TCNJ embracing the challenge presented by No. 11 Frostburg State

A wise old football coach always believed that a team improved the most from the first game to the second, and hopefully that will be the case for The College of New Jersey.

After dropping the season opener to FDU-Florham, the Lions (0-1, 0-0 NJAC) travel to Frostburg State (Md.) to begin their New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule against the No. 11 Bobcats (10, 0-0 NJAC).

Frostburg State opened the season with a 33-7 win over then No. 18 Stevenson.

“They are big, athletic and bring a physicality to the game when they step on the field,” said TCNJ first-year coach Casey Goff. “They execute well. They were actually a lot of fun to watch when scouting them because of their ability to function as a unit.”

DeLane Fitzgerald is the fourth-year head coach at Frostburg and he respects the Lions and their desire to compete.

“TCNJ has a new coaching staff and when you change head coaches the players usually play very hard for the new coach early in the season,” said Fitzgerald. “TCNJ has 11 seniors starters and that gives them an opportunity to compete week in and week out with everyone in the conference.”

One of those seniors who will boost the Lions’ hopes is Trevor Osler.

Osler started last week, but was banged up and sat out most of the season half. He’s expected to return this week, though.

The senior signal-caller completed 15of-25 for 175 yards and a touchdown to lead the TCNJ offense that jumped to an early lead last week.

“We have to execute our game plan if we want to be successful,” said Osler. “We need to focus on not shooting ourselves in the foot. If we all focus on what we need to do we’ll be pleased with the outcome.”

Against FDU-Florham, the Lions gave up 606 yards of offense, including 593 yards in the passing game. The Lions rushing defense was sound, but the big play haunted them in the opener.

“We need to play near perfect football,” said Goff. “If we are out of position in coverage, making ablock, making a tackle, filling a gap or reading a coverage they will exploit that mistake. We have to play together and within ourselves.”

Max Busca led the Lions defense with 10 tackles, Xavier Santos had nine and Jalen Harmon seven. The entire defense is going to need to step up as Frostburg has a balanced offense, rushing for 145 and passing for 177 in the opening win.

The Lions are staying positive and are ready to show they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

“The mood on the team is very optimistic,” said Osler. “The coaches have done an excellent job in restoring the faith and bringing an uplifting atmosphere to the program. We have a lot to prove in a very difficult conference with a lot of tough opponents.”

TCNJ’s going to need to learn from the mistakes of last week and move on to embrace the challenge at hand.

“We had a good week and the team seems focused,” said Goff. “They understand the mistakes that were made last week and the necessity to address and fix them.”