TIGERS WIN!
What an absolutely fantastic way for the Towson Tigers to start their season. The Tigers took down the Norfolk State Spartans by a final score of 27-7 on the road. In the debut of Norfolk head coach Mike Vick, it was Towson all the time all night.
True freshman Andrew Indorf got the start over both Sean Brown and Nathan Kent. All he did was throw for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns and no turnovers. He was sacked 3 times but still performed at a high level.
Kemarrion Battles led them in rushing with 89 yards, and out touched Duke transfer Al Wooten II. The Tigers had 38 carries for 136 yards. Indorf found John Dunmore, Zay Perkins and Jaceon Doss for touchdowns. All 3 who returned from last year’s team and helped them out this game out of reach.
The Spartans struggled with getting any rhythm going. A new season with a new coach can be difficult for any team. Otto Kuhns completed 19 of 27 for 222 yards and no touchdowns or INT’s. The Spartans were held in check offensively with just 31 yards on 36 attempts. Kevon King paced their run game with 11 carries for 31 yards. However, it was Jaylen Laudermilk who hit pay dirt on an 8 yard touchdown run. The passing game saw a lot of DreSean Kendrick and Kam’Ryn Thomas who combined for 18 receptions for 226 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Defensively for Towson, Jasin Shiggs and Rodney Roane combined for 14 tackles (7 a piece). Roane and CJ McClendon both had sacks and got a half sack from Wyatt Draeger and Ben Kumpon. Towson in total had 7.5 TFL and really were flying around the field. Defense looks legit and could shock some people in the league this year.
Norfolk’s defense struggled all night but had some good moments. Major Dillard led the team with 8 tackles, David Ojiegbe had 2.5 sacks and Ty Jones forced a fumble. The turnover was the only one in the game.
Towson’s next opponent takes them back to Baltimore for their rivalry game against Morgan State. The Battle for Greater Baltimore has seen Towson continue to dominate. Towson leads the all time series 23-6 and have won 7 in a row. The last time the Bears emerged victorious was a 12-9 win at home in 2009.
The Bears are coming off a loss to South Alabama to open the season 38-21. Kobe Mausau got the start for the Bears in the season opener and finished 14 of 22 for 156 yards and an INT. A transfer from New Mexico Military Institute and did play sparingly last year for the Bears takes over for Duce Taylor and Tahj Smith.
Jason Collins Jr had a big game on the ground with 24 rushes for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns. Randall Nauden will also look to build off a strong performance as well. Malique Leatherby is their big play wide receiver and is on a lot of MEAC preseason award lists. He was relatively quiet in their first game but don’t expect that to be the norm.
Defensively Erik Hunter is their best defensive player. Already with 11 tackles in the year, a half TFL and a half sack. Is getting not just on preseason conference award lists but nationally at the FCS level. Arturo Mattocks and Jason Carter also getting award list love as well. Dashawn Fields is another award list watch guy who is big, physical and will look to disrupt the run game and put pressure on Indorf. Also Lance Byndon will look to continue his success from last year in which he had 8 TFL’s, 7.5 sacks and 16 total tackles.
Game time is set for 7pm from Morgan State. The Tigers will look to continue to dominate this rivalry and move to 2-0. GOH TIGERS!!!
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