TOWSON, Md. – Towson University used a 70 yard rush from
Shane Simpson and an 81 yard kickoff return from
Keon Paye in the third quarter to spark the Tigers to a 34-24 come-from-behind victory over William & Mary Saturday afternoon at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
How It Happened
- With the Tigers trailing 21-10 to start the third quarter, redshirt freshman Shane Simpson outran the Tribe defense for a 70 yard touchdown on the second play of the half.
- After a Tribe field goal made it 25-17, WM tried a squib kick to keep the ball away from Simpson. Keon Paye had other plans as he scooped the bouncing and raced up the middle for an 81 yard touchdown.
- The returned sparked the defense as Chris Tedder recorded a big sack on third down to force a punt.
- The Tigers offense took over at its own seven yard line and calmly put together a 14-play drive that took 6:39 off the clock.
- Towson converted three third downs on the drive. The first was a 14-yard pass from Morgan Mahalak to Trey Kilgore and the second was a 13-yard Mahalak to Christian Summers connection. The final conversion was a six-yard pass from Mahalak to Vallely to close out the third quarter.
- The fourth quarter began with Andre Dessenberg taking a pass over the middle and weaving his way for a 31-yard gain.
- On the next play, Summers took the ball on the jet sweep and outran the defense for an 11-yard touchdown run.
- After a three-and-out from the defense, the Tigers offense milked 6:10 off the fourth-quarter clock with a 12 play drive.
- The drive moved deep into Tribe territory after Grayson Boyce converted a 4th-and-1 with a five-yard run up the middle.
- After a touchdown was called back due to a penalty, Aidan O'Neill stepped onto the field and kicked a 30-yard field goal.
- The defense closed out the game for the second week in a row as Monty Fenner ended the next drive with an interception, while Jordan Waite and Max Tejada end the next Tribe possession with sacks on back-to-back plays.
Inside the Numbers
- Shane Simpson rushed for 202 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, averaging 9.6 yards per carry. He became the first freshman to go over 200 yards in a game since Terrance West ran for 261 yards against New Hampshire in 2011.
- Simpson also became the first freshman to go over 100 yards in back-to-back since West did it in six-straight games in 2011.
- Keon Paye returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown. It was just the second kickoff return of his career.
- This marks the first time the Tigers have had two different returners return a kickoff for a touchdown for the first time in the CAA era.
- The Tiger offense rushed for a season-high 274 yards. It marked the second-straight game the Tigers have rushed for over 200 yards. It also marks the seventh-straight season Towson has had back-to-back 200-yard rushing performances.
- The Towson defense recorded a season-high five sacks. It was the first time the defense recorded five sacks in a game since registering five sacks against Saint Francis in 2015.
- It marked the first time since September 14, 2013 that the Tigers had five players record a sack. In that game, five players combined for six sacks.
- Kicker Aidan O'Neill went 2-for-2 on field goals. He is now 14-for-18 on the season. The 14 made field goals ties Sean Landetta's Towson record that was set in 1980.
- The 34 points scored are the second most in the 13 meetings with the Tribe. The Tigers scored 38 points in a 38-27 win in Williamsburg in 2011.
Up Next
The Tigers close out the 2016 on the road at Rhode Island. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
