FROSTBURG, Md. – A contest that was shaping up to be a shootout through the first 17 minutes, turned into a defensive battle between Notre Dame College and Frostburg State University, on Saturday. After the score was tied at 21 by halftime, the Falcons scored the only points of the second half in a 24-21 victory.
 
"I'm so proud of these guys," said head coach Garrett Mack. "The last two weeks have been tough; losing two games by a combined six points has been a challenge. I can't say enough about the work they've put in to get better. These guys showed up and put the effort in."
 
Both teams scored a touchdown on their first two drives.
 
To start the game, Frostburg State's Graham Walker completed two passes of 16 yards, each, before Owen Doyle ran for 10 yards and Kisaye Barnes ran into the endzone from nine yards away.
 
NDC's first drive did not start as smoothly, but quarterback Deshawn Evans figured it out. On 3rd and 17, he completed a pass to junior James Faulkner for 32 yards and, on the next play, Evans found senior Tyshawn Lighty for 38 yards. Junior Idris Lawrence returned this week and picked up a pivotal 9-yard run to get NDC near the goal line. Evans then connected with senior Napoleon Harris on a short pass over the middle, leading to a touchdown to tie the game at seven.
 
On FSU's next possession, they used a slow 11-play, 68-yard drive to get down the field. Eight of those plays were on the ground and Sean Aaron would put six points on the scoreboard for the Bobcats with a 17-yard run.
 
The Falcons' second drive was longer than Frostburg's, as they went 75 yards down the field, in 11 plays. Notre Dame did not have a play longer than 13 yards on the drive until the touchdown connection from Evans to junior Krys Riley-Richardson. The drive extended into the second quarter and on 2nd and 10, Riley-Richardson caught a pass in the flat, found the sideline and turned on the jets up the field for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 with 13:43 on the second quarter clock.
 
After both teams punted the ball, Frostburg State moved down the field and was set up in field goal range on NDC's 11-yard line. The first attempt was waived off due to an illegal formation penalty, and then the 33-yard attempt by Dayne Koontz was no good.

Mistakes and ill-timed penalties would haunt the Bobcats from that point, midway through the second quarter, through the end of the game. Possibly the most devastating penalty came in the third quarter, when it looked as if Frostburg State had an interception, but it was called back due to an offside call.
 
Taking advantage of the missed field goal, Notre Dame grabbed its first lead of the game with a touchdown drive. Starting the drive with 7:19 on the clock, Riley-Richardson went to work, running down the field with a 4-yard run, a 12-yard run and an 8-yard run. Lawrence also took the ball down the field 11 yards on the ground. On the sixth play of the drive, Evans sent a pass high in the air near the left sideline of the endzone, finding Harris for 33 yards, before he fell out of bounds.
 
Harris totaled two touchdowns in a game for the first time in his career.
 
"Nap [Harris] and I came in together, a while ago, so we have a great connection," Evans mentioned. "Just being able to develop that with Nap and James [Faulkner] and everyone on the team just makes that so much easier."
 
Frostburg State responded right away and found success with the run game, running five times for 37 yards. Walker then found Jamil Bishop for 24 yards through the air for a touchdown with 52 seconds remaining before halftime.
 
Those would be the last points scored in the game by Frostburg State and the last points scored by any team until the 9:37-mark in the fourth quarter.
 
For the third consecutive game, Notre Dame's defense did not allow a single point in the second half.
 
"That's team football," Mack said, regarding the second half shutout. "We're beat up on the defensive side of the ball, but it's a team effort. It goes back to our DNA, our 1/11th mentality and a lot of those guys stepped up in big moments."
 
Neither team could find much traction on the offensive side in the third quarter. FSU put together, by far, the most sustained drive of the period when they went 69 yards down the field. A 33-yard pass play set the Bobcats up on NDC's 25 yard line, but the drive stalled with only four more yards. Then, a 38-yard field goal was missed, keeping the score tied at 21.
 
Near the end of the third, an NDC sack by junior Kyle Perry on 2nd and 7 stopped any momentum gained by FSU and the Bobcats had to punt the ball away. That led to Notre Dame's only scoring drive of the half. Riley-Richardson ran the ball twice for a total of 16 yards to get the drive going and NDC ran for a total of 49 yards on the drive. Evans passed to Faulkner for 29 yards, moving the Falcons into Bobcats' territory before senior Cameron Shirkey was called upon to attempt a 36-yard field goal, which he put through the uprights to give Notre Dame the lead.
 
The Bobcats would go 57 yards down the field on its final drive, trailing by three points. But, on 3rd and 9 at NDC's 15 yard line, the home team decided to go for the endzone and Walker threw into double coverage, allowing Notre Dame's junior Abe Nyang to pick the ball off, catching the ball and getting a foot down before falling out of bounds.
 
In his second start of the season, Evans threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, going 19-for-34.
 
"He's a ball player," Mack said. "I can't say enough about how hard he works, how serious he takes this. First win as a starter and a great job."
 
"We knew that they would play hard, but I felt like we had a grasp of what they were trying to accomplish, so it was about taking what they gave us all game," Evans explained.
 
Faulkner finished with a career-high 107 yards receiving. On the defensive side, freshman Brayden Hall led the team with eight tackles and Nyang added two pass break ups to go along with his interception.

For the first time this season, an opponent gained more yards than NDC (458-412). In fact, FSU outgained NDC in rushing yards (185-155) and passing yards (273-257), as well.

Notre Dame will be back on Mueller Field next weekend, Oct. 7, for Homecoming against West Virginia State. The game is scheduled to begin at noon.