SOUTH EUCLID, OH -- The Notre Dame College Falcons earned their second win of the year with a gritty effort over Frostburg State University on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Bobcats fall to 1-1 in the 2021 Spring season.
The Notre Dame offense struck first just after the 11-minute mark with a four-play drive for 64 total yards that included a 47-yard touchdown run by senior Tabyus Taylor, and was the only score for either team in the first quarter.
The Falcons waited eight seconds to strike again after the first quarter ended, finishing a six-play drive for 52 yards with an 11-yard touchdown run by Taylor to extend the lead to 14 points. Frostburg State scored a touchdown with 9:38 left to go in the half, but also gave up a safety to Notre Dame after a muffed punt kicked from their own 18-yard line, and then Notre Dame scored again on an 18-yard run by Napoleon Harris which made the score 22-7 with 3:31 on the clock. Frostburg was able to take the ball down and score with fifteen seconds in the half on a 65-yard drive, and the two teams went into the locker rooms with a score of 22-14 at the half in favor of the Falcons.
In the second half, Tanner Harding kicked a field goal, and the Bobcats were able to get five more points on a safety and field goal of their own, and were driving down the field in the final seconds looking to score on a pass to the end zone from mid-field when sophomore Bryce Sheppert snagged his second interception in two games. "We needed a play", said Sheppert. "I knew it was going to be the last play of the game. I saw the ball, and our coaches teach us to either catch it or knock it down so when I saw it I knew I had it and that was the game."
Notre Dame offense finished with 217 rushing yards, of which Tabyus Taylor accounted for 138 on 21 carries, two touchdowns, and averaged 6.6 yards per carry. Zaire Mitchell led the pass-catchers with 32 receiving yards and a 22-yard catch from starting quarterback Chris Brimm in the first quarter.
On the other side of the ball, the Falcons consistently took the opportunities away from the Bobcats, finishing with three forced fumbles, of which two were sack fumbles, two intercepted passes as a unit, and were successful on defending the line of scrimmage on third down nine times.
Tavon Hooks and Sheppert both finished with an interception and five solo tackles. Jack Kosko had a sack for a loss of eight yards and two tackles on the day, and Rudy Ngougni recovered the fumble and finished with five tackles on the day. Noah Harris-Lyles finished with ten tackles for a loss of three yards, Dylan Spaeth finished with ten total tackles and one sack, and Nate Moore earned a strip sack and recovery and added ten more tackles to the Falcon total as well.
Head Coach Mickey Mental praised his defense for stepping up late in the game. "They (the defense) understood the situation and knew what was at stake and did a really good job. It's a huge credit to our defensive staff, and those guys obviously understand situational football. They did a fantastic job with that today, and I thought Frostburg and their coaching staff did a really good job with their game plan and my hat is off to them.".
"Big time players make big time plays in key situations", continued Mental, "Bryce did a fantastic job of not waiting for the moment and attacked the ball at its' highest point, and we came down with the victory. Anytime you can win in college football it's a bonus, but we have to get back to our standard and play even harder than we did today."
The Falcons have a short week to prepare for their Thursday matchup against Wheeling in their first road game this year. They're currently scheduled to play under the lights with a primetime kickoff.
