TOWSON, Md. – The No. 5 Towson University football team came back from down 14 in the fourth quarter with 17 unanswered points to take the lead with 1:52 to play, but No. 18 Villanova tied the game with 10 seconds left in regulation and won 52-45 in overtime.
 
A Yeedee Thaenrat rushing touchdown, a Robert Heyward interception return for a score and an Aidan O'Neill field goal gave Towson a three-point lead with 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.  Villanova drove down the field and kicked a game-tying field goal with 10 seconds left, then scored first in overtime on a Daniel Smith two-yard quarterback keeper.  Towson got to the Villanova seven-yard line in overtime but was stopped, giving the victory to the Wildcats.
 
Towson drew 9,568 fans for the game, the 10^th-largest attended Tiger football game ever at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
 
Key Game Stats:

• The Tigers came back several times in the game, down seven in the first half three times to take the lead in the second quarter.  Then in the fourth quarter, the Tigers scored 17 points in a row after being down 14 to lead in the final minutes.
• Towson mustered 470 yards of total offense, including 304 on passing and 166 on the ground.  Tom Flacco had a hand in most of Towson's production with 414 yards of total offense, going 21-for-42 in the air for 304 yards, a touchdown and an interception plus 110 yards of rushing, scoring a touchdown on the ground.
• Yeedee Thaenrat had another high-scoring day, scoring three touchdowns off 10 carries and 32 yards.
• On receiving, Shane Leatherbury made five receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, averaging 23.6 yards a catch.  Darian Street caught five balls for 55 yards while Caleb Smith also had five receptions, totaling 54 yards.
• On defense, Coby Tippett led all players with 13 tackles.  Christian Dixon tallied nine tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery while Robert Heyward concluded with seven tackles and a pick six for 49 yards.
• For Villanova, Daniel Smith had six total touchdowns, four passing and two rushing, including the game-winner in overtime.  He threw 25-for-42 for 279 yards and two interceptions, adding 70 yards rushing.  Justin Covington run the ball 27 times to total 194 yards and a touchdown while Jaaron Hayek caught six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. 

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "Hats off to Coach Ferrante and Villanova, that is a very, very good football team.  They brought their A-game tonight; after last year, we knew that was coming, and they were impressive on both sides of the ball and special teams.
 
"I'd like to thank the Towson faithful.  The people that filled the stands tonight and made a whole lot of noise made a difference in the game.  This is how Saturday night football is supposed to be, and I hope to see more."
 
How it Happened:

• Villanova received the first kickoff, using a Justin Covington 18-yard rush on the second play from scrimmage to reach midfield, then a completion to Changa Hodge to get to the Towson 33.  On 3^rd and eight, Daniel Smith found Jaaron Hayek on a screen for 31 yards and a touchdown, going up 7-0 with 12:06 in the 1^st quarter.
• Towson got right to work on offense with an 11-yard rush by Yeedee Thaenrat and a short pass to Darian Street that turned into a 26-yard completion.  Two plays later, a designed run by Tom Flacco saw the quarterback break for 42 yards and a touchdown, tying the score at 7-7 with 10:21 to play in the opening quarter.
• Next drive, Villanova broke into Towson territory with a 64-yard Covington run, with Brandon Shuman making a touchdown-saving tackle.  Villanova still converted, finding Todd Summers in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown.  The Wildcats led 14-7 with 7:53 left in the first quarter.
• The Tigers were held to a three-and-out on the following drive, punting back to Villanova.  Christian Dixon hammered the ball-carrier on the first carry, forcing the Wildcats back four yards and essentially ending the drive.  Towson got the ball back on its own 37.
• Flacco used a dart over the middle to Shane Leatherbury to convert a third and 10, then broke out of a potential sack to run for seven yards into Villanova territory, but was stopped by the defense.  Shane McDonough punted the ball, which was downed on the Towson 8.
• Another exchange as the defenses held the others to three-and-outs into the second quarter.  Following a Wildcats first down, a botched snap was recovered by Christian Dixon at the Villanova 28.  Two plays later, Flacco dropped a rainbow pass to a streaking Leatherbury for the 28-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14-14 with 10:31 left in the half.
• Villanova came down the field despite a fumble forced by Malik Tyne on a 10-yard catch into Towson territory.  A pair of 20+ yard passes by Smith, the second a 27-yard catch to Hayek, led to a touchdown for the Wildcats, sending the visitors to a 21-14 advantage with 6:15 left in the second half.
• Towson answered right back with Flacco going on an air attack with a 17-yard completion to Street and a 35-yard throw to Jason Epps to get to the Villanova 2.  After a Towson loss of one, Thaenrat went to the left, broke a low tackle and dove into the end zone for a touchdown, tying the game, again, at 21-21 with 2:43 to go in the half.
• The visitors through four consecutive passes on the next drive, the first converting a first down, and Terrill Gillette-Rodgers breaking up a long pass to stop Villanova on third.  Towson looked to make a final drive in the half, with a check-down pass to Kobe Young resulting in 25 yards.  Flacco continued to move with another couple of passes to running backs, then a breakaway run for 43 yards to get to the one with 20 seconds left in the half.  Two plays later, Thaenrat barreled up the middle to give Towson its first lead 28-21.  A Dez Boykin kickoff return gave Villanova a final shot at a field goal, but the 49-yard attempt went wide left.  Towson went into the locker room up 28-21.
• Towson received in the second half, but went three-and-out, sending a punt to the Villanova 24.  Covington got the Villanova drive started with a 15-yard sprint to the left, then continued it with a five-yard run up the gut on 3^rd and one.  Villanova got backed up on 2^nd and five as Malik Tyne hit the pass target five yards behind the line of scrimmage, but the Wildcats countered next play as Smith took a draw up the middle for 36 yards and a touchdown.  The score was tied 28-28 with 8:55 to go in the third quarter.
• Flacco found Leatherbury for 20 yards across the middle in an attempt to drive down the field, but Villanova held on the next set of downs.  Next drive for the Wildcats, Covington got three straight carries for 21 yards, then a quarterback draw to the left by Smith gave Villanova another set of downs.  Smith passes for two more first downs to Zac Kerxton and Hodge, then Covington punched it in for the one-yard score.  Villanova retook the lead 35-28 with 3:37 remaining in the third.
• Towson went back to the air to go down field, with a 24-yard dart to Leatherbury then a pass interference call getting Towson to midfield.  Flacco rushed for three years, but the drive stalled, and a punt gave the ball back to Villanova.  The Wildcats charged into Towson territory with a 27-yard completion and a 15-yard penalty, but next play Keon Paye jumped the pass route and intercepted the ball.  But on Towson's drive, a pressured Flacco threw a short interception, giving Villanova possession on the Towson 34.
• A couple of short passes by Smith and runs by Covington got Villanova to the Towson 6-yard line.  Towson held on two plays, including Sam Gyeni slamming Covington's run for a loss, but a pass to Covington on third down led to a score, putting Villanova up 42-28 with 11:33 left to play.
• Towson put together a necessary touchdown drive, beginning with a 29-yard kickoff return by D'Ago Hunter.  Flacco converted a third down on a pass to Caleb Smith on the sideline, then added 15 yards on a late hit.  Another pass to Smith for 20 yards then a Flacco break for 10 yards put the Tigers on the goal line, then Thaenrat scored his third touchdown to pull Towson within one score at 42-35 Villanova with 9:08 to play.
• With the crowd cheering on the Tigers, on the second play of Villanova's drive, a pass was deflected by the receiver and caught by Robert Heyward, who returned the ball 49 yards for a touchdown.  The game was tied again 42-42 with 8:11 remaining.
• Villanova went back to Covington for rushes, getting just outside Towson territory.  Bryce Carter had a big hit in the backfield on DeeWil Barlee, and Villanova's drive stalled out.  The Wildcats punted for a touchback.
• Following a Thaenrat four-yard rush, Flacco fired passes to Smith twice for a combined 17 yards, then got the ball 35 yards downfield to Leatherbury.  Towson got inside the red zone on Thaenrat rushes, but a pass breakup set up fourth down.  Aidan O'Neill converted the 34-yard field goal to push Towson ahead 45-42 with 1:52 left.
• Villanova went for a final drive down field starting at its own seven, converting a fourth down on a 15-yard pass.  Smith kept going down field on passes, converting another fourth down in Towson territory on a run.  Towson brought pressure and forced incompletions to set up a field goal attempt by Villanova.  The 45-yard attempt by Drew Kresge was good, tying the game with 10 seconds left and sending the game to overtime.
• Villanova went on offense first in overtime, scoring a touchdown after two plays, a 23-yard run by Covington, then a Smith run to the right for a score.  The Wildcats led 52-45.  Towson got its chance, with a pass interference call and a Flacco nine-yard rush getting the Tigers to the Villanova seven-yard line, but two incompletions ended the game.  The Wildcats won 52-45.

Inside the Numbers:

• Keon Paye now is tied for eighth in Towson history with nine career interceptions.
• Tom Flacco, with a touchdown pass to Shane Leatherbury, stands eighth in Towson history with 34 career passing touchdowns.  He also had his first-ever combined 300+ yard passing and 100+ yard rushing game.
• Aidan O'Neill increased his Towson University career field goals record to 56.
• With three touchdowns tonight, Yeedee Thaenrat has seven rushing touchdowns in his last two games and eight on the season.
• Leatherbury's 118 yards on receptions is the first 100-yard receiving game for a Tiger this season.
• This is the second game this season where Towson returned an interception for a touchdown, the other being Paye's interception touchdown return for a score vs. N.C. Central on Sept. 7^th.
• With 9,568 fans in attendance, it is the 10^th largest crowd in Towson history at Johnny Unitas® Stadium and biggest since 2014.
• This was Towson's first overtime game since Nov. 4, 2017, a 33-30 defeat at Elon.  It is the first overtime game at Unitas Stadium since Sept. 11, 2010, a 47-45 victory for the Tigers vs. Coastal Carolina.

Up Next:
Towson heads to Gainesville to challenge the University of Florida, currently ranked No. 9 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m.  The game will be broadcast nationally on the SEC Network.
 
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