TOWSON, Md. - Mistakes. They never come at the right time.

Towson has made very few mistakes this season on its way to a 6-2 record, especially on offense and special teams. But, on a very chilly and wet Saturday night, the Tigers decided to spread them out against Delaware.

Let's start with kickoff coverage. Towson was allowing 24.4 yards per kick return coming into this game and gave up a 51-yard kickoff return to Michael Johnson to start the game. On the third return of the game, when Towson had all of the momentum and a 10-point lead, Johnson returned it 80 yards to the Towson 11-yard line. Three plays later, Delaware quarterback Tim Donnelly leaped into the end zone to complete a four-yard run and helped Delaware cut the lead to 10-7.

After Towson took a 16-14 lead on a Terrance West 7-yard run, D.J. Soven missed a rare extra point (the snap was high) and the Tigers were up by two instead of three. On the ensuing kickoff, Soven kicked it away from Johnson and to Travis Hawkins, who took it all the way from the Delaware 14-yard line to the end zone. After the Blue Hens converted a two-point conversion attempt, they held a 22-16 advantage in the second quarter.

Soven started squib kicking it after the Hawkins' touchdown.

"We had three blown assignments, two non-called penalites and one personal foul penalty that didn't get called," said Towson Coach Rob Ambrose. "But, that doesn't matter. We changed three personnel players and changed how we kicked off."
 
But, special teams miscues weren't the only issue. After the Tigers were down by 22-16 in the second quarter, redshirt freshman Derrick Joseph returned the ball to the Towson 32-yard line but fumbled the ball. Senior fullback Tyler Wharton recovered for the Tigers, but a tussle broke out after the play and Towson freshman Tye Smith was whistled for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that was followed by another 15-yard penalty on the bench.
 
Towson ended up having to start at its own 8-yard line instead of the 32-yard line. The drive broke down at the Towson 24-yard line when sopohomore quarterback Grant Enders was sacked. Freshman punter R.J. Peppers' punt was caught at the Delaware 46-yard line for just a 30-yard punt. Delaware needed just eight plays to extend its advantage to 29-16.
 
Towson came into this game as one of least penalized teams in the CAA at 40.7 yards per game, but had six penalties for 59 yards against the Blue Hens.
 
Another strongsuit for the Tigers coming into this game was turnover ratio. They were third in the league with a +5 turnover ratio and ironically Maine, Towson's next opponent, is now +7 after Saturday's 41-25 win over Villanova. The Tigers committed three turnovers on Saturday night and forced just two turnovers.
 
West, who had a season-high 155 yards with four touchdowns, fumbled the ball at the Delaware 40-yard line after Enders had rushed for 16 yards in the first quarter. Delaware needed six plays and an Andrew Pierce 23-yard touchdown run to convert off the turnover and go ahead, 14-10.
 
Enders came into the game, completing 71.5% of his passes with 9 TDs and four interceptions. On Saturday, Enders was 15 of 30 with two picks and no TDs. The near-freezing temperatures probably didn't help.
 
Both of Enders' interceptions came in the fourth quarter. With Towson driving early in the frame and down by five points, Enders was looking for junior Tom Ryan but defensive end Michael Atunrase stepped in and earned his first career interception. Towson's 10-play drive was halted at the Delaware 19-yard line with 11:16 left.
 
The final interception came at the Towson 38-yard line with 2:23 remaining. Enders attempted to hit junior Gerrard Sheppard but linebacker Paul Worrilow stepped in to pick off the pass.
 
"He was late on the first one and didn't see the defensive lineman," said Ambrose. "On the last one, he tried to rush it instead of letting it play out."
 
Towson has been successful this season because the Tigers have limited their mistakes in all three phases of the game.
 
"Our kids are really young and you haven't seen a lot of mistakes," said Ambrose. "That's the great thing about we have done to this point. So, we made some mistakes all across the board in all three phases of the game. We didn't play four quarters of football.

"To beat a quality opponent like Delaware, the team that played in the National Campionship last year, you have to play four quarters, you can't turn it over and you have to force turnovers," he added. "We didn't do that tonight."