VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Towson University football team (2-1, 1-0 CAA) used 35 consecutive points to come back and take down #10/10 Villanova (2-1, 0-1 CAA) 45-35 on the road to win its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener.
 
Key Game Stats:

• After being down 14-0 in the opening 5:01, Towson scored 35 points in a row, including two passing, two rushing and one special teams touchdown, to surge ahead 35-14 with 2:26 left in the 2^nd quarter.
• Tom Flacco had 300+ passing yards for the second straight time, going 27-37 for 320 yards, three touchdowns and a pick.  He also had 66 rushing yards on 18 carries.
• Shane Leatherbury became the first Towson receiver since November 4, 2017 to earn over 100 yards receiving.  He earned 113 yards and two touchdowns, including a 76-yard score in the first quarter, while Sam Gallahan earned nine catches for 82 yards.
• On the ground, Shane Simpson is the first 100-yard rusher for Towson since 2016.  He rushed 19 times for 100 yards and a touchdown, adding 30 yards receiving and another score from the air.  It is his fourth 100-yard game in his collegiate career.
• Towson had an important special teams play deep in the 1^st quarter: Yeedee Thaenrat forced a fumble on a big hit, leading to Troy Vincent Jr. returning for a touchdown.  That play gave Towson a 21-14 lead. 
• On the defensive side: Monty Fenner led all Tigers with nine tackles, including eight solo.  Keon Paye notched seven tackles with an interception and a tackle for loss while Bryce Carter had two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
• Towson had 528 yards of total offense, including 208 on the ground.  The Tigers had the ball for 35:01 in the game, compared to 24:59 for Villanova.

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose:

• "Hats off to Villanova, they are a GREAT football team.  For us, this game was won in January.  I am grateful to the thousands of towson faithful that drove up here from Towson that believed.  The Towson family is really strong, and they got to see one of the best wins in the last 10 years.  It is a good day to be a Tiger."
• "I have complete and utter faith in these guys, and they earned it.  We are committed to playing six seconds at a time relentlessly, and they were not going to fear their opponent.  It wasn't a play, it wasn't anything, it is what we did in the offseason, and that we believe in each other."

How it Happened:

• On the first Villanova drive, a rollout pass from Zach Bednarcyzk found Changa Hodge in the secondary, running down to just outside the goal line.  Two plays later, a five-yard drop off pass to Aaron Forbes resulted in a touchdown, putting VU up 7-0 in the opening 3:07.
• After a Towson three and out, Villanova scored a touchdown on the following drive, going 83 yards in two plays.  The touchdown, off a 31-yard reception to Ryan Bell, made it 14-0 Villanova with 9:59 left in the 1^st.
• Towson started to drive down the field, going 15 plays, none of which more than 10 yards until the final play.  Grinding down with rushes from Shane Simpson and Kobe Young, plus a couple of completions from Tom Flacco, Ryan Stover converted a 4^th down with a QB run in the Villanova red zone.  Next play, Simpson plowed through the right side to the end zone, making it 14-7 Villanova with 4:56 left in the 1^st.
• A back tackle in the backfield by Robert Hayward on Matt Gudzak stifled Villanova's offensive drive at midfield.  Next drive on third down, Flacco found Sean Leatherbury across the middle, who bolted for 76 yards and a game-tying score.
• Next play, Yeedee Thaenrat made a huge hit on a kickoff return, resulting in a fumble.  Troy Vincent Jr. recovered and took the ball into the end zone for the score, giving Towson a 21-14 lead just before the end of the first quarter.
• Keon Paye ended Villanova's next drive with an interception in the VU end zone, helped by pressure from Zain Harps Upshur.  Flacco led Towson down the field again, converting on QB rollouts and passes, including a long one across midfield to Jabari Allen.  On third down inside the 10, Flacco avoided a sack with pocket presence and dropped the ball down to Simpson for the score, making it 28-14 Towson with 6:44 left in the 2^nd.
• The Towson defense again made big plays to stop Villanova for a three and out, ending on a Bryce Carter sack to put Villanova inside its own 5.  After a punt, Towson drove down the field again, with Thaenrat ending the drive with a one-yard touchdown run on 1^st down.  Towson led 35-14 with 2:26 left in the 2^nd.
• Villanova's offense completed four consecutive passes on its following drive, ending with an 11-yard catch by Bell for a touchdown.  Towson was up 35-21 with 1:06 left in the first half.  Towson's field goal attempt from 51-yards out at the end of the half was no good as the Tigers led 35-21 at the break.
• Into the 3^rd quarter, Towson got to near midfield on offense, but a tipped pass was intercepted by Villanova.  The Wildcats drove down into the red zone, completing the drive on a 14-yard reception to Jarrett McClendon for the touchdown, making it 35-28 Towson with 11:05 to go in the 3^rd.
• Towson returned to Villanova territory on the next drive, with Simpson grinding on the ground and Flacco continuing to find Sam Gallahan for key catches.  Towson was stopped on 3^rd down, as Pat Toomey punted the ball to put Villanova on its own 4-yard line.  Villanova got one first down but was stopped on the next set of downs with QB pressure forcing an incompletion on 3^rd down.
• Faced with 1^st and 20, Flacco again found Gallahan, who raced his way to the first down into Villanova territory on a 25-yard gain.  The Tigers found the end zone on a 14-yard catch by Leatherbury, on a couple of jukes after the catch, to make it 42-28 Towson with under two minutes in the 3^rd, the eventual score at the end of the 3^rd.
• Villanova decided to go for the first down on 4^th and five on the Towson 27.  Towson blitzed and forced Bednarczyk to roll out and throw an incompletion, giving the ball back to the Tigers with 12:37 left in the 4^th and a two-touchdown lead.
• Following a three-and-out by the Tigers, Villanova returned to Towson's half of the field.  Diondre Wallace had a big tackle in the backfield on run, then Paye notched a tackle on a two-yard gain for 4^th down.  But, Villanova converted the 4^th down on a 29-yard catch by McClenton down the middle into the red zone.  Later, a 1-yard run by Gudzak was good for a touchdown, making the score 42-35 Towson, 8:16 to play.
• With the Tigers looking get some insurance, a hand off to Simpson resulted in 28 yards on the ground to begin Towson's drive.  Later, Towson was looking at a 4^th down and a half-yard, to which Stover converted on a rush.  Towson got to the Villanova 9 as Aidan O'Neill kicked a field goal, making it 45-35 Towson with just over three minutes left.
• Villanova had one last gasp, with Bednarczyk being sacked by Ricky DeBerry to end the drive around midfield.  Towson ran out the clock and won 45-35.

Inside the Numbers:

• Towson earns a victory over a top-10 opponent for the first time since December 21, 2013 in the win over #3 Eastern Washington in the FCS Playoffs.
• This is the second time in this three-game season that Towson scored at least 36 points. (36-10 Towson defeats Morgan State, Sept. 1)
• Towson earns a victory in its CAA opener for the first time since 2013, a road win over Stony Brook that year.
• It is the second consecutive year, and third season in the last four, where Towson has started the season 2-1.

Up Next:
Towson goes into the bye week then hosts three straight games, beginning with its home opener vs. The Citadel on Saturday, September 29^th at 4 p.m.
 
Season Tickets Still Available: 
This fall, fans can help the Tigers celebrate their 50th season with a special $50 season ticket package to all five home games. Those that purchase season tickets have the option of an equal number of road tickets for the Delaware game (Oct. 27, 3:30 p.m.). In honor of the 50th year of football at Towson, fans can purchase season tickets for just $50. Additionally, season tickets in the Gaburick Gold Back Seats are priced at $75.