BROWNSVILLE, Pa. — It’s hard to beat a team twice, and Frostburg State proved it on Saturday at Adamson Stadium.
After falling 31-26 to California University (Cal) on Nov. 1, the Bobcats (11-2) got revenge in the second round of the Division II playoffs, winning 23-21.
FSU earned its 11th win, tying the 2017 squad for the most in a single season that also reached the quarterfinals in the Division III tournament.
“We knew it was gonna be a battle,” FSU head coach Eric Wagoner said. “Our first half looked like the game we came here and played last time. We had two turnovers right off the bat. We gave them a fourth down conversion from being offside. We gave them 12 men on the field and gave them a first down. We talked about it, if we stop doing that in the second half, it’s gonna be hard for them to get down and score.”
Frostburg controlled the second half from the start.
Three plays into the third quarter, FSU’s Kamari Ramsey recovered a fumbled snap at the Cal 48.
One play later, Jordan Brooks went deep for Ray Adames for a 48-yard touchdown.
Adames led FSU with 78 receiving yards off three catches.
“It just got the guys back in it,” Wagoner said. “We haven’t been great in the third quarter. We talked about it, last week we went out and laid an egg in the third quarter offensively. We scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, that was huge.”
The next Bobcat drive started at its own 2.
After 15 plays and 98 yards and taking 9:53 off the clock, KJ Smothers walked in from three yards out.
Smothers led the Bobcats with 15 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Harrison Fritz missed the extra point to keep the margin 20-14.
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Amire Spencer broke off a 20-yard run for the Vulcans (9-4) to Frostburg’s six.
Three plays later, Roman Purcell found D’Avay Johnson to give Cal a 21-20 lead with 13:08 to play.
“Extremely proud of our guys, the way they battled,” Cal head coach Gary Dunn said. “We’ve been in playoff mode for five weeks now. We didn’t lose, we came up short. Give Frostburg State credit, they made the plays when they needed to, we just ran out of time.”
The Bobcats answered with another long drive, a 15-play, 66-yard series.
With 4:06 left, Fritz hit a 20-yard field goal to give Frostburg a 23-21 lead.
The Vulcans took over and drove to the Bobcat 28 over nine plays.
Harry Radcliffe’s go-ahead 45-yard field goal fell short, and four plays later, Owen Doyle picked up a first down to send Frostburg into victory formation.
“Second half, we just had some mistakes,” Dunn said. “Frostburg did a good job of controlling the ball. At the end of the day, we just didn’t make enough plays.”
While FSU controlled the second half, Cal controlled the opening 30 minutes.
Tajuan Bandy forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and Jack Reilly recovered for Cal at the Bobcat 30.
The Bobcat defense only allowed 10 yards across seven plays, and Radcliffe missed a 37-yard field goal.
“We live by a motto on defense, bend don’t break,” FSU safety Wylan Harich said. “We bent plenty of times today, but we were able to get the break.”
Frostburg’s opening drive stalled at the Vulcan 30 on a strip sack of Brooks by Sedrick Vessah.
After 11 plays and 62 yards, Cal capitalized on a one-yard scoring run from Da’sjon Craggette.
“Cal is phenomenal on capitalizing on your mistakes,” Wagoner said. “One of the best teams I’ve seen do it. They just sit there, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes either.”
The Vulcans were denied on fourth and 15 at FSU’s 27 on its opening drive of the second quarter.
The Bobcats answered with a nine play, 73-yard drive that ended with a seven-yard touchdown from Brooks to Cruiz Paul-Umstead.
Brooks finished 20 of 25 for 240 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Paul-Umstead led Frostburg with seven catches for 63 yards and a score.
“I felt like I took what the defense was giving me,” Brooks said. “The importance of that going into this game, it was really high for me. At least for a quarterback like me, I’m very aggressive. Just taking what the defense gives me and trusting the people around me that I don’t have to make every play.”
Sam Dominguez pinned a punt at Cal’s seven with 30 seconds before halftime.
On the next play, Kendrick Agenor broke off a 59-yard run to the Frostburg 34.
Agenor finished with 16 carries for 121 yards.
One play later, Purcell threw a fade to Johnson for a 34-yard score that put the Vulcans ahead 14-7 at halftime.
Purcell went 15 of 28 for 196 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while Johnson caught four passes for 64 yards and two scores.
Carter Mazalewski led Frostburg with seven tackles, followed by Harich and Marquise Allsup with five each.
Khalil Taylor led both teams with 10 tackles for Cal.
The Bobcats advance to the quarterfinals and will play at Kutztown next Saturday.
The Golden Bears (13-0) will play in its third quarterfinal in five seasons.
“Couldn’t get the New York Jets?” Wagoner said sarcastically. “I haven’t watched any Kutztown film. I know they score a bunch of points, they don’t give up very many points. They’ve been the class of Super Region I for a little while now.”
The historic run for FSU continues after winning the first two Division II playoff games in program history and now clinching the first Division II quarterfinal bid.
“Last year, we were big on egos,” Harich said. “This year, the coaches really broke us down and built us back up to be a family.”
After not earning a seed and winning two road playoff games, the Bobcats are a win away from representing Super Region I in the semifinals.
“Nobody ever expects us to come out on top,” Brooks said. “Me personally, I love it. The only people that know about Frostburg is in this circle, people that come to meetings every day, come to weightlifting, come to practice. They’re the only people that have faith in us. I love the underdog role.”