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Towson University Athletics

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Jerry Howard vs #5 NDSU
ENP Photography
35
Winner North Dakota St. NDS 3-0 , 0-0
7
Towson TOW 1-2 , 0-1
Winner
North Dakota St. NDS
3-0 , 0-0
35
Final
7
Towson TOW
1-2 , 0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
NDS North Dakota St. 6 15 7 7 35
TOW Towson 0 0 0 7 7

Game Recap: Football |

Towson Football Returns to Over 9,000 in 2021 Home Opener vs. No. 5/4 NDSU

TOWSON, Md. – In its first home game in 95 weeks, the Towson University football team returned to 9,109 fans at Johnny Unitas® Stadium as the Tigers had a rematch against its FCS title game opponent, falling to No. 5/4 North Dakota State 35-7 on Saturday night.
 
Towson (1-2) scored a touchdown late against North Dakota State (3-0) but was unable to overcome 35 unanswered points by the Bison.
 
9,109 fans mark the 12th-highest attended football game ever at Unitas the second-highest home crowd since 2015.  Since the 2015 season, only one crowd, the 9,568 fans on Sept. 21, 2019, was higher.
 
Key Stats:
  • Towson mustered 200 yards of total offense, led by Chris Ferguson in the air, going 19-28 with 163 yards.  His top target was D'Ago Hunter, who made five catches for 36 yards.  Hunter added 96 yards on special teams return yards to finish with 132 all-purpose yards. 
  • On the ground, Jerry Howard Jr. rushed 18 times for 45 yards, scoring Towson's lone touchdown with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter, his first touchdown as a Tiger.
  • S.J. Brown II led all players with 16 tackles, also earning an interception in the end zone to halt an NDSU red zone drive.  Vinnie Shaffer and Christian Dixon each had six tackles, with the former adding a half-sack.
  • NDSU had 328 total rushing yards, led by Dominic Gonnella going 92 yards off 13 carries.  The five touchdowns were scored by five different Bison, including top receiving target Christian Watson netting 78 yards off three catches with a score.
  • Jackson Hankey led the NDSU defense with eight tackles, including 1.5 for loss.  Will Mostaert had two sacks and a quarterback hurry on the defensive line. 
Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose: "Congratulations to North Dakota State, they are a great football team.  It is difficult to simulate their physicality, the national championship goes through them.  For us to win, we had to run the ball and keep them off the field as much as we could, and we could not tonight."
 
How It Happened:
  • Towson received the opening kick and pounded the rock forward, going for it on a fourth down on its own 34 and converting on a three-yard rush by Jerry Howard.  But Towson was stopped on later on a 3rd and 12 and punted.
  • Four plays into its first drive, Quincy Patterson passed long to Christian Watson for a 67-yard score.  The 2-point conversion failed as the Bison led 6-0 with 8:38 left in the first.
  • Towson got strong field position and pushed to its own 45, but again had to punt.  Patterson and Dominic Gonnella grinded down the field with rushes as the team got to the Towson 1 by the end of the first quarter.  First play of the second, Hunter Luepke rushed forward to score to make it 13-0 NDSU.
  • Kobe Young took a kick return 87 yards and got Towson all the way to the NDSU 12.  Towson attacked on the ground and got to a 4th and two from the four, but was stopped and turned the ball over on downs.  A Gonnella 43-yard rush sparked the NDSU offense again, with later a 31-yard completion to Kobe Johnson putting NDSU on the Towson 3.  Patterson ran the ball into the end zone, with a muffed snap on the extra point keeping it 19-0.
  • The Towson defense held off a late NDSU attempt towards the end of the half as on the Towson 5, Patterson was intercepted by S.J. Brown II in the end zone.  But the next drive, an intentional grounding in the end zone gave the Bison a safety as the visitors led 21-0.
  • On the next drive, NDSU pushed back into Towson territory to the Tigers' 22.  Towson sacked Patterson twice, the first a combo by Vinnie Shaffer and Ryan Kearney, then the second by Marcus Bowman, to push back NDSU nine yards.  The resulting field goal attempt missed wide as the half ended with the Bison up 21-0.
  • Out of the half, NDSU continued its rushing attack, with TaMerick Williams running 35 yards into the Towson red zone.  Three more rushes later and Williams was in the end zone for a 28-0 NDSU lead.
  • Chris Ferguson led the air attack on the next drive, going down the field with completions to Jabari Allen, Jason Epps, Howard, Darian Street, Luke Hamilton and Ryan Rutkowski.  Towson nearly converted a fourth and 14 as Ferguson found Allen for a pass across the middle, but came up one yard short.
  • After each side had a three-and-out going into the fourth quarter, Williams again led a rushing offense with 42 yards to reenter the Towson red zone.  Jalen Bussey finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to push the score to 35-0 NDSU.
  • After another pair of three-and-outs, Towson started driving down the field with Ferguson's passes, including three first downs in a row on passed to Marcus Joyner, Howard and Caleb Smith.  His pass to Smith earned 39 yards and put Towson on the NDSU 4.  On a second down, Howard powered his way into the end zone for the touchdown, making the score 35-7 NDSU.  Neither side scored again as NDSU took the 35-7 victory.
Inside the Numbers
  • Kobe Young's 87-yard kickoff return is the longest since Oct. 19, 2019, when D'Ago Hunter returned the second half opening kickoff 92 yards vs. Bucknell.
  • This was the first meeting between Towson and NDSU since the FCS title game played on Jan. 4, 2014 in Frisco, Texas.
  • Nine different Tigers earned at least one reception.
Next Game:
  • Towson will head west to challenge FBS squad San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. ET). The game will be broadcast on Stadium.
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