ORONO, Maine – The No. 8 Towson University football team earned a statement victory over the reigning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion, using five rushing touchdowns and four interceptions to dominate No. 7/9 Maine 45-23 on Saturday night.
 
Up 17-13 at the break, Towson outscored the Black Bears 28-10 in the second half for the win.  The Tigers forced four turnovers, all interceptions, while not having any on offense.
 
Towson (3-0, 1-0 CAA) starts 3-0 for the first time since the 2013 campaign.  For the second year in a row, Towson knocks off a top-10 opponent on the road to begin CAA play.
 
Key Game Stats:

• Towson racked up 416 yards of total offense off 244 yards passing and 172 yards rushing, averaging 5.8 yards per play.  Tom Flacco led the air attack, going 20-for-34 for 232 yards and a touchdown, finding eight different receivers.
• Yeedee Thaenrat ran for four touchdowns on nine carries, finishing with 24 yards.  Flacco was the top rusher with 68 yards off seven carries while Adrian Feliz-Platt had 12 rushes for 41 yards.
• Three different receivers all had 60+ yards and a catch of at least 36 yards.  Shane Leatherbury made six receptions for 63 yards while Chris Clark caught the ball four times for 64 yards and a touchdown.
• On defense, four different players earned interceptions, including Steven Brown with nine tackles, a pick and a pass broken up.  Coby Tippett finished with eight tackles, an interception and a tackle for loss while Keon Paye tallied five tackles and a 73-yard interception return.  Christian Dixon had a sack, eight tackles and a forced fumble while the other interception was with Robert Heyward, adding seven tackles.
• For Maine, Chris Ferguson was 28-for-49 for 401 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions, finding Earnes Edwards six times for 116 yards and a score.  All four Maine running backs acquired 22 yards or fewer.  Manny Patterson and Myles Taylor each had eight tackles on defense.

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "Very proud of our guys.  We are a long way from home against an extremely quality opponent with great players, great coaches and a tough environment.  We had some adversity, and our guys really responded.  We are just happy to get out of here with a win."
 
How it Happened:

• A 54-yard yard reception by Earnes Edwards led to Maine getting to the Towson 21 on the first play.  With Maine getting 2^nd and two on the Towson 12, the Tigers held twice on defense to force a field goal attempt. Maine took an early 3-0 lead.
• Following a Towson three-and-out, Maine went down the field, converting a pair of third downs by a Chris Ferguson 10-yard pass, then later, an 18-yard run.  Coby Tippett sniffed out a screen play on 2^nd down and halted the Maine drive with a three-yard loss.  Maine converted the 45-yard field goal to lead 6-0 with 7:29 remaining in the first quarter.
• Shane Simpson got Towson's next drive going on a 37-yard kickoff return, then a leaping catch by Caleb Smith got the Tigers 36 yards and into Maine territory.  On 3^rd and 2 from the Maine 19, Tom Flacco broke out of the pocket and sprinted six yards for the first down.  A completion to Darian Street then a three-yard run for Yeedee Thaenrat got Towson into the end zone for a 7-6 lead, 4:17 remaining in the 1^st.
• Maine got across midfield the next drive, primarily with the pass.  Going for it on 4^th and one on the Towson 44, Robert Heyward and Bryce Carter combined to stop Jo Fitzpatrick short of the marker and give Towson possession.  On a drive going into the next quarter, Flacco continued the drive on a 29-yard run down the sideline.  Towson got inside the 10 but stalled.  Aidan O'Neill converted the 26-yard field goal to push Towson up 10-6 with 13:44 left in the first half.
• Maine put together a 75-yard drive on its next possession, including four plays of at least 13 yards.  A 19 yard-completion from Ferguson to Edwards resulted in a touchdown for a 13-10 Maine lead with 9:20 to go in the 2^nd quarter.
• Starting with a 29-yard return from Coby Tippett, Towson methodically came down the field with Thaenrat runs, Flacco breakout rushes plus completions to Shane Leatherbury, coming down to the Maine 29.  O'Neill's 46-yard field goal attempt went wide, keeping the score at 13-10 Maine.
• Maine got to 3^rd and three on the first set of downs.  Next play, Coby Tippett intercepted the pass by stepping in front of the intended target and grabbing the ball.  Towson took over on offense, beginning with a Leatherbury end-around for 17 yards, then going forward later on a pass interference penalty on Maine.  Following a completion to Leatherbury, Thaenrat pounded the ball up the gut into the end zone, giving Towson back the lead 17-13 with 1:41 left in the half.
• Maine attempted to go down the field when on 3^rd and eight, a long pass was intercepted by Steven Brown and returned to the Towson 30.  The halftime score held at 17-13 Towson.
• Towson went three-and-out on its opening drive of the second half as Shane McDonough punted 68 yards for a touchback.  Maine converted a third down on a pass to Shawn Bowman, who broke for a 36-yard gain.  Despite an early eight-yard gain on the following set of downs, the Towson secondary held the next two plays.  Doak converted the 44-yard field goal as Maine got to within one: Towson 17-16 with 10:26 left in the 3^rd.
• On second down, Flacco found his man wide open in Chris Clark for a 38-yard gain into Maine territory on the 30-yard line.  Flacco found Kobe Young near the sideline for 19 yards to put Towson on the two, then Thaenrat finished the drive and barreled into the end zone for his third score.  Towson led 24-16 with 8:06 to play in the 3^rd quarter.
• Maine again went to the air, starting on its own 15 and throwing the first four plays.  Heyward hit the ball-carrier in the backfield and stifled Maine's drive as Towson got the ball back.  Flacco found Smith twice on long completions to get into the Maine side of the field, then a deep throw to Leatherbury for 36 yards brought the Tigers inside the 10.  Next play, a drop off pass to Clark resulted in the tight end carrying a defender with him into the end zone for the score.  Towson led 31-16 with 1:09 to play in the 3^rd.
• A couple of long throws to Devin Young and Andre Miller sparked Maine's next drive into the fourth quarter.  Though Christian Dixon had a sack with a big hit on the quarterback, Maine continued to go down the field on the pass.  On 3^rd and two on the Towson 40, a pass across the middle was deflected and intercepted by Heyward to give the ball back to the Tigers.
• Towson drove down the field with Young and Adrian Feliz-Platt to run clock and gain yards, plus adding a long Flacco rollout run.  Young finished the drive with a 10-yard run for the touchdown to make it 45-16 Towson with 6:49 to play.
• Ryan Stover took over at quarterback and drove down the field.  The Tigers ran out the clock for the 45-23 win.

Inside the Numbers:

• Towson starts 3-0, the first time the Tigers won their first three games since the 2013 season.
• The Tigers earn a victory over a top-10 opponent on the road to start CAA play for the second straight year, knocking off No. 10 Villanova last year 45-35.
• This was the first game where a top-10 Towson team played a top-10 opponent in the regular season during the D-I era.  It last happened in the FCS Championship on Jan. 4, 2014.
• Yeedee Thaenrat scores four touchdowns in a game for the first time in his Towson career.  It is the first time a Tiger has scored four rushing touchdowns in a game since Oct. 1, 2016, when Darius Victor got four touchdowns at Richmond.
• With his 33^rd career passing touchdown at Towson, Tom Flacco is now tied for eighth in TU history in passing touchdowns with Bret Rogers, who had 33 from 1980-83.
• Keon Paye is now tied for 10^th in Towson history in interceptions in a career with eight.
• Aidan O'Neill increased his Towson record to 56 career field goals.

Up Next:
Towson will have its first CAA home game of 2019 next week, hosting Villanova at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m.
 
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