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ALLIANCE, Ohio – Frostburg junior quarterback Connor Cox threw touchdowns passes to four different receivers on the afternoon, but the 15th-ranked Bobcats had their season come to a close with a 70-37 loss at second-ranked Mount Union in the NCAA round of eight, Saturday.
The Bobcats end their magical season with a school record 11 wins (11-2) after advancing to the NCAA Playoff quarterfinals for the first time since the playoff bracket included 32 teams.
Frostburg defeated Wittenberg and Washington & Jefferson in the first two rounds, marking the first time in program history that a Frostburg football team won two games in the NCAA Playoffs.
Mount Union advances in the playoffs behind an impressive offensive output and will face Wisc.-Oshkosh in the NCAA semifinals next Saturday. The Purple Raiders are making their 23rd-straight NCAA semifinal appearance and they are going for their 13th National Championship.
Cox tossed touchdown passes to senior Joe Beckford, juniors Sergio Andino and Christian DiPaola and sophomore Malik Morris. Cox finished the afternoon with 236 yards through the air on 15-of-36 attempts.
His four touchdown passes hand him both the Frostburg single season and career touchdown records as he finished with 29 TD passes this season and sits at 58 for his three-year total.
Frostburg's first touchdown of the ballgame came in a flurry of action late in the second quarter. Cox found DiPaola for a two-yard score that narrowed the Bobcat deficit to 28-10.
With 1:03 to play in the second quarter, Cox found Morris for a 20-yard score and Cox capped the first half with an 18-yard pitch-and-catch with Andino that narrowed the halftime score to 49-25.
Frostburg and Mount Union combined to score six touchdowns in the final 3:55 of the second quarter.
The Purple Raiders (13-0) tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter and opened the fourth for a 70-24 lead.
Beckford ended his Frostburg career with two fourth-quarter touchdown receptions. He hauled in a 40-yard scoring pass from Cox midway through the fourth and first-year T.J. Peer tossed a 14-yard pass to Beckford in the corner of the endzone as time expired.
Andino finished with five receptions for 105 yards, while Beckford hauled in eight passes for 96 yards. Junior Jamaal Morant led Frostburg's ground game with 39 yards on 10 carries.
Mount Union quarterback Luke Poorman tossed six touchdown passes on just 12 completions for 355 yards. Justin Hill caught six of those passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns.
Mount Union scored the game's first three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as it led 28-3 early in the second quarter.
Cox and the Bobcats answered when he found DiPaola that cut things to 28-10, but the hosts answered right back with two more scores for a 42-10 advantage.
Defensively, junior Josh Scales led the Bobcats with nine tackles and a forced fumble. Senior Josh Washington added five tackles, with a sack, tackle for loss and a breakup.