NEWARK, Del. – The No. 10 Towson University football team (6-2, 4-1 CAA) nearly won on a final drive in a thrilling matchup of top-25 teams in Newark, but came up just short in a 40-36 defeat at No. 21 Delaware (6-2, 4-1 CAA).
 
Key Game Stats:

• Towson outscored Delaware 18-6 in the first half, including scoring 10 points in the final 18 seconds.  The Tigers had 230 yards of total offense in the opening 30 minutes compared to 91 for Delaware.  In the whole game, Towson had 451 yards of total offense compared to 340 for Delaware.
• In a wild finish, Shane Simpson run in a touchdown from 11 yards out to give Towson a three-point advantage with two minutes left.  Delaware scored a touchdown of its own to go back ahead with 30 seconds to go.  Towson, from the Delaware 16, had three passes towards the end zone, but did not connect.
• Simpson finished with 320 all-purpose yards, including 123 on the ground with a touchdown, 49 receiving and 148 on kickoff returns.
• Tom Flacco went 21-for-42 in the air tonight for 225 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, plus caught a two-point conversion pass.  His primary target was Jabari Allen, who had nine catches, tying the season-high for a Tiger this season, for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
• Aidan O'Neill was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals, including a career-high 50-yarder, and 2-for-2 on extra points.
• On defense, Keon Paye and Mantriel Reaves each had a team-high seven tackles, with Paye adding an interception. 
• For Delaware, Pat Kehoe went 18-for-32 passing for 305 yards, four touchdowns and a pick, with Vinny Papale catching eight balls for 142 yards and two scores.  Troy Reeder had 12 tackles.

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "Congratulations to Coach Rocco, the University of Delaware and their players, heck of a ball game.  This was another Towson-Delaware game.  We are hurting a bit, but we earned the right to be hurting a little bit, too many mistakes to win against a really good football team.  Now we will find out what we are made of. Life is never about what happened but how you respond."
 
How it Happened:

• Towson started on offense and employed the hurry-up, bursting into Delaware territory with a 31-yard high arc pass from Tom Flacco to Shane Simpson along the sideline, then a 14-yard dash by Flacco to the Delaware 5-yard line, where Towson was stopped shy of the end zone.  Aidan O'Neill knocked down the 27-yard field goal to put Towson up 3-0 on the opening drive.
• Delaware got into Towson territory on its first drive, with the defense holding the Blue Hens at the 43 for a punt.  With a couple of big runs by Yeedee Thaenrat, Towson got into Delaware territory, with the drive ending on the Delaware 42. 
• After a Pat Toomey punt was downed on the 4, Robert Heyward had a big stop on a 3^rd and 3 run from the QB, then the snap on a punt attempt went into the Delaware end zone for a safety, making it 5-0 Towson, the eventual end of first quarter score.
• Flacco got the offense into the Delaware red zone again with a 29-yard throw to Jabari Allen, then 17-yard rushes by each Simpson and Shane Leatherbury.  Again, Towson was stopped just inside the 10.  O'Neill converted the 21-yard attempt to make it 8-0 Towson, 2:12 into the 2^nd quarter.
• Delaware put together a long drive with a couple of 3^rd down conversions, using a 27-yard completion to get to the Towson 5.  On another 3^rd down, Pat Kehoe found Charles Scarff in the back of the end zone for the touchdown.  A missed extra point made it 8-6 Towson with 4:45 left in the 2^nd quarter.
• Towson looked to respond, with Flacco going out of the pocket and firing a pass to Sam Gallahan to convert a 3^rd and nine, then Flacco willed his way out of a sack for a pass and first down conversion.  Later, Simpson powered his way through the right side on 3^rd and 1 to convert and get on the edge of the Delaware red zone.  In the final half-minute, Flacco, under immense pressure in the pocket, found Jabari Allen on a five-yard score for the touchdown, making it 15-6 Tigers.
• The Tigers were not done in the first half.  Heyward punched the ball out of the Delaware returner's hands, giving Towson the ball on the Delaware 33.  Two plays later, O'Neill buried a 50-yard field goal, his career long, to make it 18-6 Towson at the half.
• Delaware began the second half with good field position on its own 45, using a 49-yard pass to get to the 1-yard line.  Kani Kane converted the 1-yard run for a touchdown, making it 18-13 Towson with 13:35 in the 3^rd.
• Towson pushed back on its first drive of the second half, with Simpson and Flacco each having long runs to again get inside the Delaware red zone, but was stopped again.  O'Neill knocked in his fourth field goal to make it 21-13 Towson with 9:40 left in the 3^rd.
• The Towson defense held the Blue Hens to one first down by the Delaware 42, then another bad snap on the punt put Towson on the Delaware 5.  Two plays later, Flacco found Jabari Allen in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown, pushing Towson's lead to 28-13 with 7:51 to go in the 3^rd quarter.
• The home team got back a touchdown, finished by a 15-yard pass to Vinny Papale, plus a two-point conversion to make it 28-21 Towson with 5:30 to play in the 3^rd.
• Towson had to punt following the next drive.  Delaware broke into Towson territory, and on a 3^rd down, completed a 30-yard pass for a touchdown.  The XP was no good, keeping the lead with Towson at 28-27 with 25 seconds to go in the 3^rd.  28-27 Towson was the eventual end of third quarter score.
• Into the fourth, Delaware converted a couple of third downs en route the Towson red zone.  On another 3^rd down, Keon Paye made a catch in the end zone to stifle the Delaware scoring chance and keep Towson ahead 28-27 with 10:38 left in regulation.
• Towson strung together a couple of plays, sparked by a Simpson 17-yard run, to push up 22 yards total, but an interception ended the chance as Delaware returned the ball to the Towson 8.  Delaware used two running plays and scored the touchdown, with the two-point conversion failing.  Delaware led 33-28 with 8:17 left in the 4^th.
• Flacco notched a big conversion on 3^rd and 11 with a bullet to Brent Richardson, then Simpson rushed five straight times for 28 yards to get to the Delaware 30.  Flacco weaved and dodged his way five yards for the first down to the 25.  On 4^th and 3, Flacco dropped off to Simpson for the conversion on the six-yard gain.  Then, Simpson ran 11 yards through the hole to score the touchdown.  On a reverse, Leatherbury found Flacco for the 2-point conversion to make it 36-33 Towson with 2:01 left to play. 
• Delaware drove down the field and scored a touchdown with 30 seconds left to make it 40-36 Blue Hens.  Simpson returned the ensuing kickoff 61 yards to Delaware 33, then Flacco found Gallahan on the Delaware 16.  Towson tried three times on passes to the end zone but came up short, falling 40-36 to Delaware.

Inside the Numbers:

• The defeat snaps Towson's five-game winning streak, plus is the first loss against an FCS opponent this season.
• With six tackles today, Diondre Wallace moved into the top-10 all-time in tackles in Towson program history.  He is now at 267 in his career for 9^th all-time, passing Randy Bielski (263 from 1976-79) and Bill Stup (266 from 1985-88).
• Shane Simpson has scored at least one touchdown in all eight Towson games this season.
• Aidan O'Neill's 50-yard field goal is the longest of the season; previously it was a 46-yard field goal against William & Mary on October 13^th.
• It is the third consecutive game, and fifth in six contests, where Towson earned at least 200 rushing yards.
• Towson, with 451 yards of total offense tonight, has earned at least 400 yards of total offense in every game this year.

Up Next:
Towson Homecoming is next week as the Tigers host Maine at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 3^rd at 4 p.m.
 
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