PEMBROKE — Five days removed from a heartbreaking loss at Fairmont State, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke football team will return to action at home on Thursday night, in a game moved up due to the forecasted effects of Hurricane Ian.

The Braves will host Frostburg State at 4 p.m. Thursday, looking to rebound after consecutive losses away from Grace P. Johnson Stadium.

“You only really have one way to go, you have one choice to keep moving forward,” UNCP coach Shane Richardson said. “You’ve got to learn from it, you’ve got to flush it, you’ve got to be able to not allow that to hold you back. We’ve been trying to talk about it and make sure guys understand that, and I think there’s really good energy to just continue to play.

UNCP (1-3, 1-2 Mountain East Conference) lost last week’s game after allowing two late touchdowns, the second of which came after Fairmont State recovered an onside kick, throwing a late interception, and failing to recover a fumble in the end zone for a would-be touchdown on the final play of the game.

After that disappointment, Frostburg State (3-1, 2-1 MEC) comes to Pembroke from western Maryland as the schedule change results in a short week for both teams.

“This was kind of short notice, so that does kind of speed things up, and we’ve got to focus on this game and this opponent and making sure that we’re ready to go for this one,” Richardson said. “The quicker you can get on the field, it does help you forget about the feeling of disappointment, the feeling of potentially being frustrated, and you’ve just got to lock in and do your job for the next opportunity.”

The Bobcats lost 23-22 last week at home against Concord for their first loss of the season. They previously defeated West Virginia State 18-7 and Charleston 34-28 in league play, and also beat American International 21-7 in a nonconference game.

Frostburg State allows 16.3 points per game defensively, and holds the opposition to 117.8 rushing yards per contest. The Braves, meanwhile, average 129.0 rushing yards per game, and that average includes a school-record 386-yard rushing performance against West Virginia Wesleyan; the other three games, the Braves have averaged 43.3 yards per game, which would be the sixth-worst rate nationally in Division II.

“It’s been disappointing to — you set a school record for rushing in one game and it’s kind of non-existent in some of the others,” Richardson said. “We can be much better in assignments, we can be much better in technique in a lot of ways, and yet what I think it is is we’ve got to execute in everything else so that the run can open up for us.

Luke Freeman (21 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks) and Robert Horsey (20 tackles, 0.5 sacks) are a key part of the Bobcats run defense on the defensive line, while linebacker Colby Street (22 tackles) and defensive back Wylan Harich (20 tackles, four interceptions) are also key parts of the defense.

Frostburg State, by comparison, rushes for 207.0 yards per game, with strong performances this season from Josh Maxwell (376 rushing yards, one touchdown) and Sean Aaron (371 rushing yards, two touchdowns).

“I think they’re very phyiscal, they’re very tough and they’re going to do what they do well,” Richardson said. “I think they do want to run the ball, and yet they’re capable of passing the ball as well. We’ve got to be extremely sound; we’re going to need to match their physicality. If our guys can play confident and we can continue to play gritty with the front seven, eight guys then we can give ourselves a chance, because we’re going to need to stay disciplined on the edges.

Isaiah Lester (396 passing yards, five touchdowns) and Graham Walker (287 passing yards, two touchdowns) have shared the reps at quarterback; Jordan Marcucci (15 receptions, 221 yards, six touchdowns) and Max Davis (11 receptions, 178 yards) are their key targets.

Frostburg State has defeated UNCP in both meetings since the Braves joined the Mountain East Conference, 40-21 in the spring 2021 season and 51-21 last fall. UNCP won the other meeting between the programs in 2009.