with a 24-yard field goal by Dayne Koontz to take a 3-0 lead 3:29 to go in the first quarter. After Fairmont State's junior quarterback Michael Floria threw an interception, senior defensive back Fairley got a pick-six off Frostburg State to make it 7-3 with 3:12 remaining in the first.

"I just keep my man, he stayed in the block," Fairley said. "The quarterback was staring my direction, and I saw the pressure coming to him so I knew it was gonna be a short throw. So I just got into the window ...It came right to me, and I just saw open field."

Koontz made a 29-yard field goal 11:53 to play in the second quarter after Fairmont State's defense stopped Frostburg State on third and goal. Koontz made another field goal 4:01 to go before halftime, this time from 31 yards out, to give Frostburg the lead back 9-7.

After failing to score touchdowns in the redzone the previous two possessions, Frostburg State found it on a four-yard pass from Myles Fulton to Jamil Bishop with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter. With the point after by Koontz, Frostburg extended its lead to make it 16-7 going into the break.

Bishop scored the next touchdown of the game, returning the second half kickoff 90 yards down the Frostburg State sideline to give his team a 23-7 lead at the very beginning of the third quarter.

Fulton threw his second touchdown of the game with 4:30 to go in the third, completing a seven-yard pass to Amari N'namdi-Hall to grow Frostburg State's advantage to 21 points. Koontz kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter, making the score 33-7.

Fairmont State's offense found the end zone a few minutes into the fourth quarter. Floria's 44-yard pass to Kobe Harris set up Floria's six-yard touchdown run to make it 33-14 with 14:29 left in the game. Frostburg State got the points back with a 27-yard pass from Fulton to Alvaro Lora five minutes later.

After Frostburg State recovered the ensuing kickoff, the result of Fairmont State players expecting the kick to go out of bounds, Fulton broke free down the middle on a keeper for a 21-yard rushing touchdown with eight minutes before the end of the game to make it 47-14.

Floria got Fairmont State to 20 points with his 22-yard pass to receiver and Fairmont native Gage Michael with 6:22 to go in the game. Fairmont State failed to get the two-point conversion, however, leaving the score at 47-20.

Frostburg State worked the clock on its following possession to ensure its victory. With a minute left in the game, Koontz kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 50-20, the final score.

"I guess they just executed more than we did," Fairley said. "Simple as that."

Fairmont State finishes second in the MEC with an 8-3 overall record and 6-3 conference record behind Charleston (9-1, 8-1) and ahead of Frostburg State (7-3, 6-3). With another offseason ahead of them, Woodman hopes his team remembers the feeling after the loss and use that as motivation to never want to feel it again.

"Hopefully, we can continue the process and continue the progress that we're making," Woodman said. "I told them in the locker room, I want them to remember how they feel right now, and hopefully that carries us through the spring, through the summer and into the fall, and we can get better."

Reach Colin C. Rhodes at 304-367-2548