Towson State 29, Morgan State 26

September 1, 2005

TOWSON, Md. - Towson University overcame seven turnovers and rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat crosstown rival Morgan State 29-26 on a field goal with one second left Thursday night in Johnny Unitas Stadium.

The Tigers' freshman quarterback Sean Schaefer shook off four interceptions to throw for 344 yards and two touchdowns, completing 26 of 44 attempts in his first college football game. He ran for another score.

Sophomore tailback Nick Williams added handsomely to Towson's 456 yards of total offense by rushing for 141 yards, picking up 69 yards on his first carry of the game that went for a touchdown.

Sophomore kicker Ron Halbruner had an extra point blocked and missed wide on another attempt but he too shook off those efforts to boot the game winner, a 29 yard field goal with one second left that gave Towson its 13th win over the Bears in the 18-game series.

The Bears got the first break of the game when Darius Leak's sack of Schaefer caused a fumble recovered by Morgan's Lamar West at the Tigers' 7-yard line. Three plays later Craig Nelson nosed in from four yards out for the TD and a 7-0 lead with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter.

Towson got its first break when a high center snap forced Morgan punter Earl Johnson to run the ball. He was tackled at the Morgan 11 by Demetrius Harrison, short of a first down, giving Towson an excellent opportunity. On a third and nine Schaefer scrambled and found Andrae Brown in the end zone for the touchdown and a 7-7 tie with 1:06 left in the opening quarter.

The breaks continued for the Tigers. Minutes later Kenny Scott blocked a Morgan field goal attempt of 43 yards that was recovered by Allante Harrison at the Towson 31 yard line. On the next play Williams broke loose on a 69 yard touchdown run. The point after missed as Towson assumed a 13-7 lead with 13:06 remaining in the second quarter.

Mistakes continued to plague both teams. Defensive tackle Temi Omotade interecepted a Towson screen pass at midfield. Several plays later the Bears had a first down on Towson's 10 yard line where Nelson ran in for his second TD of the game. The conversion was good, giving Morgan a 14-13 lead with 3:41 left in the half.

The Bears got the ball back two minutes later. Selby's 41-yard completion to Chris Cash set up the Bears at the Towson seven yard line. Selby was then sacked but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Tigers gave Morgan renewed life at the seven yard line. Two plays later Selby hit Kelvin Dickens on a slant for the TD. The run for the conversion was smothered by Towson but the Bears had a 20-13 lead that they took into the lockeroom.

Mistakes continued to hurt the Tigers in the third quarter. A blocked punt put the Bears on Towson's 24-yard line. Two plays later Jason Jackson scooted in for the touchdown from 14 yards out and a 26-13 Morgan lead after the conversion attempt was wide.

The Tigers didn't quit, however, and came right back on the ensuing series with an eight play drive terminating with Schaefer taking it in from six yards out on a scramble. Morgan's Shawn Lewis blocked the extra point as the Tigers trailed by 26-19 with 3:59 left in the third quarter.

Towson's rally continued early in the fourth quarter with another strong drive, taking possession at midfield. Schaefer stuck to the passing game, moving Towson 46 yards in six plays with a 24-yard touchdown strike to Paul Perry completing the task. The conversion was good and the teams were deadlocked 26-26 at the 11:52 mark.

From that point the two teams traded possessions until the Tigers took over after a punt at Morgan's 45-yard line with 2:11 left to play.

Six plays moved the Tigers to the Morgan 12 yard line with 16 seconds left. The Tigers ran the clock down to five seconds. Morgan called three consecutive timeouts in an effort to ice Halbruner but the sophomore nailed the 29-yard field goal that split the uprights with one second remaining.