TOWSON, Md. - One of the biggest improvements coming out of Saturday night's win over Colgate was the kickoff coverage. Towson struggled with that facet of the game against Morgan State in the opener, allowing 41.5 yards per return on kickoffs.
The Tigers improved against Villanova, allowing just 20 yards per return. When they faced Colgate on Saturday, they allowed 21.3 yards per kick return on six kickoffs. D.J. Soven also had his one of his best days on kickoffs, averaging 65.9 yards per attempt, including his first career touchback.
As for the return game, redshirt freshman Derrick Joseph is averaging 29.1 yards per kick return with a long of 85 yards and he's averaging 13.3 yards per punt return with a long of 28 yards.
Freshman punter R.J. Peppers is averaging 40.8 yards per punt, including two kicks inside the 20-yard line, with a long of 49 yards.
Here are some football notes that may interest Towson fans.
• The Tigers (3-0) face Maryland (1-2) for the first time on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in College Park. The Terps, who fell to Temple last week, 38-7, were without starting wide receivers Ronnie Tyler and Quintin McCree for the second straight game due to suspensions. According to The Baltimore Sun, both receivers will start the game on Saturday. They combined for 13 catches in the Terps' opening win against Miami-Florida.
• However, Maryland also lost its leading tackler, sophomore safety Matt Robinson, who had shoulder surgery and is out for the season. Robinson ranked second in the ACC in tackles with 11.5 per game and recorded 13 stops in Saturday's loss against Temple.
• In other news, former Towson safety Mike Locksley ('92) was relieved of his duties as head coach at New Mexico on Sunday afternoon. Defensive coordinator and associate head coach George Barlow was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The Lobos were 0-4 on the season after losing on Homecoming to Sam Houston State on Saturday, 48-45, in overtime. Locksley was in his third season at the helm of the Lobos.
Around the CAA
While Towson has to wait another week for its second Colonial Athletic Association game against Richmond on Oct. 8, there were three conference games played over the weekend.
Delaware defeated Old Dominion, 27-17, in the first conference game for both teams at Delaware Stadium. Not only was it the first conference game for the Monarchs, but it was their first-ever CAA contest after joining the league at the beginning of the season. Delaware quarterback Tim Donnelly threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Blue Hens, who improved to 3-1 on the season. ODU actually led in the fourth quarter by a 17-16 margin before giving up 11 unanswered points.
In other action, New Hampshire (2-1, 1-0) edged Richmond (3-1, 0-1) on the road, 45-43, in the wildest game of the day. After jumping out to a 10-0 lead, Richmond allowed 21 straight points to UNH and was trailing 28-20 at the half. Turnovers were the issue for the Spiders as quarterback Aaron Corp threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns by the Wildcats. Richmond compiled 475 total yards compared to just 368 yards for the Wildcats and possessed the ball for over 36 minutes.
But, UNH was victorious as quarterback Kevin Decker found wide receiver R.J. Harris for two touchdowns and also ran for a pair of scores.
Finally, James Madison (3-1, 1-0) upset William & Mary (2-2, 0-1) on the road in Williamsburg, 20-13, on Saturday. The Dukes threw just three passes all day, including the first pass from Justin Thorpe to Kerby Long for 52 yards just 12 seconds into the game.
After that, the Dukes kept the ball on the ground, rushing for 271 yards while holding the Tribe to just 37 yards on 34 carries. JMU controlled the clock for 35:16 and allowed just 14 first downs from the Tribe.
In non-conference action, Rhode Island (1-2, 0-1) defeated Fordham in Kingston, 21-17; Villanova (1-3, 0-1) downed Penn, 30-21, at Franklin Field and UMass (2-1, 1-0) fell at Boston College, 45-17.
