ELON, N.C. – The Towson University football team was within one score with possession in its upset bid, but fell at No. 14/18 Elon 27-10 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Towson (2-4, 0-3 CAA), which led 7-0 after the first quarter, pulled to one score at Elon (5-1, 3-0 CAA) after a field goal with 12:54 left to play, getting the ball on its own 20 three minutes later.  Elon forced fumbles on back-to-back drives and added 10 points to hold the victory.
 
This was Towson's second straight road game against a top-15 opponent.
 
Key Stats:

• Tyrrell Pigrome was 9-for-13 at quarterback with 108 yards, a touchdown and a pick, adding 36 yards on the ground.  Da'Kendall James had Towson's touchdown on a 26-yard yard reception, totaling 35 yards on the day.  Devin Matthews rushed six times for 25 yards.
• On defense, Mason Woods led all players with 10 tackles, adding a pass-breakup, while Ryan Kearney had an interception and eight tackles.  The defense as a whole had three sacks and forced two turnovers.
• For Elon, Matthew McCay was 19-for-30 with 312 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, finding Jackson Parham seven times for 152 yards receiving.  Jalen Hampton was contained by the Towson defense, having 48 yards on 24 carries.  The defense forced four turnovers, including Devonte Chandler having five tackles, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

How It Happened:

• Towson won the toss and deferred.  The Towson defense bottled up the Elon run, but two passes of 21 yards and 42 yards brought Elon to the Towson 4.  Again the Towson defense held on two rushes, then a pass from Matthew McKay was batted up in the air by Shafeek Smith and intercepted in the end zone by Ryan Kearney for a touchback.
• On the first Towson drive, a Tyrrell Pigrome rollout to the left got 19 yards and a spot at the Towson 42, but Elon held after a short rush, an incomplete pass and a sack.  Towson punted as Elon took over on its own 37.
• Elon got back into Towson territory on short passes, including a RB screen from the right, then a holding penalty forced Elon to midfield on third down.  Towson forced McKay out of the pocket for a six-yard scramble, leading to a punt.  A touchback put Towson on the 20.
• Towson had some long passing of its own as Tyrrell Pigrome threw a laser down the middle to Darian Street for a gain of 33 yards, then a few short passes and runs later set up Towson on first down from the Elon 26.  Pigrome found Da'Kendall James down the middle for the diving catch in the end zone for the touchdown, putting Towson up 7-0 with 1:04 left in the 1^st.
• Elon drove into the second quarter and again got to midfield, bursting forward with a pair of 20+ yard receptions to get to the Towson 4.  The Towson defense stood on two running plays, but on third down from the one, a completion to Johncarlos Miller II tied the game at 7-7 with 9:30 left in the first half.
• An early completion for seven yards to Brady McElhaney was not enough and Towson punted on a three-and-out, with Elon taking over at its own seven after a 50-yard punt and Elon losing 10 yards on the return.  The Towson defense got Elon to third down three times, but the Phoenix converted all three.  On the fourth third down, Jamal Gay stripped the ball carrier and Dorian Davis recovered to give the ball back to Towson on its own 20.
• Towson got a couple of completions as the clock was coming to within one minute in the half, but an interception gave the ball back to Elon on the Towson 41.  Elon got to the Towson 4 and again forced third down, but a McKay scramble to the left and dive to the end zone made it 14-7 in the closing seconds of the first half.  The Phoenix led by seven at the break.
• With Towson receiving in the second half, a Devin Matthews run up the gut for 13 to get the Tigers to their own 43.  At third down from the 43, a drop-off pass to D'Ago Hunter turned into 19 yards and a trip inside Elon territory.  Towson powered forward with runs and tried a fourth and one conversion attempt with another run, but a fumble gave the ball back to Elon.
• Again, Elon's third down conversions on passes fueled the home team's drive with completions of 18 and 23.  On third and nine from the Towson 30, the Tigers held with Vinnie Shaffer sacking the quarterback.  Skyler Davis converted the 51-yard field goal to make it 17-7 Elon with 5:03 left in the third.
• Towson went three-and-out on the next drive but forced Elon to a three-and-out after Gay sacked the QB on first down, stifling the drive early.  Nathan Kent began the next Towson drive with a burst to the left for 14 yards and kept to the run game to get into Elon territory to begin the fourth quarter.  A trick play for a Lukkas Londono pass to Hunter got Towson to the Elon 15.  Towson could not move forward but got a 36-yard field goal from Keegan Vaughan to pull within one score at 17-10 Elon with 12:54 to play.
• The Towson defense held and forced a punt, starting at its own 20.  A completed pass was followed by a strip and Elon fumble recovery to give the ball back to the Phoenix on the Towson 20.  Towson did not allow a first down, but a field goal conversion made it 20-10 Elon with 7:48 left in the fourth.
• Another fumble lost stopped Towson on the next drive.  McKay found Bryson Daughtry in the end zone on the next play for a 31-yard touchdown and a 27-10 Elon lead with 6:59 left to play.
• Towson had to punt after a three-and-out, then Elon was stopped on three rushing plays to force a punt.  But a sack on third down ended Towson's drive.  Elon ran out the clock and won 27-10.

Inside the Numbers

• Towson had three sacks, the most in a game this season.
• The Tigers averaged 4.9 per play, second-most in a game this year.
• Mason Woods earned his first-ever double-digit tackle game of his Towson career.
• With a 36-yard field goal converted today, Keegan Vaughan is 5-for-5 on field goal attempts in his last five games.

Next Game:

• Towson will have a bye week then hosts William & Mary on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 4 p.m. for Homecoming.
• For ticket information, interested parties may contact the Towson Athletics ticket office by visiting www.towsontigers.com, calling 1-855-TU-TIGER or emailing dkogok@towson.edu.

 
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