TOWSON, Md. - The Towson University football team used a strong defensive effort, shutting out its opponent in the first 52:12 to win 31-13 over North Carolina A&T on Senior Day at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
 
Towson (6-5, 4-3 CAA) tallied up 448 yards of total offense and held N.C. A&T (1-10, 0-7 CAA) to no points midway through the fourth quarter for the team's fourth win at home this season.
 
In the pregame, Towson honored its 30-member senior class in a pregame ceremony.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson's defense held N.C. A&T to 66 rushing yards on the day, notching six sacks and nine total tackles for loss.
• Xavier Terry finished with seven tackles and forced a fumble with his own recovery.  John Gioia had six tackles and a sack while Jasin Shiggs notched his first career interception.
• On offense, Sean Brown was 23-for-35 for 251 yards and a touchdown.  The top target was Carter Runyon, who made seven catches for 81 yards.  On the ground, Tyrell Greene Jr. went for 74 yards on 11 carries, scoring a touchdown, while Devin Matthews finished with 55 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, 36 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.
• For N.C. A&T, the team played two quarterbacks, highlighted by Justin Fomby going 14-for-20 for 176 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.  Kade Moledor led all players with 16 tackles, including a half-tackle for loss.

How it Happened

• Towson received the ball first and went right to work, using four plays of at least 13 yards to cruise down the field in five plays.  A drop-off pass to Devin Matthews led to a 20-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead in the opening two minutes.
• A pass interference penalty did not stop Towson as a Daniel Raymond tackle in the backfield and a Rodney Roane Jr.-Ernie Smith combo sack stopped A&T's drive.  Tyrell Greene Jr. broke through the middle for 36 yards to reach A&T territory, with a few short passes getting Towson into the red zone.  Towson was stopped on third and one on the five, leading to a Keegan Vaughan 23-yard field goal and a 10-0 Towson lead with 6:15 left in the first.
• The two sides exchanged a couple of short drives into the second quarter.  With A&T on possession on a third and 20, Justin Fomby completed a 21-yard pass to Ger-Cari Caldwell for 21 yards, but Xavier Terry ripped the ball out of Caldwell's hands and recovered for Towson ball on the A&T42.  Towson took just four plays on the short field, capped by Matthews scoring a touchdown on a seven-yard run up the middle to push Towson up 17-0 with 7:11 to play in the first half.
• After an exchange of drives, including Nchabanu Fortaboh sacking the quarterback, A&T attempted a final drive in the half, breeching Towson territory, but the defense held and forced a punt.  Towson led 17-0 at the break.
• A John Gioia 11-yard sack doomed A&T's opening drive of the second half, leading to Towson beginning at its own 40.  Towson slowly came down field and got to the red zone, but a fumble by John Dunmore was recovered by A&T. Towson's defense forced a three-and-out and a punt.
• Sean Brown notched 17-yard and 19-yard passes to Sam Reynolds and Carter Runyon to get Towson to the A&T 4.  Greene Jr. finished off the drive with a pair of two-yard runs, the second hitting the end zone, for a 24-0 Towson advantage with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
• The pass rush again forced quick play and a three-and-out into the fourth quarter.  Brown again led Towson down the field, including a trio of 10+-yard scrambles, to get back to the A&T 2.  Ike Daniels finished the drive with a two-yard burst to the left for the touchdown and a 31-0 Towson lead with 9:33 to play.
• A couple of Towson penalties and a 23-yard catch by Laquan Veney got A&T into the red zone.  Two plays later, Fomby found Cortez Lane just outside the end zone for a 16-yard score.  Towson led 31-6 with 7:47 to go.
• Towson started to use several reserves, including playing Carlos Davis and Winston Watkins at quarterback.  A&T scored on a final drive with six seconds left on a six-yard catch by Antonie Bell on fourth down.  Nathan Kent took the field for the final kneel down as Towson won 31-13.

Inside the Numbers

• Devin Matthews now stands alone at sixth all-time in Towson history with 27 career rushing touchdowns.  He also earned his first-ever receiving touchdown today.
• Towson has won its last three Senior Day games.
• Towson recorded six sacks, the most amount of sacks in a game for Towson since the Tigers had seven sacks vs. Villanova on Oct. 27, 2012.  The Tigers had six sacks vs. North Carolina Central on Sept. 21, 2013.
• The Towson defense has held three opponents to under 90 yards rushing in a game: Morgan State, Monmouth and North Carolina A&T.
• Keegan Vaughan has hit 10 consecutive field goal attempts dating back to Sept. 21.
• This is the second game this season where three different Tigers had a rushing touchdown.  Carlos Davis, Tyrell Greene Jr. and Nathan Kent all had a rushing touchdown at North Dakota State on Sept. 21.
• 10 different Tigers earned at least one reception in the game.

Next Game

• Towson's final regular season game will be next week on the road as the Tigers take on Campbell in Buies Creek, North Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.   - TowsonTigers.com –