TOWSON, Md. – Senior quarterback Peter Athens completed 13 of 15 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 5 Tigers (11-2) scored on four straight possessions in the second half to advance to the quarter-finals of the NCAA FCS playoffs with a 48-28 victory over Fordham University (12-2) at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers, who set a school record with their 11th win, will now face No. 2 Eastern Illinois (12-1) in the NCAA FCS quarter-finals next weekend in Charleston, Illinois.
“Fordham is a very good team and we knew that going in,” said Towson Coach Rob Ambrose. “But there is a really, really good team in our locker room that is still playing...”
On the opening drive of the second half, the Tigers took the lead for good when they drove 76 yards in only four plays. Athens' 46-yard touchdown pass to freshman Andre Dessenberg gave the Tigers a 28-21 lead with 13:05 left in the third quarter. It was the first touchdown of his career.
About three minutes later, a bad snap in shotgun formation at the Towson 30-yard line resulted in a fumble. Senior Alexander DiSanzo recovered on the Tigers' 46-yard line and that set up another touchdown drive.
Nine plays later, junior Terrance West scored on a five-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 35-21 lead with 5:31 left in the third quarter.
The high-scoring Rams kept the pressure on the Tigers and drove to the Towson 19-yard line on their next possession. However, an illegal block penalty and an unsportsmanlike penalty pushed Fordham back to the Towson 47-yard line. On the first play of the fourth quarter, place kicker Michael Marando tried a 47-yard field goal with the wind at his back. He missed and the Tigers took over at their own 30-yard line.
Once again, Athens directed an efficient 70-yard, eight-play touchdown drive. With 10:54 left in the game, West scored his third touchdown of the contest on a 14-yard run and Towson owned a 42-21 advantage. It was West's 34th touchdown of the season, a mark that leads all NCAA college players.
With 9:13 remaining, the Rams got on the scoreboard again when quarterback Michael Nebrich threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Brian Wetzel on a fourth down play. That pulled Fordham to within 42-28.
Moments later, Makay Redd tried an onsides kick but Thomas Bradley recovered for the Tigers at the Fordham 46-yard line. A 22-yard touchdown run by freshman Darius Victor, his second TD of the game put the Tigers ahead, 48-28 when the conversion kick was blocked.
In the final minutes, the Rams drove to the Tigers' five-yard line. But, a fourth-down sack by sophomore Jon Desir caused a fumble and Ryan Delaire recovered for the Tigers. They proceeded to run out the clock.
“This game was a shoot-out until the third quarter,” said Fordham Coach Joe Moorhead. “At that point, Towson put together some scoring drives and we couldn't match them.”
In the first half, the Tigers built a 21-7 lead before the Rams came back to tie the game.
On their opening possession, the Tigers took a 7-0 lead with a methodical 67-yard drive. Led by West, who picked up 22 yards on seven carries, the Tigers grabbed the early lead. West scored the first touchdown of the game on a one-yard run on fourth down-and-goal.
It marked only the second time in the last nine games that Towson scored first in a game.
The Rams came right back to tie the game with a terrific drive of their own. Converting four third down opportunities, Fordham drove 71 yards in 13 plays to tie the game. Junior quarterback Michael Nebrich threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to freshman Jorge Solano, tying the game with 3:48 in the first quarter.
On their second possession, the Tigers marched 64 yards on seven plays and scored on another fourth down play. On fourth-and-at the Fordham 32-yard line, Athens rolled to his right and completed a pass to senior tight end James Oboh, who scored on a 32-yard run to give Towson a 14-7 lead.
Fordham drove to the Towson 42-yard line on its next possession where the Rams turned the ball over on downs. Four plays later, Athens threw a screen pass to Victor, who ran 41 yards for a touchdown, giving Towson a 21-7 lead with 12:12 left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers backed up Fordham deep in its own territory. When Delaire sacked Nebrich at the seven-yard line, the Rams had to punt from their own end zone. Then, the Rams received their first big break of the game.
When Joseph Pavlick punted, Navassa Brown was penalized for roughing the kicker. That gave Fordham a first down at its own 22-yard line. From there, the Rams marched into Towson territory. On the 12th play of the drive, Nebrich threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Sam Ajala, pulling the Rams to within 21-14 with 6:32 remaining.
Later in the second quarter, another Pavlik punt resulted in a break for the Rams. Punting from his own end zone again, he punted to midfield where junior Brian Dowling tried to make a fair catch. He muffed the catch and Jake Dion recovered a fumble at the Towson 47-yard line.
With 41 seconds left in the first half, on fourth-and13, Nebrich found a wide-open Ajala in the left corner of the end zone. Ajala's 37-yard touchdown reception tied the game at 21-21.
The Rams received another special teams opportunity when the ensuing kickoff hit a Tiger receiver on the front line. Fordham recovered at its own 47-yard line. The Rams moved quickly down the field to set up Marando for a 41-yard field goal attempt. Marando missed and the score was tied at halftime.
The Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Rookie of the Year, Victor ran for a career high 105 yards on 12 carries for an 8.8 average. He had one rushing touchdown. Victor also caught one pass for 41 yards.
The leading rusher in NCAA FCS, West was held to 76 yards on 24 carries, his second-lowest total of the season. He did score three touchdowns and has now scored at least one touchdown in 14 straight games.
Despite losing his top two receivers to injuries, Athens completed 13 of 15 passes for 301 yards and a career high three touchdowns. Dessenberg led the Tigers with a career best three catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Athens completed passes to eight different receivers.
Senior linebacker Monte Gaddis and sophomore safety Christian Carpenter led the Tigers with 10 tackles each.
Nebrich completed 37 of 50 passes for 394 yards and four touchdowns for the Rams. Tight end Dan Light led Fordham with 13 catches for 122 yards as he tied the Stadium record with 13 catches. Ajala had eight catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
