T. Flacco takes control for TU
Brother of Ravens QB hurls two TD passes in his debut as Tigers thump Bears
Rob Ambrose has maintained throughout the preseason that the offense for the Towson football team has two starting quarterbacks in Tom Flacco and Ryan Stover.
Flacco did his best to ensure that his coach’s theory would not have to be put to the test. The redshirt junior threw a pair of touchdown passes, gained 27 yards rushing and displayed a solid command of the offense to propel the visiting Tigers to a 36-10 victory over Morgan State in the preseason opener for both sides at Hughes Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday night.
The defense did its part as well, preventing the Bears from scoring a touchdown on offense and limiting them to 167 total yards and 13 first downs.
The spotlight though centered on Flacco. The transfer from Rutgers and the younger brother of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco got the nod to start under center over Stover, the redshirt sophomore and incumbent who had racked up 2,001 passing yards and 13 total touchdowns.
Although the first four offensive possessions resulted in a pair of scores, Towson’s opening series stalled at Morgan State’s 44-yard line when Flacco was stopped short of the first down on fourth-and-1. The next drive ended with a 1-yard loss on a keeper by Flacco on third-and-goal from the 1 and a 19-yard field goal by junior kicker Aidan O’Neill.
After O’Neill converted a 36-yard field goal to open the second quarter, Towson redshirt junior defensive lineman Ricky DeBerry stripped junior running back Joshua Chase and redshirt junior linebacker Robert Heyward recovered the fumble at the Bears’ 40. The offense turned that opportunity into a 2-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to redshirt junior running back Shane Simpson, who was open in the right flat with 7:12 left in the period.
The Tigers added to their 17-7 advantage at halftime by taking the opening drive of the third quarter 75 yards on seven plays. The march was capped by Flacco hitting redshirt sophomore tight end Chris Clark on a 1-yard fade to the left side of the end zone with 11:51 left in the quarter.
Morgan State responded with a 24-yard field goal from senior kicker Nicholas O’Shea with 7:22 remaining to trim the deficit to 24-10, but an errant onside kick and an offsides penalty on the Bears’ kickoff unit gave Towson the ball at Morgan State’s 34. After a roughing the passer call on the Bears, the Tigers needed just three more plays with sophomore running back Kobe Young punching the ball into the end zone from 5 yards out with 6:44 left in the third quarter.
Flacco completed 18 of 28 passes for 245 yards and two scores and rushed for 27 yards on 13 carries.
Morgan State opened with the first touchdown when Towson sophomore Coby Tippett mishandled a punt inside the 5-yard line, and freshman long snapper Zach Castano pounced on the loose ball in the end zone with 4:20 left in the first quarter. That ended a scoreless streak of 128 minutes, 50 seconds against the Tigers for the Bears, who had last scored with 13:10 left in the first quarter of a game on Sept. 3, 2011.
Notes: With four field goals, O’Neill became Towson’s all-time leader in career field goals made with 35, passing the previous school record of 32 shared by Randy Bielski (1976-79) and Ed Kulic (19982001). O’Neill, who already holds the school mark for field goals in a single season with 18 in 2016, tied his own single-game school record of four field goals in 2016. … Towson improved to 19-6 in the series and 7-4 in Baltimore and has won the past three meetings against Morgan State. … The Tigers won back-to-back season openers for the first time since winning four straight between 2004 and 2007. … Towson has won four of its last five games dating back to Oct. 28. … The Bears have dropped their last six season openers, a drought that dates to 2012 when that squad edged Sacred Heart, 30-27, in overtime on Sept. 1. … Morgan State extended its losing streak to six games and has not won since Oct. 14 in a 48-28 rout of Savannah State.