TOWSON, Md.
– Coming off a 20-17 win
over William & Mary in their Colonial Athletic Association opener last week,
the No. 13 Towson University football team returns to Minnegan Field at Johnny
Unitas® Stadium to celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, September 22 by hosting
St. Francis (Pa.) University at 7 p.m.
The game
will also be aired on the Tigers' web site, www.TowsonTigers.com with Spiro Morekas and Ron Meehan calling the action. The Tigers' internet broadcast also
features a one-hour pre-game show.
The Tigers, who have a 29-14 record in Homecoming Games, will be hosting
St. Francis for Homecoming for the second time. In 1996, Towson celebrated
Homecoming with a 54-14 win over the Red Flash.
A member of the Northeast Conference, St. Francis is off to its best
start since 2004. After opening the season with a loss at James Madison, St.
Francis bounced back with a 39-28 win over Bryant and a 57-23 victory at
Morehead State. The Red Flash has already matched last season's victory total.
Averaging 302 rushing yards per game, St. Francis is sixth in NCAA FCS.
Senior Keion Wade leads the St. Francis offense, averaging 104.3 yards
per contest. He ran for 243 yards on 27 carries and scored three touchdowns in
the win at Morehead State last week.
“St. Francis is a very good football team,”
says Towson Coach Rob Ambrose. “They have a big, strong running attack and their
team speed is great. On defense, they run a multitude of fronts. We are going
to have our hands full on Saturday night.”
The Tigers bounced back from a season-opening loss
at Kent State by opening their Colonial Athletic Association title defense with
a 20-17 victory over William & Mary. In the win over the Tribe, Towson
dominated the time of possession and piled up 422 yards of total offense.
Sophomore running back Terrance West, a pre-season All-American, ran for a season
high 153 yards on 27 carries. However, for the first time in 10 games, West did
not score a touchdown. In fact, he had scored at least two touchdowns in nine
consecutive games, dating back to the Tigers' 28-3 loss at Maryland on Oct. 1,
2011.
Averaging 92.0 yards per game, West is the
second-leading rusher in the CAA. In 13 career games, West has rushed for 1,483
yards and he has scored 31 rushing touchdowns. He is only two rushing TD's shy
of tying the Towson career record of 31 rushing touchdowns, a mark set by Jason Corle, '00.
Senior quarterback Grant Enders has thrown for 421
yards and rushed for 86 yards in the Tigers' first two games of the season. He
has completed 42 of 57 passes and ranks second in the CAA with 507 yards of
total offense.
The Tigers, who won the 2011 CAA
championship and earned a berth in the NCAA FCS playoffs, will be facing St.
Francis for the third time. Towson owns a 2-0 series lead.
Seniors Frank Beltre and Jordan Dangerfield, the Tigers' two All-American defensive players,
both reached the 200-tackle level in the Tigers' win over William & Mary.
A third-year starter at defensive
end, Beltre enters this week's game with 201 career tackles. He has made 201
tackles in 36 games. He has eight sacks in his career as well as 32.5 tackles for
lost yardage.
A two-year captain, Dangerfield
is a third-year starter at free safety. In 23 career games for Towson, he has
also made 201 tackles.
After turning the ball over six
times in a season-opening loss at Kent State, Towson did a much better job
securing the football in its win over William & Mary. The Tigers had no
turnovers against the Tribe although they did fumble twice. But, the Tigers
recovered both fumbles.
Although the Tigers beat William
& Mary by only three points, they dominated the game statistically. Towson
had the ball for 35:52 while the Tigers had 422 total yards and allowed only
258 yards.
In their first two games, Towson
has outgained its opponents, 753 yards to 525 yards.
TIGER TALES: Saturday's game is the second of three non-conference games on the
Tigers' schedule … Towson plays its final non-conference game of the season at
Louisiana State next week.
When Towson rushed for 247 yards against William & Mary, it marked
the 10th time in the last 13 games that the Tigers had more than 200
rushing yards in a game … In 2011, the Tigers ran for more than 200 yards in
nine games … They averaged 229.0 rushing yards per game, a mark that led the
CAA.
The Tigers' win over William & Mary was their eighth victory in
their last nine CAA games.
After Saturday's game against St. Francis, the Tigers will play their
next two games on the road … On Saturday, Sept. 29, Towson visits Louisiana
State in a game that will be televised on ESPNU … On Saturday, Oct. 6, the
Tigers face James Madison University on the road, a game that will be aired on
the NBCSportsNetwork.