Tigers look for fifth straight win against Albany
By Jordan Kendall, Assistant Sports Editor
Photo by Joe Noyes/ The Towerlight
Towson comes off a 29-13 win over William and Mary, in which the Tigers held W&M scoreless in the second half. The Tigers got off to another strong start as Quarterback Tom Flacco led the team down the field on their opening drive. Running Back Kobe Young scored a touchdown to cap off the drive. On the first play of the second quarter Aiden O’Neill kicked a 46 yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-0 lead. William and Mary then took the momentum back blocking a field goal and returning it for a 71 yard touchdown.
Adrian Funderburke then took it in in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Tribe a 13-10 lead. In the second half Shane Simpson returned a punt 28 yards inside W&M territory. Flacco took advantage and after a long pass to Simpson he finished the drive with a score to take back the lead. The Tribe put Quarterback Dean Rotger in, but the Tigers led by Diondre Wallace and Robert Heyward prevented them from crossing the 40. Early in the fourth quarter Flacco hit three different receivers and Jabari Allen made a acrobatic one handed catch in the back corner of the endzone. Replay revealed he got one foot in, and the Tigers took a 10 point lead. This play not only ended up on ESPN, but also gave the Tigers confidence to finish the game. After a missed field goal by W&M Yeedee Thaenrat took off 53 yards for a touchdown to seal the game. This gave Towson a 29-13 lead and would be the final score. Coach Ambrose was glad they won, but he knew the team has room to improve. “We’re 2-0, but if you look at these guys faces they’re not smiling. We won a football game and that’s pretty cool but that’s not the standard of play we expected from ourselve
The Tigers now move on to one of two road games, the first against Albany. The Great Danes are coming off a 25-22 loss to Richmond, losing in the final seconds on a game winning field goal. Albany Quarterback Vincent Testaverde, the son of fomer NFL Quarterback Vinny threw for 196 yards and one touchdown, but was also sacked five times against Richmond. Running Back Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks rushed for 77 yards on 15 carries averaging 5.1 yards a carry. Wide Receiver Juwan Green topped 100 yards for Albany, with seven catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. This was the sixth time Albany finished with a 100 yard receiver this season. Wide Receiver Jerah Reeves also contributed with six catches for 95 yards for the Great Danes. Linebacker Levi Methany made a major contribution on defense with 14 tackles including one tackle for loss. Cornerback Dante Mount had his first career interception, also recovering a fumble and recording 13 tackles. Linebacker Danny Damico contributed 11 tackles and forced a fumble.
Albany is 2-4 on the season, and 0-3 in the CAA coming into the Towson game. They lost their last two games by three points each, they lost their first two games then won two straight. Towson meanwhile comes in with a four game winning streak and is in sole possession of first place in the CAA. Towson is one of two teams in the country with two top 25 wins, and the only team with two top 15 wins. Coach Ambrose knows that beating Albany will require improvement this week, “We need a better week of practice, if we wanna play to our level of standard we need to prepare to our level of standard. We didn’t do that this week and that’s on me. When you’re a good football team it’s not about who you play, nothing changes based on who you play its about how you play and how you prepare.“ Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 from Albany, New York.