TOWSON, Md. – With a few Tigers hitting new career marks in the regular season finale, the No. 19/20 Towson University football team led most of the way against Elon on Saturday night, but fell to the Phoenix 25-23.
 
Towson (7-5, 4-4 CAA) took the early lead with two touchdowns in a span of 12 seconds in the first quarter.  The Tigers led from there until the final minute of the fourth quarter when a Skyler Davis 35-yard field goal gave Elon (5-6, 4-4 CAA) the win.
 
Before the contest began, Towson honored several members of the senior class in a pregame ceremony, playing the final regular season home game.
 
Key Game Stats:

• The final stats were close to even, with Towson mustering 357 yards of total offense to Elon's 328.  Each side had 214 yards passing, with Towson having the edge 143-114 on the ground.  At the half, the Towson defense allowed just 87 yards of offense.
• Towson committed four turnovers while forcing only one on defense, that a fumble recovery by Malik Tyne in the first quarter off a kickoff return.
• Tom Flacco was 15-for-27 at quarterback with 214 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.  His primary target was Daniel Thompson IV, who made five catches for a career-high 80 yards.
• On the ground, Yeedee Thaenrat averaged 9.4 yards a carry, totaling 103 yards off 11 rushes.  Adrian Feliz-Platt got 53 yards rushing.
• Defensively, Christian Dixon led the Tigers in tackles with eight, one of four Towson players with a sack.  Keon Paye got seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
• Aidan O'Neill converted three field goals in four attempts, the longest from 44 yards out in the fourth quarter.
• For Elon, Davis Cheek finished 12-for-24 with 209 yards and a score, finding De'Sean McNair three times for 71 yards and a touchdown.  Marcus Willoughby tallied up six tackles, two sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.  Skyler Davis made all three field goal attempts, including the game-winner from 35 out in the final minute of play.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "Congratulations to Elon for the win, they are a very talented and well coached.  I'd like to thank our seniors.  While tonight was not the way it was supposed to play out, they have greatly represented this program and this university.  They brought our institution positive notoriety, consistency and respect on a national level, and that is something that all of us should be grateful for."
 
How it Happened:

• Elon began with the first drive, with the Phoenix going three and out, finishing with a Jesus Gibbs sack.  Elon punted, where Towson, despite strong field position inside Elon territory, a fumble on third down gave the ball back to Elon.
• The Towson defense held firm on the next set of downs as the Phoenix went for it on fourth and one across midfield.  Keon Paye and Robert Heyward tracked down Jaylan Thomas on the toss and tackled him for a loss of three yards and a turnover on downs.
• Next drive, Towson took the ball downfield with a couple of big runs by Adrian Feliz-Platt, one for 16 yards, and a pass to Darian Street for 10 yards.  Tom Flacco completed the drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Shane Leatherbury for a 7-0 lead with 7:44 left in the first.
• Towson got the ball right back as Shamari Wingard fumbled the ball on the return, with Malik Tyne recovering on the Elon 20.  Next play, Flacco fired to Darian Street in the corner for a 20-yard touchdown, the second touchdown in 12 seconds.  Towson led 14-0.
• Each side exchanged a drive on a three-and-out.  Elon burst forward with a Brelynd Cyphers 20-yard run, but Towson held on defense, including two incomplete passes, once Elon went into Tiger territory.  Elon punted, and Towson would lead 14-0 after the first quarter.
• Into the 2^nd quarter, Towson got to midfield, but Elon's Tre'Von Jones stepped in front of a passing route and intercepted the ball.  Elon methodically drove downfield, almost exclusively on the ground, getting to the Towson red zone.  Despite a six-yard start on first down, Bryce Carter stopped a rusher for a four-yard loss, then Vinnie Shaffer sacked the quarterback for a loss of five.  A 40-yard field goal by Skyler Davis put Elon on the board, 14-3 Towson with 6:36 left in the half.
• Towson began the next drive with a huge play as Flacco found Ryan Rutkowski for a wide-open catch for 43 yards.  Chris Clark got an 11-yard catch, then Feliz-Platt grinded down for more yards, but Towson was stopped on third and goal.  Aidan O'Neill converted the field goal for 24 yards for a 17-3 Towson led, the eventual halftime score.
• Towson started with the ball in the second half, but despite a third down 12-yard catch to Street, two sacks by Elon resulted in a safety.  Towson was up 17-5 with 12:33 left in the 3^rd.  The Tigers held on defense after the safety punt with a three and out, getting the ball back on its own 19.
• Yeedee Thaenrat burst out of the gate with two big runs, one for 29 and the following for 22.  Towson was stopped on a third and five, but O'Neill knocked down the 39-yard field goal to make it 20-5 Towson with 7:39 left in the 3^rd.
• Elon had its best offensive drive thus far in the game on the next series, with Davis Cheek earning passes of 32 yards to Cole Taylor and 27 yards to Kortez Weeks.  Elon finished the drive with a five-yard passing touchdown, making it 20-12 Towson with 3:51 to go in the third.
• Thaenrat started the next series with a 25-yard rush, but a fumble the next play gave the ball back to Elon.  Along with a Cheek 21-yard QB run, Cheek threw a check-down pass to De'Sean McNair, who turned it into a 39-yard touchdown.  At the end of the third quarter, it was Towson 20-19.
• Towson looked to respond, throwing mainly in the air, with Flacco firing darts to Daniel Thompson IV for completions of 13, then 35.  Towson was held from there; O'Neill drilled a 44-yard field goal to make the score 23-19 Towson with 11:54 to play.
• Two more long passes for Cheek to Thomas and Weeks brought Elon to the Towson 33, adding another to McNair for 16 yards to get the Phoenix to the Towson seven-yard line.  Bryce Carter and Christian Dixon combined to stack up Weeks on a short pass for a loss of five, then the Tigers held with two incomplete passes.  Elon kicked a field goal to pull within one at 23-22 Towson, 7:09 left to play.
• Towson looked to strike back as Flacco began with an 11-yard completion towards the sideline to Thompson IV, then Thaenrat burst up the middle for 25 yards.  Faced with third and 11, Flacco found Thompson IV again for a 14-yard conversion gain to the Elon 26.  An early rush by Feliz-Platt gained six yards, but Towson was backed up to stop the drive. O'Neill's field goal attempt missed to give the Phoenix the ball with three minutes left.
• Elon came down the field with a 24-yard pass and a personal foul penalty to get inside Towson territory, then another pass to McNair got Elon to the 25.  Elon got to the 18 as Towson stopped the clock with timeouts.  Davis converted the 35-yard field goal with 41 seconds left to lead 25-23.
• Towson had a last gasp in the final seconds, starting with a 14-yard catch by Street.  Two plays later, an interception by Elon ended Towson's chance.  Elon took the win 25-23.

Inside the Numbers:

• Aidan O'Neill converted three field goals to stand with 64 in his career, tying for ninth in FCS history.
• Despite today's defeat, Towson has won at least seven games each of the past two seasons.
• Today's defeat snaps a three-game winning streak for Towson.  The Tigers had a pair of three-game win streaks this season.
• Towson is fourth among CAA teams this year with seven victories.
• With a score in the first quarter, Shane Leatherbury earned his 12^th receiving touchdown of the year, tying the Towson single season record with Mark Orlando, who had 12 in 1994.  It was his 21^st career receiving touchdown, tying for third in program history.
• Tom Flacco moved into third in Towson history with 50 passing touchdowns in his career.  He has 51 in his collegiate career, including one at Western Michigan.  Flacco also increased his rankings on the season with 2,831 yards this year, sixth in single season history, 22 passing touchdowns, tied for sixth, and 215 passing completions, ninth.
• Robert Heyward notched seven tackles to total 274 in his career, tying for ninth all-time in that category with Towson Athletics Hall of Fame member P.D. Moore (1994-97).

Up Next:
Towson now awaits its fate, hoping to get an at-large berth into the NCAA FCS Playoffs.  The selection show is tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
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