Wesley guns down Frostburg St.

BY MIKE FINNEY • THE NEWS JOURNAL

DOVER -- Wesley College's football team is the fifth-ranked Division III program in the nation and the Wolverines want to show everybody why.

Wesley certainly did that on Saturday as quarterback Shane McSweeny tied a school record with six touchdown passes to spark the Wolverines to a 44-19 homecoming rout of Frostburg State in both teams' Atlantic Central Football Conference opener.

McSweeny completed 18 of 31 passes for 366 yards, including a trio of touchdown strikes to Ellis Krout -- a transfer from Oregon -- of 8, 25 and 28 yards.

In the process, McSweeny tied Jason Visconti's record for TD passes in a game, which he had accomplished three times -- against Apprentice in 2000 and 2001 and Chowan in '01.

"We have one goal and that is the Stagg Bowl [Division III championship game] so we've got to win out every game and treat every game like it could be our last game," McSweeny said. "We're just working hard during the week and it paid off.

"Me and [offensive coordinator Chip] Knapp were talking during the week about breaking the record and I was one short. But I don't count my stats, just wins and losses."

Wesley (5-0 overall, 1-0 ACFC) fought for an easy enough win against Frostburg State (0-5, 0-1), but the Wolverines were disappointed that they let the Bobcats score three touchdowns in the second half.

"It was very saddening," said defensive endChris Mayes, who was in on seven tackles and had 1 1/2 sacks and 3 1/2 tackles for loss. "We came out in the second half thinking we were going to put up another goose egg, but the next thing you know, a couple of blown coverages, a couple contain problems ... but a win's a win."

Wesley's defense had posted three shutouts in its last seven games, and it really wanted another one in front of a packed house of 3,106 fans at Scott D. Miller Stadium. However, the Bobcats had other ideas.

The Wolverines' offense put up big numbers quickly in the first half.

McSweeny led the team to a 34-0 halftime lead by throwing five TD passes to four different receivers.

He opened the scoring by finding Gene Knight for a 22-yard TD, then hit Krout for an 8-yard score before connecting with Brandon Wright for a 37-yard touchdown that gave the Wolverines a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

McSweeny found Krout again in the second quarter for a 25-yard score before he made his signature touchdown of the day.

Facing first-and-10 on the Wolverines' 13-yard line, McSweeny dropped back to pass and appeared to be sacked. But he somehow escaped and uncorked a pass to Sean McAndrew, who shook off a pair of tackles and rumbled in for an 87-yard TD that gave Wesley its 34-0 lead at the half.

The Wolverines were on their way. They outgained Frostburg 552-331 yards in total offense.

Krout caught seven passes for 112 yards. He has caught at least two TD passes in four of his five games and has caught one touchdown in every game.

"We're trying to put it together," Krout said. "We fought hard. They started to score some points on us in the fourth quarter but we kept our composure and finished the game up 44-19, so I'm just happy we won.

"A win is a win. I'm just blessed to be here on a winning program. I don't care if it was 45-44. As long as we won the game, I'm happy."