CONWAY, S.C. ? After jumping out to a 3-0 lead on its first possession with a time-consuming drive, the Tigers (1-3) had trouble moving the ball and were shut out the rest of the way as they dropped a 31-3 non-conference decision to Coastal Carolina University (2-2) before a crowd of 8,204 at Brooks Stadium on Saturday evening.

      “We just didn't make plays,” said Towson Coach Gordy Combs. “It has everything to do with them. They used their speed and quickness and beat us off the ball. Defensively, they swarmed all over the field. Coastal is a very good football team and they beat us solidly.”

      The Chanticleers held the Tigers to only 186 yards of total offense and sacked senior quarterback Sean Schaefer four times for 19 yards.

      On the opening possession of the game, the Tigers marched to the Coastal Carolina eight-yard as Schaefer completed his first five passes of the game. When his third down pass to David Newsom in the end zone was knocked away by Josh Norman, the Tigers were forced to settle for a field goal. Attempting his first field goal of the season, senior Mark Bencivengo booted a 25-yarder to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead with 7:21 left in the first quarter.

      Late in the first quarter, the Chanticleers had great field position when junior punter Bill Shears produced a very short 18-yard punt, giving Coastal the ball at the Towson 46-yard line. Facing fourth down and less than one-to-go, sophomore Eric O'Neal ran for three yards to keep the drive alive. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Zach MacDowall scrambled for a nine-yard touchdown, giving the Chanticleers a 7-3 lead.

      Hoping to add to their lead late in the first half, Coastal Carolina drove from its own nine-yard to deep into Towson territory. However, a 42-yard field goal attempt by Justin Durham was wide left with 11 seconds left in the half.

      Coastal Carolina held the Tigers to 94 yards of total offense in the first half and owned a 7-3 lead at intermission.

      “At halftime, we felt pretty good about our situation,” added Combs. “They had outplayed us in the first half but we were only trailing, 7-3.”

      On the second play of the second half, senior Arthur Sitton scampered 67 yards to the Tigers' 13-yard line. Sitton's run set up Durham's 28-yard field goal that gave the Chanticleers a 10-3 lead.

      Midway through the third quarter, the Tigers put together their best drive of the second half. After driving deep inside Coastal Carolina territory, Schaefer gave the Tigers a first down at the two-yard line with a 12-yard scramble. However, the Tigers came up short when they tried three times to score from the two-yard line. Bencivengo's 19-yard field goal attempt by blocked by defensive end Phillip Oboh and the Tigers came away empty.

      “That really hurt us,” recalled Combs. “We had second down inside their one-yard line and we couldn't get in the end zone. Then, we tried to make a 19-yard field to cut the lead to 10-6 and we had a breakdown in protection. From that point on, it was all downhill.”

      He added, “We have been trying all sorts of combinations on the offensive line, trying to find something that works. But, when you can't score from the two-yard line, it's obvious you're having problems.”

      The absence of junior tackle Dan Bridges also contributed to the Tigers' problems on the offensive line. After making 25 consecutive starts, Bridges missed the Coastal Carolina due to a concussion he suffered in the Tigers' loss to Richmond last week.

      Only six plays after the blocked field goal by Oboh, MacDowall fired a 63-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Brandon Whitley, giving the Chanticleers a 17-3 lead with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.

      Midway through the fourth quarter, MacDowall threw a 19-yard TD pass to senior Trent Usher, giving Coastal a 24-3 lead. A 49-yard TD run by Eric O'Neal with 4:47 remaining closed out the scoring and gave the Chanticleers an insurmountable 31-3 advantage.

      MacDowall led the Chanticleers' offense by completing 9 of 18 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 40 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown.

      Led by O'Neal, who ran for 84 yards on nine carries, the Chanticleers piled up 302 yards on the ground, averaging nearly eight yards per running play.

      Schaefer completed 20 of 36 passes for 142 yards in the loss. With his 142 passing yards, he increased his career passing yardage total to 9,287 yards, sixth on the Colonial Athletic Association's career list.

      Senior Marcus Lee was the Tigers' top receiver with seven catches for 54 yards. While catching a pass in his 37th consecutive game, he moved into third place on Towson's all-time pass receiving list with 180 receptions for 2,043 yards.

      Starting in place of the injured Matt Castor, sophomore Jas Lee Rouson paced the Tigers' running game. He ran for 54 yards on 22 carries.

      Defensively, senior linebacker Jordan Manning showed the way with nine tackles, including one sack. The leading tackler in the CAA, Manning now has 38 tackles in four games. With his nine tackles at Coastal, he moved into eighth place on Towson's career tackle list. He has now made 271 tackles in his career.

      Hoping to snap their two-game losing streak, the Tigers will return to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium on Saturday, September 27 when they host Columbia University at 3:00 p.m.

#