New QB, strong defense lift Towson over Morgan
Liberty transfer Ferguson passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns in his debut
The Towson football program’s decision to bring in a former rival paid dividends Saturday.
Chris Ferguson, who starred at Colonial Athletic Association foe Maine for three seasons,wassolidifnotspectacularinhisdebut with the Tigers, passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-0 victory over host Morgan State at Hughes Memorial Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
Ferguson, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound redshirt senior who played at Liberty of the Football Bowl Subdivision last fall, was grateful for the opportunity to make his first start after beating out four other candidates for the starting role. But he acknowledged that he could have performed better.
“I’m going to want some throws back,” he said in Towson’s first shutout win since a 10-0 victoryagainsttheBearsonSept.2,2017.“There were just drives overall that I think we should have finished, that we should have put in the end zone. So I got a little taste in my mouth, but it’s good to walk out of here with a ‘W’ and start the season 1-0.”
Ferguson, who completed 20 of 33 passes, foundhisfootingontheoffense’ssecondpossession of the game, a 10-play, 75-yard drive. He connected on three passes for 51 yards, includingan8-yardtouchdowntoredshirtseniortight end Jason Epps that gave Towson (1-0) a 6-0 lead with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
Afterathree-and-out,Fergusononlyneeded threeplaystoaddtotheTigers’advantage.From the 27-yard line, he hit Darien Street in stride around midfield, and the redshirt senior wide receiver raced untouched into the end zone. Ferguson then connected with redshirt senior wide receiver Caleb Smith to convert a 2-point playandextendTowson’sleadto14-0with9:19 left in the second quarter.
Freshman kicker Keegan Vaughan completed the scoring in the first half by drilling a 29-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Tigers a 17-0 cushion at halftime.
In the second half, Towson relied on its running game. The offense opened the second half with a 16-play, 77-yard march that consumed 8:41 off the clock and resulted in sophomore running back Devin Matthews plowing up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown with 6:14 left in the third quarter.
The unit then collected its final touchdown ofthegamewhenredshirtseniorrunningback Kobe Young punched in a 1-yard run with 4:41 remaining.
CoachRobAmbrosesaidFergusonprovided what he had anticipated from him in his first start since joining the team in June.
“Alittlerusty,”Ambrosesaid.“Alittlebitlikea guywhoonlylearnedtheoffenseinthesummer. Good enough to win, but not good enough to winitallyet.Butit’seasiertomakethesecorrections and adjustments when it’s 31-0.”
For his part, Ferguson refused to use his still-developing grasp of the system as an excuse.
“I’ve had plenty of time to kind of learn it,” he said. “But once you get into a game, it’s different. It just is in terms of your connection with your receivers and feeling out how Coach Ambrose is calling plays and what he wants to accomplish. We’re just going to get better as the season goes on. Coming in during June is definitely a challenge, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”