WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Towson University football team (1-1) scored touchdowns on two its first three drives but fell on the road against ACC opponent Wake Forest (2-0) 51-20.
 
Key Game Stats:

• Towson earned touchdowns on its first two offensive drives, with Tom Flacco hitting Sam Gallahan and Shane Simpson for receptions in the end zone.  The Tigers were tied 14-14 with Wake Forest after one.
• Tom Flacco had 35 (35-for-51) completions for 345 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.  He had nine receivers earn multiple catches.
• Shane Leatherbury caught eight passes for 88 yards plus a touchdown.  Sam Gallahan had four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown while Ryan Rutkowski had five receptions for 67 yards.
• On the defensive side, Diondre Wallace had 16 tackles, including 12 solo, and forced a fumble.  Keon Paye concluded with ten tackles and a quarterback hurry.
• Towson outgained Wake Forest 345-242 in passing yards.
• The game had a lightning delay of over one hour towards the end of the third quarter.

 
Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "I thought our kids played hard, and there are a lot of good takeaways for us against an incredibly tough opponent.  Giving up two big punt returns were momentum killers.  I'm proud of my guys, they did not want this game called, they wanted to finish. It was a good test against good competition, and we have things to work on."
 
How it Happened:

• Wake Forest ran the hurry-up offense on the first drive, getting a couple of long passes to Greg Dortch to drive into Towson territory.  Getting to the Towson 10, Wake Forest converted a 3^rd and 5 with a one-hand catch by Alex Bachman to make it 7-0 with 11:39 left in the 1^st.
• Towson's first kickoff return came up 31 yards by Shane Simpson.  Towson ran its own hurry-up offense, with Shane Leatherbury making a catch on a cut route for 18 yards, then the Tigers adding another couple of big plays off a Simpson rush up the middle for 12 yards, then a Sam Gallahan catch for 13 yards near the sideline.  On 3^rd and 5, Tom Flacco found Gallahan again in the back of the end zone for a 24-yard catch and touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 with 8:12 remaining in the 1^st.
• The home team retook the lead on the next drive, keyed by two catches by Dortch for 29 yards, including a 7-yard score.  Wake Forest led 14-7 at the 7:11 mark in the 1^st.
• Next drive for Towson, the Tigers converted a pair of third downs, one a pass to Gallahan for 12 yards along the sideline, another a Kobe Young run up the gut for seven yards.  The Tigers got into Wake territory but had to punt: Pat Toomey's punt was downed at the Wake 3.  Towson quickly got the ball back as Mantriel Reeves intercepted the ball on a 3^rd and 1 to set up Towson deep in Wake territory.  On 3^rd down, Flacco kept avoiding tacklers and found Simpson in the corner of the end zone to tie the game again at 14-14 with under two minutes in the first period.
• Into the second quarter, Wake Forest again drove down the field and scored a touchdown, ending the drive on a 14-yard Sam Hartman run for a 21-14 lead just into the period.  After a Flacco interception, Wake drove back into Towson territory, but Towson held on a 3^rd and 7 on an incomplete pass.  Wake converted a 35-yard field goal to lead 24-14.
• Flacco found Gallahan for a fourth time for a downs conversion, but the drive was stopped after a sack.  Wake Forest returned the ensuing punt 70 yards for a touchdown to lead 31-10 with 9:49 left in the first half.
• Towson found a rhythm on passing and sprinted into Wake Forest territory, aided by two 18-yard completions, one to Ryan Rutkowski and another to Shane Leatherbury.  Flacco nearly continued the drive on his own, weaving and spinning his way to a 13-yard run on 3^rd and 19.  On the 4^th down conversion attempt, he was not able to escape and threw an incompletion with 5:19 left in the half.
• Wake's next drive was stifled by Keon Paye who made a big tackle of Cade Carney on 3^rd and 1 for no gain.  Towson took over after a punt was downed on the 5.  Towson went three and out, then Wake returned another punt for a touchdown to lead 38-14.
• Towson executed a great two-minute drill with a steady air attack, with Flacco completing six passes in a span of 2:02, ending with an over the shoulder completion to Leatherbury for a touchdown.  At the half, Towson trailed Wake Forest 38-20.
• Into the 3^rd, Flacco completed four more passes as Towson nearly got into Wake Forest territory, but was stopped before midfield.  Wake Forest continued the hurry-up offense and pushed inside the five when Hartman was stripped by Diondre Wallace, and Ricky DeBerry picked up the fumble to give the ball to the Tigers.
• The upcoming drive, Towson got back into Wake Forest territory on a 12-yard draw by Ryan Stover.  Towson got a 4^th and 1 chance on the Wake Forest 43 but was stopped on a run, giving the ball back to the Demon Deacons.  Wake drove down into the red zone, with Keon Paye rushing the quarterback and forcing an incompletion on 3^rd and 8.  A field goal made it 41-20 Wake Forest with 3:53 left in the 3^rd.
• Despite a drive-opening 14-yard catch by Greenwood, Towson's drive was ended at its own 41.  Toomey put a punt out-of-bounds on the Wake 9, his second punt inside the opposition's 10.  As Wake was driving, a lightning delay stopped the game at 2:38 p.m.  Following the delay, Wake Forest scored a touchdown on a 1-yard rush by Carney, making it 48-20 Demon Deacons.
• Wake Forest later added another field goal for the 51-20 victory.

Inside the Numbers:

• Tom Flacco is the first Tiger to have over 30 completions in a game since Sean Schaefer vs. Villanova on November 15, 2008.  His 35 completions are tied for seventh all-time in a single game in Towson history.
• 20 points scored by Towson ties the most amount of points put on an FBS opponent by the Tigers since 2013.
• This was the first-ever meeting for Towson against Wake Forest and first game against an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent since playing at Maryland in 2011.

Up Next:
Towson begins conference play next weekend, heading to Philadelphia to play #12/11 Villanova on Saturday, September 15^th at 3:30 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 Villanova game (Sept. 15, 3:30 p.m.) or Delaware (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.