CHARLESTON, S.C. – The No. 11/12 Towson University football team earned its first victory in dramatic fashion, using a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter for a 28-21 comeback win over The Citadel to start the year 1-0.
 
After two long pass completions and a breakout run by Tom Flacco got the Tigers to the Citadel 4, Shane Simpson punched the ball into the end zone for the Towson lead.  The next Citadel offensive play, Coby Tippett intercepted the ball along the sideline to finish the game.
 
Key Game Stats:

• Tom Flacco had another 300-yard game in the air, finishing 21-for-36 with a touchdown, adding 48 yards on the ground.  Shane Simpson racked up 151 all-purpose yards, including 74 on the ground, 37 on receiving and 40 on kick returns, scoring three total touchdowns.
• Flacco's two primary receiving targets were Shane Leatherbury, who made five catches for 78 yards, and Daniel Thompson IV, who finished with four receptions in his first college game, racking up 73 yards.
• Aidan O'Neill was perfect as a kicker, going 2-for-2 on field goals from 40 yards and 25 yards, plus adding a pair of extra points.
• On defense, Bryce Carter had a pair of forced fumbles while Coby Tippett had the crucial interception late.  Carter also had 13 tackles while Robert Heyward notched 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
• For The Citadel, quarterback Brandon Rainey had 166 yards on the ground and a touchdown running plus 24 yards passing, adding a touchdown and an interception.  Running back Clay Harris rushed 12 times for 43 yards.  On defense, Chris Beverly had seven tackles and a forced fumble.

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "Week one wins against quality opponents are hard to come­­ by.  It is a battle of who makes the least amount of mistakes, and in the end, it was us.  It shows the ability that we have character: we put together a really good drive at the end of the game."
 
How it Happened:

• Towson started with possession, converting a pair of third downs with a couple of Tom Flacco passes to Shane Leatherbury to cross into Citadel territory.  Towson was forced to punt, but on the second play of Citadel's drive, a fumble by Clay Harris was recovered by Terrill Gillette on the Citadel 24.  Three players later, Flacco dropped a short pass to Shane Simpson wide open on the left side of the end zone for a touchdown, putting Towson up 7-0 with 9:46 left in the 1^st.
• Next drive, Citadel ran its triple option offense, converting a fourth down and short to get just outside the red zone.  After a penalty made it second and 19, Ricky DeBerry sniffed out a WR end-around and took down the receiver four yards in the backfield.  Citadel tried a 45-yard field goal and missed left.  The first quarter ended 7-0 Towson.
• Flacco wasted no time on the next drive with long passes to each Caleb Smith and Daniel Thompson IV to get into the red zone in two plays.  Flacco got closer with a six-yard run to the 13, but a holding call next play kept Towson back.  Aidan O'Neill came in on fourth down and drilled a 40-yard field goal to send Towson up 10-0 with 13:56 left in the 2^nd quarter.
• The Bulldogs started the following drive with a Brandon Rainey keeper for 55 yards to get to the Towson 20.  On 3^rd and goal from the Towson 3, Rainey kept the ball and crossed the goal line on the right side for a touchdown to make it 10-7 Towson, 11:26 to go in the first half.
• The offense got back to work for Towson with a completion to Thompson IV and a rollout for Flacco, each first downs.  Next play, Shane Simpson went 45 yards with multiple broken tackles for the touchdown, giving Towson the 17-7 advantage at the 10:12 mark in the 2^nd.
• A wild sequence came about as Bryce Carter forced a fumble deep in Citadel territory, recovered by Mantriel Reaves.  But the following play, a completion to Jason Epps was fumbled inside the five and recovered by the home team.
• The home team continued the ground attack, piecing together a 19-play drive down the field, including converting a 4^th and one on the Towson 6.  An Emeka Nwanze 1-yard touchdown pulled the Bulldogs within three at 17-14 Towson.  Towson had a last gasp to end the half, but the clock expired before a scoring attempt could be made.  The Tigers led 17-14 at the break.
• Into the second half, a combo tackle by Robert Heyward and Keon Paye in the backfield on first down let to a three-and-out by the Bulldogs.  Towson got a couple of first downs but was stopped around midfield, settling for a punt and touchback.
• The Citadel continued the rushing attack, getting near midfield for a 3^rd and five.  On the option play, Steven Brown stopped the runner for no gain, leading to a punt.
• The offense trudged downfield, with Flacco completing passes to convert a trio of third downs with passes towards the end of the third quarter, then a fourth on 3^rd and nine with a bullet pass to Simpson.  Flacco threw a long pass to Chris Clark for 33 yards to get Towson inside the Citadel 10.  Citadel held to force a field goal attempt, with O'Neill knocking down the 25-yarder to send Towson up 20-14 with 12:43 left to play.
• Citadel got into Towson territory, including converting a 4^th and short at midfield, continuing to pound away with the run.  The Bulldogs found Raleigh Webb in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard reception touchdown.  The extra point gave the Bulldogs a 21-20 advantage with 3:31 to play.
• Flacco went downfield with long completions to Darian Street and Thompson IV, then burst on a run to get to the Citadel 4 with under two minutes left.  Simpson pounded the ball into the end zone next play for the touchdown, adding the two-point conversion on an Allen catch for a 28-21 Towson advantage.
• On Citadel's first play on the comeback attempt, a pass down the sideline was intercepted by Coby Tippett.  Towson ran out the clock and took the victory 28-21.

Inside the Numbers:

• Towson has won its last three season openers plus improves to 2-0 against The Citadel.
• Shane Leatherbury earned his 100^th career reception for Towson with his third catch at the end of the second quarter.
• With two makes, Aidan O'Neill has 55 career field goals, continuing to increase his own career record at Towson.

Up Next:
Towson will have its first home game of the season next week, hosting North Carolina Central at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
 
Purchase Single Game Tickets 
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