TOWSON, Md. ? Coming off their top offensive performance of the season in a 31-24 win over Columbia University, Towson University will be seeing its second consecutive victory when it returns to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium on Saturday, October 4 to host Northeastern University in a Colonial Athletic Association game at 12:00 noon.

The game will be televised by Comcast Sportsnet with Bob Picozzi and Scott Bruner calling the action.

Saturday's game has been designated as “Heroes in Uniform Day” at Towson University. All military personnel, police officers and firefighters will be admitted to the game for $6 with a valid I.D. card.

Now 2-0 at home, the Tigers enter the game with a 2-3 overall record while Northeastern is 1-3. Towson is 0-1 in the CAA while the Huskies are playing their CAA opener.

Northeastern is also coming off a victory as the Huskies handed UC-Davis a 27-10 loss on Saturday, The Huskies have played a very difficult early-season schedule, losing to a pair of NCAA FBS programs, Ball State and Syracuse, while dropping an overtime decision at Georgia Southern.

“I thought we were playing a tough opening schedule until I saw Northeastern's schedule,” said Towson Coach Gordy Combs. “Northeastern has a very good team with plenty of seniors, especially on offense. Their offensive line does a great job and they are always a very physical team. I know we're going to have our hands full on Saturday.”  

Despite very difficult weather conditions, the Tiger offense got untracked in the victory over Columbia. Most of the game was played in a driving rain and there was a 46-minute lightning delay midway through the first quarter. The weather conditions were related to a storm that dumped three inches of rain on the Baltimore area.

In the win over Columbia, junior tailback tailback Matt Castor (Linganore H.S./Mt. Airy, Md.) returned to the lineup after missing two games. He made his presence felt as he ran for a career high 108 yards on 37 carries and scored two touchdowns. It was the first 100-yard rushing game by a Tiger back in 12 games. Nick Williams, ?08 ran for 139 yards at William & Mary on September 29, 2007.

Castor scored the game-winning touchdown when he capped off a 44-yard drive with a one-yard run with 1:06 left in the game. Sophomore Hakeem Moore (Courtland H.S./Fredericksburg, Va.) set up the game-winning drive with a 39-yard kickoff return. In the win over Columbia, Moore picked up 125 return yards, including 111 yards on four kickoff returns.

“We needed that win for our confidence,” said Combs. “Our special teams had their best game of the season by far and they may have been the difference. It was great to have Matt (Castor) back in the lineup. He really gave our running game a spark. We are a much different offensive team with Matt in there.”

While Castor sparked the Tiger offense, the Tiger defense got a boost from the return of senior safety Drew Mack (Buena Regional H.S./Landisville, N.J.). A pre-season All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, Mack suffered a knee injury (sprained MCL) in the season opener at Navy.

“It was great to have Drew back in the lineup,” says Coach Combs. “We played much better on the defensive side of the ball and his presence was a reason for that.”

In his first game back, Mack made eight tackles, broke up two passes and forced a fumble.

Despite the soggy weather conditions, senior quarterback Sean Schaefer (Northern H.S./Dunkirk, Md.) completed 20 of 31 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. The Tigers' career passing leader, Schaefer has now completed 849 of 1322 passes in his career, both school records. When he threw a one-yard TD pass to junior tight end Wes White (Urbana H.S./Adamston, Md.) in the third quarter, it was the 60th touchdown pass of his career. With 9,430 passing yards, he ranks fifth on the CAA's all-time list. In the win over Columbia, he moved past Matt DeGennaro, '91 of Connecticut, who threw for 9,288 yards. Schaefer now trails Brett Gordon, '03 of Villanova, who ranks fourth with 9,639 passing yards.

In the win over Columbia, Schaefer completed passes to nine different receivers, including White, whose TD reception was the first catch of his career.

Senior wide receiver Marcus Lee (St. John's College H.S./Silver Spring, Md.), a pre-season All-CAA pick, led the Tigers with six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. The third-leading receiver in school history, Lee has caught at least one pass in 38 consecutive games. Lee, who has 186 catches for 2097 yards and 11 touchdowns, needs two more receptions to pass Jason Corle, '00 on the Tigers' all-time list.

Junior David Newsom (Elizabeth H.S./Elizabeth, N.J.) is the Tigers' top receiver with 27 catches for 278 yards this season. Sophomore Steve Holmes (Old Mill H.S./Severn, Md.) has 22 receptions for 236 yards and a touchdown to rank second on the team.

 With 43 tackles in five games, senior linebacker Jordan Manning (St. Joseph H.S./Mays Landing, N.J.) ranks fifth in the CAA. The Tigers' team leader in tackles as a freshman and sophomore, Manning made five tackles against Columbia to move into a tie for sixth place on Towson's list of career leaders. Former All-American defensive tackle Rodney Smith, '89 is tied with Manning on the all-time list with 276 tackles.

Junior linebacker Alex Butt (Hereford H.S./Parkton, Md.) ranks second on the team with 28 tackles while sophomore cornerback Ollie Thomas (Potomac H.S./Oxon Hill, Md.) has 25 tackles with one interception. He made the Tigers' first interception of the season against Columbia.

In the victory over Columbia, Hank Glackin (Solanco H.S./Quarryville, Pa.) started the game at left tackle. When doing so, he became the first true freshman to start on the offensive line since Joe Ripple, '06 started at offensive guard in the 2002 season.

TIGER TALES:  By scoring 31 points against Columbia, the Tigers had their highest single game scoring output in 18 games ... The Tigers' last 31-point game came in a 31-7 win at Richmond on November 11, 2006 ... Thanks to senior place kicker Mark Bencivengo (Hamilton East H.S./Hamilton, N.J.), the Tigers lead the CAA in kickoff coverage ... Bencivengo is averaging a CAA-leading 65.4 yards per kickoff with six touchbacks ... The Tigers have a 47.1 average on kickoff coverage to lead the CAA.

Towson and Northeastern will be meeting for the ninth time on Saturday ... The Huskies have won the last two meetings and own a 5-3 series lead ... Towson is 3-1 against Northeastern at home ... In 2004, the schools met as conference rivals for the first time and Northeastern handed the Tigers a 27-3 setback ... In 2005, the Huskies outlasted the Tigers in Boston, 56-41 ... Schaefer, who was a freshman quarterback in 2005, threw for 383 yards in the loss and tied a school record with five touchdown passes.

The Tigers are playing the second of three straight home games on Saturday ... Towson also hosts Rhode Island on October 11 for Homecoming.