TOWSON, Md. - Although junior quarterback Chris Hart ran for 100 yards and passed for a career high 204 yards, the Towson University (1-7, 0-5) football team couldn't overcome four turnovers and dropped a 30-20 Colonial Athletic loss decision to the University of Rhode Island (3-5, 2-3) as the Rams ruined the Tigers' Homecoming on Saturday afternoon at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
While posting its first win over Towson since 2004, the Rams scored 17 points off Tiger turnovers as they snapped a three-game losing streak.
"I don't care if you're playing midget football or playing in the NFL, you cannot turn the ball over four times and expect to win," said Towson Coach Rob Ambrose. "We kept fighting to try and get back in the game. I know we are getting better but mistakes are really hurting us."
The Tigers, who piled up 378 yards of total offense, held the Rams to 262 total yards. Led by freshman linebacker Kyle Polk, limited the Rams to 74 rushing yards on 46 attempts. Polk had a career high 13 tackles as the Tigers made 10 tackles for lost yardage.
The Rams were the recipients of great field position in the first quarter, thanks to a pair of Tiger turnovers. On the Tigers' first possession, Hart was sacked by defensive tackle Mike Sheard. He fumbled and linebacker Matt Hansen recovered at the Towson 32-yard line. On first down, Polk tackled running back Travis Hurd for an eight-yard loss, helping the Tiger defense force a punt. Tim Edger's went into the end zone for a touchback.
On the Tigers' fifth play on the ensuing possession, Hart completed a pass to Erron Banks. However, defensive tackle Willie McGinnis forced a fumble and recovered at the Towson 29-yard line.
Given a second chance, the Rams cashed in on their good fortune. Aided by a roughing the passer penalty, the Rams drove inside the Towson 10-yard line. On second-and-goal, sophomore Ayo Isajola ran off left tackle for a three-yard touchdown, giving Rhode Island a 6-0 lead with 4:14 left in the first quarter. Sophomore Louis Feinstein's conversion kick gave URI a 7-0 lead.
On their third possession of the game, the Tigers wasted no time tying the game. On third down from the Towson 44-yard line, Hart threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Alex Blake with 2:07 left in the first quarter. Senior Nick Wallace's conversion tied the game at 7-7.
Then, the Rams drove from their own 17-yard line to near midfield where a 15-yard personal foul penalty gave URI a first down at the Towson 37-yard line. However, a bad snap over the head of junior quarterback Steve Probst resulted in a fumble which linebacker Donte Blakey recovered at the Rhode Island 44-yard line.
A 15-yard penalty against the Rams and a 15-yard pass to Blake gave Towson a first down at the URI 11-yard line. However, linebacker Dan O'Connell tackled Hart for a four-yard loss and the Tigers were forced to settle for a field goal. Wallace converted on a 28-yard field goal attempt and the Tigers owned a 10-7 lead with 12:01 remaining in the second quarter.
After a 52-yard punt by Steve Edger pinned the Tigers back at their own 25-yard line, the Tigers moved the ball into URI territory. A 12-yard run by sophomore Tremayne Dameron and a 15-yard personal foul penalty gave Towson a first down at the Rams' 42-yard line. On third down, Hart scrambled for 17 yards, giving the Tigers a first down at the URI 25-yard line.
Quarterback Bart Blanchard replaced Hart for one play and the result was a fumble. Blanchard and fullback Tyler Wharton ran into each other on the handoff and the ball came loose. Cornerback Jarrod Williams recovered at the Rams' 25-yard line and URI had stopped the Tigers' drive.
"That was a key play in the game," said URI Coach Joe Trainer. "They were in control and they were moving the ball. Towson may have been on its way to a ten-point lead. But that fumbled exchange was a huge change in momentum. It was a great break for us.
"We've been bitten by the turnover bug the last few weeks so we know what's like," he added. "It's very hard to overcome turnovers and win."
Coach Ambrose explained, "We always take Chris out of the game after a long run. We want him to catch his breath and re-focus. Earlier in the year, we noticed his tendency to have trouble after a long run."
The Rams responded with their best drive of the game as they marched 75 yards in ten plays for the go-ahead touchdown.
Facing third down at the URI 37-yard line, Probst found sophomore Brian Farrell-Johnson for a 17-yard pass play to the Towson 46-yard line. Defensive back Justin Harris delivered a jarring tackle to Farrell-Johnson, forcing a fumble. Sophomore Ty Bynum alertly recovered the fumble to keep the drive going.
A pass interference penalty gave the Rams a first down at the Towson 31-yard line. On the tenth play of the drive, Probst threw a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joe Migliarese to put the Rams ahead by 14-10 lead with 4:09 left in the half.
After the Ram defense forced a Tiger punt, Rhode Island had a first down at its own 40-yard line with 2:38 left in the half.
For the second consecutive drive, the Rams moved quickly upfield. A 25-yard pass to freshman Ramadan Abdullah enabled the Rams to reach the Towson 32-yard line. A 21-yard pass play to wide receiver Anthony Baskerville gave URI a first down at the Towson 11-yard line.
Four plays later, Isijola scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run with 37 seconds left to put URI ahead, 21-10.
"Those two touchdowns right before halftime were big," said Trainer. "It gave us a lot of momentum going into halftime. We talked about pitching a shutout in the third quarter and we did."
Early in the third quarter, the Tigers threatened to cut into their deficit. They marched from their own 18-yard line to the Rams' 21. On a quarterback keeper, Hart ran for two yards before McGinnis tackled him, forcing a fumble that linebacker Joseph Harris recovered at the Rams' 24-yard line.
After receiving another turnover, the Rams drove 69 yards in nine plays and reached the Towson seven-yard line. When the drive stalled, Feinstein kicked a 24-yard field goal to increase the Rams' lead to 24-10.
Later in the third quarter, the Tigers faced fourth down-and-one at their own 39-yard line. Ambrose elected to try for the first down and the Rams' defense came up with a stop, throwing Ryan McLean for a four-yard loss.
Taking over at the Tigers' 35-yard line, the Rams needed only one first down to reach Feinstein's field goal range. When he kicked his second field goal of the game, a seasonal long 38-yarder, the Rams owned a 27-10 advantage with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
Trailing by 27-10, the Tigers staged an impressive drive of their own. They marched 65 yards in 16 plays before the march stalled at the Rams' 11-yard line. Wallace's second field goal of the game, a 28-yard kick, cut the deficit to 27-13 with 10:53 remaining in the game.
On their next possession, Hart capped off a 63-yard drive by scoring on a 34-yard touchdown run with 6:46 left to pull Towson to within, 27-20.
The Tiger defense got the ball back for the offense by holding URI and forcing a punt. However, Edger responded with a clutch 59-yard punt and the Tigers took possession at their own 13-yard line with 4:12 left in regulation.
We were very concerned when they got the ball at their own 12-yard line late in the fourth quarter," admitted Coach Trainer. "That quarterback (Hart) is such a threat. He's a running quarterback who can pass. You don't see that too much. In some ways, he is like a I-AA version of Vince Young and he has some receivers who can make big plays."
A five-yard run by Dominique Booker got the drive going but Hart threw an incomplete pass on second down. On third down, Hart scrambled for four yards. Facing fourth down and one at the 22-yard line, Hart misfired on a pass to sophomore Tom Ryan and the Rams took over.
With 1:05 remaining, Feinstein put the game out of reach when he connected on a 21-yard field goal to give the Rams a 30-20 lead. They stopped the Tigers on their final possession and held on to win.
"This was a game of mistakes and we made fewer mistakes," said Trainer. "These are two very similar programs. We're trying to grow and learn how to win. I know Rob is doing the same thing here."
Ambrose added, "We know we're getting better but we can't make so many mistakes. We have a lot of injuries and we came into the game with two running backs (Booker, Dameron) who played despite some injuries. They are toughing it out to help the team.
"I know we are doing the best we can with what we have," he added.
Hart led the Tiger offense by rushing for 100 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. He also completed 19 of 39 passes for a career best 204 yards and a touchdown. Booker added 57 yards on ten attempts as Towson rushed for 174 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
Ryan was the Tigers' top receiver. He caught a career high seven passes for 77 yards. Blake matched his career high with four receptions for 92 yards and a TD.
Senior Hakeem Moore, who wore #26 as a tribute to injured teammate Ollie Thomas, caught four passes for 33 yards to become the 19th player in Towson history with 100 career receptions. He now has 100 catches for 1,282 yards and seven touchdowns.
A senior cornerback and one of the Tiger co-captains, Thomas suffered a career-ending broken leg at Richmond last week.
Polk, a first-year freshman, led the Tigers with 13 tackles. He had two quarterback sacks, three tackles for lost yardage and one pass breakup.
Making the first start of his college career, sophomore linebacker Brian Boateng-Botwe made a career high 11 tackles. Sophomore safety Jordan Dangerfield and Blakey each made nine tackles.
TIGER TALES: Rhode Island snapped a nine-game losing streak on the road by beating the Tigers ... The Rams' last road victory was a 29-14 victory at Northeastern on Nov. 22, 2008.
A converted wide receiver, Justin Harris was converted to defensive back this week and started at cornerback in place of the injured Thomas ... Harris made four tackles, forced a fumble and broke up a pass.
Senior defensive tackle Yaky Ibia had eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for lost yardage ... Junior defensive tackle Marcus Valentine made six tackles, including two for lost yardage.
For the third straight game, the Tigers played without starting offensive center Steve Jordan and starting left guard Dan Hurley ... A pair of "red shirt" freshmen, Doug Shaw and Anthony Davis, replaced them in the lineup for the third game in a row.
The Rams' win over Towson on Homecoming marked the third time that URI had ruined Towson's Homecoming ... In 1989, the Rams edged Towson, 19-6 ... In 2004, Towson dropped a 28-16 Homecoming loss to the Rams ... The Tigers pulled out a 37-32 Homecoming win over URI in 2008.
The Towson-Rhode Island game was the 11th meeting between the teams ... URI now leads the series by a 6-5 margin.
