Football: Tigers Get Bad News From Black Bears

2010's Towson Tigers have been competitive in most of their games, but that competitiveness has rarely ended in a win. On Saturday afternoon, Maine scored 22 second-half points to lead the Black Bears over the Towson Tigers, 28-18, before 5,347 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

The loss for the Tigers drops them to 1-9 overall and 0-7 in the CAA, while Maine improves to 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the CAA.

Towson committed 12 penalties for 107 yards that gave the Black Bears a safety and denied the Tigers a late attempt to come back from eight points down in the fourth quarter.

"I know those guys are only trying to do their best," said Towson head coach Rob Ambrose referring to the officials, who called 22 penalties. "(But) I do think it's awfully rare that there are over 20 penalties in the game."

With the Tigers down 3-0 early in the first half, the offense received help from a Maine penalty. In the second quarter, as freshman punter Derek Soven went back to punt from midfield, Jeremy Kelley was called for a personal foul during the kick. The Tigers were awarded first down at the Maine 35 and two plays later, they would convert.

Senior quarterback Bart Blanchard hit sophomore tight end Cory Kirby down the middle of the field for a 30-yard pass to get to the Maine five-yard line. One play later, sophomore running back Tremayne Dameron ran it in without being touched to give the Tigers a 7-3 lead.

That lead would hold for the remainder of the half, evenafter a Brian Harvey field goal that cut the Towson lead to 7-6 with 5:04 left in the half.

The Tigers had another opportunity to cash in on some points late in the half, but senior kicker Nick Wallace missed a 39-yard field goal wide left with 47 seconds left.

Towson led 7-6 at the half, which was their first lead during intermission all season. 

But things turned dramatically in the first drive of the half. On the opening possession,  Towson drove from their 31 yard-line to the Maine 17. Maine soon brought it back and running backPushaun Brown scored to give Maine a 13-7 lead.

Both teams struggled with penalties and inefficient play on the offensive end in the third quarter. Maine finally broke through with 2:00 left in the third quarter. Maine quarterback Chris Treister ran it in from one yard out for the score, but injured his finger on the play. Warren Smith, who normally starts for Maine, came in relief, but couldn't convert the two-point play.

Yet Maine had a 19-7 lead late in the third quarter and Towson's offense, which had struggled since the second quarter, needed two scores to win. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Blanchard put together a strong drive, but it stalled at the Maine 20. This time, Wallace nailed a 36-yard field goal with 13:00 left, but the Tigers were still down two scores at 19-10.

Towson was led offensively by Banks, who caught a career-high nine passes for 77 yards. Dameron rushed for 76 yards on 19 carries, with two touchdowns. Blanchard completed 22-of-40 for 209 yards, but also threw two interceptions. 

On defense, sophomore Frank Beltre led the team with 13 tackles and three tackles for loss. Valentine also had a big game with two sacks, while senior Jeremy Gardner, in his final home game, added seven tackles.

"If we don't keep the defense on the field for the entire game like we did last week, we actually have a chance to win," said Ambrose. "The kids are resilient. They play hard and for each other. A lot of trust, love and energy. That's a nice statement, but until they play with more discipline during the moment, with assignment, schematic and technical discipline in what their doing, they are not going to get over the hump. We left too many points on the field. Too many easy opportunities."

Towson returns to action next Saturday for their final game of the season at No. 17 New Hampshire at 12 p.m.