TOWSON, Md. – In front of 8,322 fans, the No. 8/9 Towson University football team defeated North Carolina Central 42-3 for its first 2-0 start since 2013.
 
Towson scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters and held N.C. Central without a touchdown in the game.  The Tigers earned their best defensive performance since Sept. 2, 2017, a 10-0 shutout of Morgan State.
 
The crowd of 8,322 is the largest for Towson since Sept. 20, 2014.
 
Key Game Stats:

• Towson had 348 yards of total offense on 54 plays, averaging 6.4 yards per play.  324 of those yards came in the first three quarters.
• Tom Flacco went 15-for-22 in the air for 228 yards and three touchdowns, adding a running score.  He found 10 different receivers, including Shane Leatherbury for three catches, 40 yards and two touchdowns and Darian Street for three receptions, 43 yards and a score.
• On the ground, Shane Simpson averaged 7.4 yards per carry for 89 yards on 12 rushes.  Yeedee Thaenrat ran the ball three times for 21 yards and a touchdown.
• Robert Heyward led the Towson defense in tackles with 10 while Christian Dixon had nine, adding two tackles for loss.  Keon Paye broke up three passes plus earned Towson's first pick six since 2015.  Coby Tippett had his second interception of the season, returning it 52 yards.
• The special teams were spearheaded by Shane McDonough averaging 49.8 yards a punt, putting two in the 20, including one on the 3-yard line, and another 61 yards.
• NCCU played two quarterbacks, including Davius Richard going 10-for-23 with an interception.  His top target, Nique Martin, had five receptions for 80 yards.  Isaiah Totten had 14 rushes for 60 yards.  Deonta Fair and Stephen Stokes each recorded five tackles.

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "It has been a long time since I looked up and saw a sea of gold of all students, that was an impressive moment.  Watching the freshmen run out onto the field was really cool.  Having our entire community fill the stands tonight for the home opener was something special.  They had a hand in the outcome of the game by the energy they brought, and I'm grateful that we have this following. These guys earned it.  It is impressive being ranked in the top-10 this early in the season, they've earned that right, and we had the following to show it."
 
"We had a good idea of what they would do offensively and how to defend it.  Keon Paye had the best first quarter, if not the entire game, of his career.  It was an extremely good week of practice defensively; schematically, we were honed in pretty good.  Great focus, great effort and we put pressure on the quarterback."
 
How it Happened:

• Towson was halted on a three-and-out in the first series.  N.C. Central got into Towson territory on a third down conversion attempts, but an early tackle behind the line of scrimmage by Keon Paye was key as Towson stopped the drive.  Towson tried again as got a first down off a rollout pass to Ryan Rutkowski, but could not drive much further and punted, with Shane McDonough kicking one out of bounds at the NCCU 16.
• Using passes down the middle, NCCU converted a couple of third downs to break into Towson territory.  Following Ronald Johnson sacking Micah Sanders, the next play, Sanders threw a long pass that was intercepted by Coby Tippett and returned 52 yards to the red zone.  Yeedee Thaenrat rushed twice to get into the end zone, concluding on a six-yard run, to send Towson up 7-0 with 3:39 in the 1^st quarter.
• The defense held NCCU to a three-and-out and forced a punt.  Shane Simpson began the following drive with a 28-yard explosive run to the right side to go back into enemy territory.  A couple of NCCU penalties, including a pass interference, plus a completion to Daniel Thompson IV got Towson to the NCCU 17.  On a 3^rd and six, Tom Flacco rolled out and ran to the left into the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead, the eventual end of first quarter score.
• Again the defense held, with a combined tackle from Chizurum Umunakwe and Robert Heyward stopping a Davius Richard run on 3^rd and three.  Next drive, Flacco took to the air and made a 31-yard completion to Jabari Allen and a 25-yard throw to Simpson.  In the red zone, Flacco found Shane Leatherbury for a touchdown on the 11-yard toss.  Towson led 21-0 with 11:37 to go in the 2^nd.
• Sam Gyeni broke through the NCCU defensive line on 3^rd down and stopped Jordan Freeman's rush for a loss of five, ending NCCU's drive without a first down.  Following a Caleb Smith 22-yard reception, a couple of runs and a reception by Adrian Feliz-Platt got Towson close to the red zone, but an aborted snap resulted in a field goal attempt from 54 yards, which missed short.  The very next play, Paye intercepted a Richard pass and returned it 38 yards to the end zone.  Towson led 28-0 with 5:06 left in the half.
• Isaiah Totten had a 22-yard burst to arrive in Towson's half of the field.  The Tiger defense stopped two runs then forced an incompletion.  The half would end with Towson leading 28-0.
• Into the second half, NCCU was backed up on its own 3-yard line, and three incomplete passes ended the drive.  Towson took over at midfield: following a bad snap, Flacco connected on long passes to Darian Street and Chris Clark.  Three plays later, Flacco found Street again in the back of the end zone, giving Towson a 35-0 lead with 11:20 to play in the 3^rd.
• A deep pass by Richard to E.J. Hicks for 40 yards spearheaded a nine-play, 66-yard drive to get into the red zone.  NCCU went for it on 4^th and one from the Towson 7; Christian Dixon tackled Totten two yards behind the line of scrimmage to stop the drive with no points.
• Starting on its own nine, Simpson burst ahead for 11 yards, then following passes Clark and Street, another trio of Simpson rushes brought Towson to the NCCU 21.  Flacco threw a bullet to Leatherbury for the score.  The Tigers led 42-0 in the final minutes of the third quarter.
• After an exchange of drives off an NCCU punt and then a forced fumble and recovery, NCCU engineered its first scoring drive with several plays that were six yards or fewer.  Adrian Olivo converted a 33-yard field goal with 10:26 remaining to make it 42-3 Towson.  The Tigers held the rest of the way, including a sack by Vinnie Shaffer, for the win.

Inside the Numbers:

• Towson's attendance of 8,322 is the highest for a game since Sept. 20, 2014: Towson drew 9,364 in a win over N.C. Central that day.
• This is the first game where Towson has not allowed a touchdown since Sept. 2, 2017 in a 10-0 home victory over Morgan State.
• 39 points is the largest margin of victory for Towson since Sept. 14, 2013, a 49-7 win vs. Delaware State.
• Towson starts the season 2-0 for the first time since 2013 and improves to 3-0 against N.C. Central.
• Towson has won its last five home openers and is 10-1 in home openers under head coach Rob Ambrose.
• Tom Flacco is now tied for ninth all-time in Towson history with 31 passing touchdowns.
• Shane Simpson is now ninth in Towson history with 1,926 rushing yards.
• Keon Paye's interception return for a touchdown was the first such event for Towson since October 24^th, 2015, when each Chris Tedder and Romell Haley each did against Villanova.

Up Next:
Towson will get ready for a big showdown on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m., taking on reigning CAA champion Maine in Orono.
 
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