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After trailing by three at halftime, the Northeastern Huskies scored 21 unanswered second half points to pull away and defeat the Tigers 35-17 Saturday afternoon at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
"We played very well in the first half. In the second half they made plays and we didn't," Towson head coach Gordy Combs said. "It just comes down to when we had the opportunity, we didn't make plays on both offense and defense."
A pair of second half turnovers, combined with a well-balanced offensive onslaught by Northeastern, helped change the momentum as Towson didn't have an answer.
Husky quarterback Anthony Orio completed 17 of his 20 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. Tailback Alex Broomfield ran the ball 26 times for 106 yards and a touchdown. He gained the majority of his yards in the second half when he lined up as the quarterback and ran the option.
The loss is Towson's fourth of the season and its first at home. The Tigers' 17 points mark the fourth time this year they've failed to score at least 20 points, and the team has lost all of those games.
"We knew we had to score at least 28 points to win," Combs said. "Looking at the video tape I knew they could move the football, and they were very effective today. We just had to generate more offense. There is an inconsistency in terms of the offensive line."
The Tigers started the game slow as the opening kick-off bounced out of bounds giving the Huskies the ball near mid-field. Eight plays and 55 yards later, back-up tailback John Griffin ran into the end zone from 9 yards out on a reverse play to put Northeastern up 7-0 less than four minutes into the game.
However, Towson's offensive unit picked up the slack, taking its first drive nearly 80 yards down the field, ending in a 12-yard dart down the middle of the defense by Schaefer who dove head first over three defenders and flipped into the end zone.
After forcing a punt, the Tigers used their next possession to set kicker Mark Bencivengo up for a career-long 41-yard field goal taking the lead 10-7.
On the Tigers' next possession, Schaefer hit several different targets to move the ball in a drive that was finished a two-yard touchdown run by tailback Matt Castor, giving the Tigers a 10-point advantage.
But Northeastern responded with 1:55 to play in the half when Orio darted a pass to wide-out Chris Plum, who bounced off defenders like a pinball before using a second effort to propel himself into the end zone.
The Tigers got one more chance to score before halftime, but Bencivengo missed a 38-yard field goal wide left, sending Towson into the locker rooms clinging to a three-point advantage.
"I thought the field goal was good at the end of the half and it wasn't and that took the wind out of our sails going into the half," Combs said.
In the second half, both teams struggled offensively until halfway through the third quarter. Orio found a wide-open Plum 30 yards down the field who could have walked into the end zone giving his team the 21-17 lead.
On the Tigers' next possession, Schaefer overthrew his target as the ball landed into the hands of defensive back Nate Thellen who fell to the ground to make the catch.
The Huskies' offense took advantage of the Towson turnover, as they faked a reverse to back-up quarterback John Sperrazza, who stopped and launched the ball nearly 40 yards across the field; Rob Theoudale caught the ball in the end zone despite having a Towson defender draped over him. The score put the Tigers down by 28-17 late in the third quarter.
"On the gadget plays, that hurts," Towson safety Drew Mack said. "We new they had a quarterback in the slot and we knew it was coming and just couldn't make the play."
Northeastern faked another reverse in the third quarter and Orio hit another open receiver deep over the middle who was stopped inside the 10-yard line. On the next play, tailback Alex Broomfield ran down the middle for a touchdown to increase the Husky lead 18 points.
The Tigers will be back in action for a homecoming game next weekend against Rhode Island.
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