| THE BASICS |
SCORE: Frostburg State 40, UNC Pembroke 28
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 2-2, 2-2 MEC; Frostburg State 3-1, 3-1 MEC
LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Grace P. Johnson Stadium) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
Frostburg State scored points on the opening possession of the game, driving 42 yards on nine plays before settling for a 38-yard field goal from Dayne Kootz. Graham Walker found Kyle Belack on a 35-yard strike to convert a key 3rd-and-18 situation that kept the drive alive. FSU 3, UNCP 0
After forcing a 3-and-out on the opening possession of the day for the hosts, the Bobcats went to work again, driving 64 yards in 5 plays before Graham Walker found Kyle Belack all alone in the endzone. FSU 10, UNCP 0 |
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| 2ND QUARTER |
The Bobcats turned a partially blocked punt into points early in the second period, taking over near midfield and driving all the way down to UNCP's 24-yard line before tacking up a 35-yard field goal from Dayne Kootz. Graham Walker found Malik Morris on a 41-yard strike on the opening play of the possession to key the scoring drive. FSU 13, UNCP 0
The Braves got points on the ensuing possession when Josh Jones and Joseph Early engineered an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that got UNCP back into the game. Early carried the ball four times for 35 yards on the possession, while Jones completed a trio of pass attempts for 16 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jai'Veon Smalls. FSU 13, UNCP 7
UNCP took a short-lived lead with five minutes left before the intermission when Josh Jones culminated a 5-play, 61-yard touchdown drive with a 48-yard scoring strike to Sean Brown. The possession milked just 95 seconds off of the game clock, which eventually left enough time for an answer from the visitors. UNCP 14, FSU 13
Frostburg State set up shop on the ensuing possession on their own 25-yard line, but needed just four plays to regain the lead with 36 seconds left on the first half clock. Malik Morris hauled in a 46-yard reception from Graham Walker on second down, and Walker capped the possession with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Belack. FSU 20, UNCP 14
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| 3RD QUARTER |
The Braves drove 64 yards on their opening possession of the second half to take the lead again. Joseph Early ran for 49 yards on five carries, but it was backfield mate Raeshawn Griffin that finished out the possession with a 3-yard scoring plunge. Three of Early's five carries on the scoring drive went for 10 yards or more. UNCP 21, FSU 20
Frostburg State took the lead for good on the ensuing possession with an 8-play, 68-yard touchdown drive. The Bobcats racked up 63 rushing yards (7 carries) on the scoring drive, including Aizsha Horne's 30-yard touchdown run. FSU 27, UNCP 21
The Bobcats added another score on the ensuing drive, but this time did it an unconventional manner. Joseph Early was dropped for a 7-yard loss on first down, and Frostburg State added a 5-yard sack of Josh Jones on second down to eventually force a 3-and-out for the hosts. However, Malik Morris got in front of Alex Hodge's punt attempt on fourth down, and then jumped on the loose ball in the endzone to pad the lead for the visitors. FSU 34, UNCP 21 |
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| 4TH QUARTER |
The Braves used their opening possession of the fourth quarter to cut into their deficit, driving 62 yards on 10 plays before Josh Jones found Shammond Hicks on a 5-yard touchdown pass. Jones shook off two quarterback sacks by throwing for 88 yards on 7-of-8 passing on the possession. FSU 34, UNCP 28
The Bobcats answered UNCP's touchdown on the ensuing possession, but were forced to eventually settle for a 37-yard field goal from Dayne Kootz. A costly pass interference by the Braves on second down fueled the drive, but the Black & Gold was able to stall the progression on a key 3rd-and-3 situation that was stuffed by Cam Caldron and Adonai Aloma. FSU 37, UNCP 28
Frostburg State stopped the Braves on fourth down on the following possession to set itself up in good field position, and the Bobcats drove 41 yards on four plays before Dayne Kootz added a 33-yard field goal to tack up the final points of the afternoon. Malcolm Facey's 22-yard gallop on first down proved to be the key play on the possession. FSU 40, UNCP 28 |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Newcomer Joseph Early accounted for 119 yards of total offense on the day, including 89 yards (17 carries) on the ground. He also caught two passes for 30 yards, including a 25-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
+ Junior Josh Jones threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-34 passing with one interception. He also finished with 64 rushing yards despite being sacked six times.
+ Eight different players registered receptions on the day for the hosts, but junior Tyshawn Carter (4 catches, 79 yards) and freshman Jai'Veon Smalls (6-73, TD) emerged as the leaders of the receiving corps on the afternoon.
+ Senior Jordan Howard registered a team-best eight tackles (3 solo) against the Bobcats, including one tackle for loss. Junior Cam Caldron posted six tackles (1 solo), but finished with 1-1/2 tackles for loss and a partially blocked punt as well. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ The Braves fell to 11-3 in home openers with Saturday's result, while also moving to 7-7 in regular season finales as well.
+ UNCP outdid the Bobcats, 441-347, in the total offense column on Saturday, and tallied a season-best 178 rushing yards as well. The Braves posted 252 offensive yards in the opening half, and held Frostburg State to just 113 yards in the second half.
+ The 178 rushing yards for the Black & Gold was its best day on the ground since tallying 203 rushing yards in the 2019 season finale against UVa.-Wise.
+ UNCP was 3-for-3 in the red zone on Saturday, but registered just a 5-of-12 (.294) success rate on third downs. |
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| UP NEXT |
| Season complete. |
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| STAY CONNECTED |
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| JOIN THE BRAVES CLUB |
| Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Football program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu. |
