Led by junior Terrance West, who ran for 183 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns, Towson football overcame four turnovers to defeat Albany, 44-17, Saturday afternoon. For the Tigers, now 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), it marked their eighth consecutive win on the road. The victory also enabled Towson to keep pace with CAA leader Maine, who beat William & Mary on Saturday.
As has been their habit so far this season, the Tigers fell behind, 7-0, in the first quarter. Towson bounced back when grad student Drew Evangelista made a 50-yard field goal on the final play of the first quarter, pulling the Tigers to within 7-3.
In the second quarter, Towson scored three touchdowns to take a lead it would never relinquish. A 38-yard touchdown pass from Peter Athens gave Towson a 10-7 advantage, and less than two minutes later sophomore Donnell Lewis returned an interception for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 17-7. West broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown run late in the quarter to give Towson a 24-7 advantage with 6:42 left before halftime.
In the final minute of the half, Albany kicked a 35-yard field goal, cutting its deficit to 24-10.
On the opening drive of the second half, West scored on a seven-yard run to cap off an 84-yard, 10-play drive and give the Tigers a 31-10 lead. On Towson’s next possession, freshman Darius Victor scored on a seven-yard touchdown run to give Towson a 38-10 edge.
Late in the third quarter Albany pulled to within 38-17, but the Tigers finally added an insurance touchdown when junior Trea Jones scored on a two-yard run to give Towson the 44-17 margin of victory. The Tigers, who have won 16 of their last 20 CAA games, had 573 yards of total offense against Albany. Athens completed 22 of 33 passes for 294 yards and a touchdown.
“I am proud of our guys for the way they rallied around each other and pulled out the win,” said head coach Rob Ambrose. “Albany played well and we were fortunate to come back the way we did. Those turnovers are eventually going to keep us from reaching our goals. So, we are going to continue to work on it,” he added. “For now, I am just really proud and happy to get out of here with a win.”
The Tigers return to action next Saturday when they visit CAA rival Richmond.
