TOWSON, Md. – The No. 17/18 Towson University football team (5-1, 3-0 CAA) scored 19 straight points in the second half to take down William & Mary (2-4, 1-2 CAA) 29-13 for its fourth consecutive victory in front of 8,022 fans at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
 
Key Game Stats:

• Down 13-10 at halftime, Towson outscored William & Mary 19-0 in the second half to win the game.
• The defense allowed 13 points, the second-lowest output for a Towson opponent this season to Morgan State's 10.  Three Tigers had double digit tackles, led by Robert Heyward with 13.  Bryce Carter notched 10 tackles and two sacks.
• Towson nearly doubled up W&M on total offense, earning 456 yards to its opponent's 233.  This includes Towson out-rushing the Tribe 255-70.
• Four different Tigers scored the team's four touchdowns: Jabari Allen, Shane Simpson, Yeedee Thaenrat and Kobe Young.
• Simpson tallied 208 yards of total offense, including 66 rushing, 48 receiving, 51 on kick returns and 43 on punt returns.  He added a rushing touchdown for his sixth consecutive game scoring.
• At quarterback, Tom Flacco threw 17-for-26 for 188 yards and a touchdown, adding 109 rushing yards on 16 carries.
• William & Mary split between two quarterbacks, won combined to go 19-for-35 in the air for 163 yards.  Albert Funderburke was the leading rusher with 50 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
• Towson's attendance on Family Weekend was 8,022, the largest home attendance in 2018. 

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose:
"My hats off to Jimmye Laycock.  I just coached the last time against a member of the Hall of Fame, and that is pretty humbling.  This is a guy I grew up revering, someone that has meant a ton to [William & Mary] and football in general in the Mid-Atlantic.  What an awesome football coach."
 
"I'm very proud of our guys.  It is hard to win in October with the grind.  We won a football game, and that is good, but that is not the standard of play we expect from ourselves.  It is good to know that we walk away with a win knowing we have a lot to work on.  We knew William & Mary was a good football team and we would have our hands full."
 
How it Happened:

• William & Mary started on offense and focused on the ground early on.  On a 2^nd and 16, Monty Fenner knocked a pass loose from DeVonte Dedmon to prevent a long gain and essentially end the drive.
• Towson took over on offense, with Ryan Stover finding Jabari Allen across the middle for 13 yards to jump start the drive.  Shane Simpson rushed a trio of times to help get Towson into the red zone, but a field goal attempt from Aidan O'Neill missed right due to the harsh wind.
• After the Towson defense held again and took a punt to near midfield, Tom Flacco led the hurry-up offense with a pair of passes to Sam Gallahan and a run to the 2-yard line.  Kobe Young finished the drive with a dive into the end zone, giving Towson a 7-0 lead just under 11 minutes elapsed in the first quarter.
• Pat Toomey's kickoff pinned W&M to the nine after a fumble by the returner, end in a three and out by the Tribe.  Towson got the ball back at its own 33, getting into W&M territory with long completions to Shane Simpson and Shane Leatherbury.  O'Neill finished the drive with a 46-yard field goal, his longest of the season, to push Towson's advantage to 10-0 with 14:55 left in the 2^nd.
• Towson's defense continued to stifle W&M, holding the Tribe to just one first down on the next series.  Towson again came down the field and looked for a field goal.  W&M blocked the field goal as Arman Jones returned the ball 71 yards to the end zone.  The Tribe extra point attempt was wide, putting the score at 10-6 Towson with just over six minutes left in the first half.
• Next drive, Towson picked up a first down on a scramble by Flacco, but was stopped shy of midfield.  W&M took the ball down the field in 15 plays into the end zone on an Adrian Funderburke 1-yard rush to take a 13-10 lead in the closing seconds of the half to give the Tribe the lead at halftime.
• Into the second half, Flacco got the drive started with an 11-yard rush, but the Tigers could not muster another first down after getting to its own 40, punting back to the Tribe.  The defense came up strong again as Bryce Carter pulled down the quarterback in the pocket to end the W&M drive. 
• Simpson juked and spun his way up field on the punt return for 28 yards to get into W&M territory.  A Flacco pass to Simpson then runs by Flacco and Kobe Young got Towson inside the W&M 10, then Simpson finished with a run to the left side for nine yards and the touchdown, sending Towson back ahead 17-13 with 9:08 left in the 3^rd.
• The Towson defense again came up big as the Tigers earned two sacks, Grant Udinski and Zain Harps Upshur combining for the first and Ricky DeBerry having the second on a third down passing play, to again stop the Tribe for a three-and-out.  The Tigers pushed back into the W&M red zone and went for it on 4^th and two, coming up a yard short on the 15-yard line.
• W&M switched its quarterback to Dean Rotger and switched up running and passing, picking up a couple of first downs.  Towson forced an incompletion on 3^rd and 6 to prevent W&M from crossing the 40.
• Towson continued to drive into the fourth quarter as Flacco led the charge with first down passes to three different receivers and runs across the middle.  Five yards away, Jabari Allen made a tremendous catch in the corner of the end zone, getting a foot down with a defender in his face for the touchdown.  Towson led 23-13 with 13:20 to play.
• The Tribe had one of its best drives on offense, converting a trio of third downs to come towards the red zone, getting in on a 3^rd and 12, with Towson stopping W&M short of a first down.  The 35-yard field goal attempt missed wide right, keeping the Tiger lead at 10. 
• Towson countered with the rushing game, pulling up just behind midfield.  Yeedee Thaenrat broke loose and came down 53 yards to the end zone, making it 29-13 with 5:38 left.
• W&M had one final drive and got inside the red zone in the final minutes as Carter notched a sack to end it.  Towson ran out the clock and took the 29-13 victory.

Inside the Numbers:

• With an attendance of 8,022, it is the 24^th time Towson has had over 8,000 fans at a home game.
• Towson's 5-1 record is its best start to the season since 2013, when the Tigers were 6-0 to begin the year.
• Towson earns its first four-game winning streak since 2015 (Oct. 17-Nov. 7).
• Today's game was the final contest against Towson for William & Mary head coach Jimmye Laycock, who is retiring after 39 years at the helm of the Tribe.
• Simpson surpassed the 1,000-yard mark on all-purpose yards this season, currently standing with 1,043.

Up Next:
Towson hits the road for its next two games, starting by going north to play UAlbany on Saturday, Oct. 20^th at 3:30 p.m. 
 
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