TOWSON, Md. - Football is a team sport, not an individual one. Towson's 2011 football team exemplifies the word "team" in almost every way.
In the CAA standings, Towson is tied for first with Maine at 3-0 in the league and is 5-1 overall. There are many reasons for the Tigers' first half success, but when you look at the statistical categories in the CAA, Towson has very few representatives in the top 10. That's because the Tigers utilize most of their players at the skill positions. When it comes to depth at running back and wide receiver, Towson is second to none in the league.
Freshman running back Terrance West, who didn't even play in the opener against Morgan State, is starting to make waves on the leaderboard after another strong effort at Old Dominion. West is now seventh in the CAA with 450 rushing yards and is first in scoring with 11 touchdowns (11 points per game).
Junior Dominique Booker came into the season with 485 yards rushing in two years along with two rushing touchdowns and 10 catches for 71 yards. If there is an award for the Most Improved Player on Towson and in the CAA, Booker should get heavy consideration. The 5-11, 180-pounder from Richmond is ninth in the league with 305 rushing yards, has two rushing touchdowns and averages 5.6 yards per carry. He also leads all running backs with eight catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
So who has the most receiving touchdowns? Fullback Tyler Wharton, who is not in the top 10 in any category in the CAA, has four TD receptions this year. The senior from LaVale, Md. came into this season with just five career receptions and 19 yards with no touchdowns.
Junior Tom Ryan caught one of the most memorable touchdown passes in Towson history on Saturday night to help the Tigers come back to defeat ODU, 39-35. The 6-3 junior from Philadelphia came into this season with 44 career catches for 435 yards and two touchdowns. But this season, Ryan ranks eighth in the CAA in yardage with 341 yards, adding 23 receptions and one touchdown.
In other categories, freshman Derrick Joseph ranks fourth in the league in kickoff return average at 25.5 yards per return, junior safety Jordan Dangerfield ranks eighth in the CAA by averaging 9.4 tackles per game and junior DE Frank Beltre is fifth in the league with seven tackles for loss.
Around the CAA
Let's take a look at the rest of the CAA. Towson's next opponent, William & Mary, was victorious at home against New Hampshire, 24-10. The win allowed the Tribe to improve to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the CAA while UNH fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the CAA. Oddly enough, W&M gave up 517 total yards of offense but only 10 points. That's because the Wildcats forced four turnovers as they came back from a 10-7 halftime deficit. Running back Jonathan Grimes led the Tribe with 169 yards on 28 carries.
In other games, Maine improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the CAA with a 27-21 home win over Rhode Island (1-5, 0-3). James Madison (5-2, 3-1) rolled over Villanova (1-6, 0-4), 34-10, in Harrisonburg. In Newark, UMass (4-2, 2-1) upset Delaware, 21-10. The Hens fell to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the CAA with the loss.
This weekend, Towson is at William Mary, Maine is at Richmond, Old Dominion is at Villanova, Delaware is at Rhode Island and New Hampshire is at UMass.
