GREENSBORO, N.C. – The balanced offense of the Towson University football team led the Tigers to a 42-32 victory at North Carolina A&T for the team's fourth road win of the season.
 
Towson (4-5, 3-3 CAA) scored the game's first two touchdowns for a 14-point first quarter lead and never relinquished the advantage.  Towson earned touchdowns in all four quarters to win at North Carolina A&T (1-8, 0-6 CAA).
 
With the win, Towson earned its 300^th program victory since the program's start in 1969.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson had the edge on passing yards 263-248 while N.C. A&T got the lead in rushing yards 253-179.
• Towson did not commit a turnover in the game, forcing two on N.C. A&T with a fumble recovery and an interception.  Towson also did not allow a sack in the game.
• The Tigers earned four rushing touchdowns, including three from Devin Matthews, who averaged 5.8 yards a carry for 98 yards.  Christopher Watkins ran the ball eight times for 63 yards and a touchdown.
• Nathan Kent was 18-for-28 for 263 yards and two touchdowns in the air.  His main target was Lukkas Londono, who made six receptions for 126 yards.  Each Zay Perkins and Daniel Thompson IV had receiving touchdowns, having receiving days of 66 yards and 48 yards respectively.
• On defense, Dorian Davis, playing in his home state, led all players with 11 tackles.  Xavier Terry finished with nine tackles and a forced fumble.
• For N.C. A&T, Kenji Christian ran 22 times for 140 yards and three touchdowns.  The Aggies used three different quarterbacks, led by Eli Brickhandler with a 10-for-16 day, having 181 yards, a touchdown and an interception.  Ty Williams Jr. led the home team on defense with nine tackles, including one for loss.

How it Happened

• Towson elected to receive and went to the air early, using a couple of quick passes to Lukkas Londono to break into A&T territory on the opening drive.  Towson got stopped around midfield, where Josh Cupitt pinned the home team on its own one on a coffin corner punt.  Towson forced a three-and-out, where London returned a short punt to the A&T 33.
• Towson got right to work, with a pass down the sideline to Daniel Thompson IV getting 25 yards and setting up first and goal.  Devin Matthews finished the drive with a rush up the gut for the two-yard score as Towson led 7-0 with 8:11 left in the first.
• A couple of rushes by the wide receiver group led to a couple of big gains for A&T and a trip to the Towson red zone.  On third and eight, Rodney Roane Jr. tripped up the quarterback for a sack of 16 yards to end the drive.  A&T elected to punt from a field goal formation for the touchback.  Matthews burst ahead for 27 yards on play two, then two plays later, a 42-yard deep throw to Zay Perkins got Towson to the two.  Matthews leaped forward for the one-yard touchdown and made it 14-0 Towson in the closing minute of the quarter.
• Into the second, quarterback Kevin White made a couple of big runs to get back to the Towson red zone.  Kenji Christian found space on the left side for an 11-yard sprint and score to make it 14-7 Towson with 13:11 left in the first half.
• Towson continued to pound on the ground, with Matthews and Nathan Kent each having sprints to get the Tigers to the A&T 34.  Chris Watkins got the carry, breaking tackle after tackle then carrying two defenders towards the end zone for the 34-yard rushing touchdown, sending the lead back to 14 at 21-7 Towson with 11:12 to play in the second.
• A&T's running game continued to find success, with three rushes of at least 10 yards sending the home team down field, then a roughing the passer penalty continuing the drive.  On third and three, the Towson defensive line stacked up and held for no gain.  A&T converted the field goal to pull within 11 at 21-10 Towson, 5:28 to go in the half.
• Towson went three-and-out as A&T looked for a final drive of the half, as White and Christian continued to get rushes for broken tackles down the field.  A&T got to the Towson 31, but a couple of penalties pushed the Aggies back.  Robert Javier intercepted a Hail Mary pass to end the half as Towson led 21-10.
• Immediately into the second half, Myles Brodie forced a fumble on Christian, with Daniel Raymond recovering and getting Towson the ball on the A&T 43.  The Tigers could not take advantage, being hindered by a couple of holding calls, and punted for a touchback.
• A&T got its longest play of the day on the second play of the following drive, finding Amonte Jones for a 54-yard pass down the left side to the Towson 23.  A&T's rushes then resumed, with Eli Brickhandler getting 12 yards, then two plays later, Christian getting just enough room on the left side for the two-yard touchdown.  Towson led 21-17 with 8:58 remaining in the third quarter.
• Watkins and Matthews led the way with rushing plays of over 11 yards to spark the next drive, then Towson benefitted from a roughing the passer penalty to reach the A&T 26.  Kent passed across the middle twice to Perkins, the second a 15-yard reception for a touchdown, to give Towson a 28-17 advantage with 3:49 left in the third.
• A&T converted some short passes and rushes and grinded down the field into the fourth quarter.  First play of the fourth, Darren Bennett made the 10-yard catch in the end zone.  A&T failed on the two-point conversion as Towson led 28-23 with 14:55 to play.
• Towson's hurry-up offense quickly came down field, starting with two Matthews rushes to combine for 17 yards then an 18-yard dart across the middle to Londono.  Facing third down, Watkins converted on the draw play and kept the drive going.  Two plays later, Kent made a perfect across-the-middle pass to a jumping Thompson IV for the 18-yard touchdown catch and a 35-23 Towson lead, 11:43 left.
• A strong kickoff return, a 16-yard pass and a face mask penalty set up the home team on the Towson 24.  Brockman Wallace and Roane combined to stop Shimique Blizzard on a rush for a loss of one, then Justin Toler broke up the pass in the end zone to stop the drive.  A&T converted the 39-yard field goal to make the score 35-26 Towson, 8:41 in the 4^th.
• Trying to run some clock, a couple of Matthews runs set up third and four.  A dart to Runyon for four yards extended the drive, then a drop off pass to Londono led to a 69-yard gain to the A&T 6.  At third and two, Matthews broke through the line and walked into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown and a 42-26 Towson lead with four minutes left.
• A&T continued to get space through the middle on runs, with Christian and Brickhandler each going over 15 yards.  On third and three, a 15-yard catch followed by a four-yard rush gave A&T a touchdown.  Towson defended against the two-point conversion attempt, putting the score at 42-32 Towson with 2:17 left.
• A&T attempted a final drive but was halted by the Towson defense without scoring.  Towson took the victory 42-32.

Inside the Numbers

• With three rushing touchdowns, Devin Matthews has 22 career rushing touchdowns, tying for eighth all-time in Towson history with Paul Cillo, who had 22 rushing touchdowns from 1981-82.
• Matthews is the first Towson player to rush for three touchdowns in a game since Yeedee Thaenrat had three rushing touchdowns in a win vs. Delaware on Nov. 2, 2019.
• Lukkas Londono earns Towson's first 100+ yard receiving game since Caleb Smith had 200 receiving yards in the victory vs. Delaware on Nov. 2, 2019.
• Nathan Kent passes for over 260 yards in his second straight game.
• Towson earns four road victories in a season for the first time since 2019.
• Towson is 3-0 when playing CAA newcomers in the past two seasons, including victories over Hampton and Monmouth in 2022.
• This was the first-ever meeting between Towson and North Carolina A&T.

Next Game

• Towson's final road CAA game of the year is up next as the Tigers head to Philadelphia to play at No. 17/22 Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m.

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