Small School Spotlight: Frostburg State Bobcats
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In the mountains of Western Maryland there is a division two football team that is looking to win the Mountain East Conference. The Frostburg State Bobcats are looking to win their second MEC title in three years.
The 5-1 Bobcats are lead by second year head coach Eric Wagoner who in his fist season led Frostburg to an 8-3 record.
This is also the Bobcats second season being bowl eligible as they just moved from division 3 to division 2 in 2019. After the move up it is NCAA transition rule that a team that changes division has to wait two seasons before being bowl eligible.
Thursday Oct. 19 the Bobcats have a tough in conference week eight matchup ahead of them as they host the 4-2 West Virginia State Yellow Jackets. Frostburg and West Virginia State come in at 2 and 3 in the MEC standings meaning this could have MEC title and playoff implications.
The Bobcats offense is led by fifth-year senior Quarterback Graham Walker. Walker gets the job done through the air and on the ground as he has passed for 1,056 yards five touchdowns and five interceptions. On the ground Walker has 121 yards and two touchdowns. The pride of this Bobcat’s offense is on the ground as they have the third best rushing offense in the MEC and 30th best in all of division 2. They have a deep back field but redshirt sophomore Sean Aaron and redshirt freshmen Owen Doyle get the bulk of the carries. Aaron has accounted for 456 yards and seven touchdowns while Doyle is up to 244 yards and three touchdowns.
The Offensive line for the bobcats is one of the best in the MEC as-well returning 4 starters from the 2022 season. At Left Tackle is fifth-year senior Bennett Commander, Guards are Redshirt Sophomore Douglas Pruim and All-MEC honorable mention Grad. Greg Gaines, at Center is Grad. Michael Hudren, and transferring back from to Frostburg from Southern Utah is All-MEC Tackle Brandon Dillard. This veteran offensive line has helped their backs rush for 198.7 yards per game.
The Bobcats also spread the wealth at receiver with 15 players catching a pass this season. The top three receivers in yards are Sophomore Jeremiah Gibson, Sophomore Jamil Bishop, and senior Max Davis all at over 150 yards through six games. The receiving touchdown leader is Sophomore Amari N’namdi-Hall.
The Bobcats have on of the best defenses in the country and the best defense in the MEC, only holding teams to an average of 15.8 points per game and 287.3 total yards per game making them the number 17 scoring defense in the country. The defensive line is led by Junior Leonard Scott who has 7 1/2 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Junior linebacker Colby Street leads the team in tackles with 29, has 2 TFLs, a sacks, and two interceptions. The defense is also second in the conference in Interceptions with 12. The leader of the bunch is Sophomore defensive back Anthony who has 4 which is tied for first in the conference.
This will be the Bobcats’ toughest task to date defensively as West Virginia State’s Offense is the second best in the conference and tied for the 20th best scoring offense in the country. West Virginia State also has the second leading rusher in the conference in Junior and FIU transfer Joel Felder and the third leading passer in touchdowns and yards in the conference Grad. Donovan Riddick.
The Frostburg State Bobcats will play the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets Thursday Oct. 19 at Bobcat Stadium scheduled for a 7p.m. kickoff. The game will also be televised live on SportsNet Pittsburgh and MASN.
