ATHENS, W.Va. — Frostburg State dropped its road game to Concord 41-31 on Saturday.
Concord started the game with the ball and moved quickly down the field, with a 23-yard carry and facemask penalty leading to Devin Kargman finding Ethan Jackson to go up 7-0.
Frostburg responded in its opening drive, as junior quarterback Jordan Brooks went 4-for-4 for 65 yards, the last one being a 34-yard strike to classmate Tra’Shaun Timmons, making things 7-6 after a missed PAT.
The Mountain Lions again took to the air, hitting chunks for 8, 9, and 14 yards before Kargman hit Dom Collins on a 40-yard catch-and-run to take a 14-6 lead.
Brooks looked to lead the Bobcats back in response, going to Timmons for 17 yards and senior Daysen Shell for 16 to get into Concord territory. The drive came to a halt, however, with a fourth-and-4 resulting in an incompletion and turnover on downs.
Frostburg’s defense stepped up on the resulting drive, with graduates Kamari Ramsey and Rainer Halveland combining on a third-down sack, then junior Anthony Palmisano blocked the punt to set up Frostburg in great field position.
A targeting call helped the Bobcats get into the red zone at the end of the quarter. Then on the first play of the second quarter, Brooks was intercepted at the eight-yard line.
His defensive unit picked him back up, as sophomore Isaiah Osafo-Mensah sacked Kargman for eight yards on third down. Then the snap from the resulting punt was mishandled, allowing a combined tackle in the end zone for a safety.
The Bobcats’ offense got going with Brooks finding sophomore Caleb Barnes for 20 yards to convert a third-and-5, then a penalty put the ball all the way inside the 10.
Concord’s defense locked down, forcing a fourth down from which sophomore Tyler Cook knocked in a 22-yard field goal to pull within 14-11.
Halveland looked to spark the defense with a first-down sack of Kargman. However, the Mountain Lions signal caller bounced back two plays later, finding Collins for 39 yards and then firing a 23-yard score to push the lead to double digits.
Frostburg was plagued by penalties on the resulting drive, eventually facing a third-and-28 from which senior Sam Dominguez was called in to boot a 55-yard punt.
Sophomore Gavin Kendrick broke up a pass on first down before jumping on a route to come away with an interception on second down, running it all the way back for a 53-yard pick six. Cook’s point after made things 21-18.
With less than a minute remaining, the Mountain Lions swiftly maneuvered down field, getting into the red zone before Christain Torres hit a 22-yard field goal at the buzzer to go into the half up 24-18.
Frostburg started the second half with the ball, but wouldn’t have it for long, as Elijah Owens intercepted Brooks on the first play from scrimmage.
Concord turned the turnover into three points, as junior Kurt Thomas came up with a third-down tackle-for-loss to stop the drive, with Torres hitting from 25 yards out for a 27-18 score.
After the Bobcats got a couple of first downs through the ground game, Brooks found Shell for 24 yards and Barnes for 27 on a third-and-28. Senior KJ Smothers kept the drive going by converting a fourth-and-1.
Timmons made another catch down the sideline to gain 31 yards, setting Smothers up for a touchdown with another kick being blocked for a 27-24 Concord lead.
Kargman looked to continue the Mountain Lions’ offensive pursuit with a 23-yard gain to Que Moore. However, the Bobcats’ defense allowed only one more yard in three plays to force a punt.
Helped out by a Concord penalty, Smothers took the ball twice for 25 yards while graduate Owen Doyle netted a 13-yard gain to get the ball into the red zone to end the third quarter.
Frostburg took its first lead of the game to start the final frame, as Brooks hit sophomore Caleb Barnes for a 15-yard touchdown to make things 31-27.
Concord went down the field in four minutes to retake the lead. A pass interference on third-and-7 put the ball at the five-yard line for Greg Burrell to find pay dirt at 34-31.
After a forcing a three-and-out and another Dominguez punt, the Mountain Lions went on another drive with Kargman hitting Collins on a third-down conversion. Another Frostburg penalty put Concord in the red zone.
On fourth-and-1 from the 12, Kargman found Jackson for a dagger touchdown and a 41-31 lead with about four minutes left to play.
Needing a quick score, Brooks darted to Timmons for 31 yards. Later in the drive, Frostburg was bailed out on a fourth-down heave with a pass interference call to keep the drive going.
However, Brooks was intercepted by Bradley Harris as Concord earn possession with three minutes to go.
There would be a glimmer of hope for Frostburg, as Halveland broke through on third down for a sack fumble that was recovered by Thomas.
The Mountain Lions then forced a sack fumble of their own and ran out the clock.
Brooks finished with 22 completions for 298 yards and a pair of scores. Timmons was his favorite target, finishing with seven catches, 129 yards and a touchdown. Halveland led the defense with 14 tackles, including six tackles-for-loss, as well as 2.5 sacks and the forced fumble.
With the loss, Frostburg moves to 2-3 on the year while Concord improves to 3-2. Frostburg will travel to Glenville State on Saturday at 1 p.m.