Enders leads Towson to 42-3 rout of Morgan State

Towson, MD - On a third-and-14 early in the third quarter of Saturday's night season opener, Towson quarterback Grant Enders stoically held his ground in the pocket, and after not being able to find an open receiver, he scrambled through a pack of Morgan State defenders for a first down.

Three plays later, he found Tyler Wharton for a 12-yard touchdown. That type of versatility is expected to add a new dimension to Towson's new-look offense, which kept the Bears off-balance in a 42-3 victory before 9,759 — the third largest crowd in Johnny Unitas Stadium's history.

The Tigers' defense, which returned eight starters, was also dominant, holding Morgan State to just 160 total yards. It was the first time Towson scored more than 30 points in a regulation game since Oct. 10, 2009 — a 36-28 victory over Rhode Island. The Tigers also racked up more than 500 yards of total offense for the first time in five years.



"Guys understand the system on both sides of the ball and special teams," Towson coach Rob Ambrose said. "We have a mentality where ...

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Scouting report: Towson vs. Morgan State

MORGAN STATE @ TOWSON
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WNST-1570 AM
Series: Towson leads, 16-6

What's at stake: Saturday's season opener will be a game of bragging rights for these two in-state rivals, whose campuses are separated by just five miles. The host in this series has won 15 of the past 22 games, and the Tigers have won 11 of 13 games against Morgan at Johnny Unitas Stadium. Both teams are looking to start the season strong after disappointing 2010 campaigns. The Bears finished 4-7 and had the last-ranked offense in the 117-team Football Championship Subdivision. The Tigers, meanwhile, were 1-10 a year ago, and finished with the No. 109 offense in FCS.

Key matchup: Junior Tremayne Dameron, who has run for 1,065 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career, leads the Tigers rushing attack against a tenacious Morgan State defense. The Bears welcome back Alonzo Lee as their defensive coordinator after he spent the previous two seasons as North Carolina A&T's head coach. Under Lee's defensive direction, Morgan State led ...

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Gatson, Johnson Homers Not Enough to Beat Towson

TOWSON, MD. – The Howard softball team fell to the Towson Tigers in the opening game of the recently scheduled doubleheader, 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon. The Bison were unable to bounce back from the loss as the second game went unfinished as a result of weather and darkness.

Emily Johnson got points on the board first for the Lady Bison with a leadoff home run to left center. Several HU errors, however, gave the Tigers a chance to answer back with two runs in the bottom of the first and two more in the bottom of the fourth.

Samantha Gatson got Howard back on board and delivered a solo-homer to kick off the fifth inning, making it a 4-2 game. Towson went on to shutout the Lady Bison for the remainder of the game and tallied their final run in the sixth on a two-out RBI double by Rachel Miller.

Both Gatson and Johnson split the mound, but the loss went to Gatson who pitched four innings and gave up four unearned runs, four hits and two walks. She struck out one batter while Johnson took down three in her two innings in the circle. Johnson gave up one earned run on two hits. Katie Lingmai pitched the entire game for the Tigers and recorded nine strikeouts while eight Bison players garnered a hit.

The Bison topped the Tigers in hits, 8-6.

Up next, the Lady Bison softball team will look to sack a win over MEAC opponent Morgan State at home on Saturday, April 30 in the final stretch of the regular season. For more updates on the Howard softball team, visit www.howard-bison.com.

By Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY
VISIT: HOWARDBISON

Hampton Pirates rebound with win over Towson

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men’s basketball team got back into the win column Monday night, defeating the Tigers of Towson University 78-67 at the HU Convocation Center.

The Pirates (8-2) controlled much of the second half, though Towson closed the gap to 61-55 with 6:52 to play when Dre Conner converted a 3-point play. The Pirates responded emphatically when senior forward Charles Funches (Jersey City, N.J.) threw down a one-handed dunk over Braxton Dupree, drawing the foul and converting the 3-point play at the 5:10 mark to give the Pirates a 68-57 lead.

Junior guard Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.) sank a trey with 2:01 to play to put Hampton up 76-63.

Hampton holds off Towson

HAMPTON, VA — Charles Funches posted career highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Hampton to a 78-67 victory over Towson on Monday night. The Pirates (8-2), coming off a 55-53 loss to Delaware that snapped their seven-game winning streak, shot 45.8 percent from the floor (27 of 59) and hit a season-best 11 of 20 3-pointers.

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Maryland (Morgan State, Towson) Football Act unlikely to pass

Morgan State University gets short end of the stick as Colonial Athletic Conference Towson University backs out of supporting Delegate Jay Walker's bill. TU dropped Baltimore rivalry game with the Bears this season to open at Indiana on 9/2/2010 in a money game. MSU and TU are located 4.8 miles from each other, and 31 miles from the University of Maryland.

AD Hermann blocks bill that would require TU to play Terps.

A proposed bill that would force the University of Maryland play both Towson University and Morgan State University in football at least once every four years will most likely not pass, following a hearing in front of the state appropriations committee. State delegate Jay Walker (D), author of the Maryland Football Act, is not optimistic about its fate.

“I think Maryland would like to say ‘Hey, let us do this on our own,’” Walker, a former NFL quarterback and Howard University star, said. “With Morgan State playing Maryland next year and Towson playing Maryland the following year, we want to ensure that it doesn’t happen once in a lifetime.” Towson athletic director Mike Hermann was present at the hearing but was not in support of the bill. Towson is scheduled to play Maryland in 2011 and is working towards doing so again in 2015, according to Hermann.

“For me and for Towson, it’s an awkward situation,” Hermann said. “We want to play Maryland on a regular basis and we are on a path to do so. We are not in favor of the legal requirement not because we don’t want to do it, but I don’t think it should be legally required or that the state legislature should be stepping into college football scheduling. We want to play Maryland regularly and we see great value in that for our fans, for the media buzz it would create and for our student athletes.”

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Morgan State University 2010 Football Schedule

9/4/2010 Bowie State University Hughes Stadium 6 p.m.
9/11/2010 University of Maryland College Park, MD 6 p.m.
9/25/2010 * Howard University East Rutherford, NJ 2 p.m.
10/2/2010 * Bethune-Cookman College Hughes Stadium 4 p.m.
10/9/2010 * North Carolina A&T State University Greensboro, NC 1 p.m.
10/23/2010 * Delaware State University (Homecoming) Hughes Stadium 1 p.m.
10/30/2010 * Florida A&M University Tallahassee, FL TBA
11/6/2010 * Norfolk State University Norfolk, VA TBA
11/13/2010 * South Carolina State University Hughes Stadium 4 p.m.
11/20/2010 * Hampton University Hughes Stadium 4 p.m.

Maryland Bill would mandate Morgan State, Towson football match-ups with the Terps

Maryland Delegate Jay "Sky" Walker has introduced legislation that would require the University of Maryland to play the Tigers (Towson) and Bears (Morgan State) once every four years in a "money" football game. Terps, Tigers and Bears! Oh, my!

Bill would mandate Towson, Morgan State football match-ups‎

The University of Maryland Terrapin football team is scheduled to play Morgan State this fall (Sept. 11, 2010) and Towson in 2011. But if a state legislator has his way, there might be rematches — a lot of them. Del. Jay "Sky" Walker (D-Prince George’s) has introduced a bill requiring the Terps to play either Morgan State or Towson once every four years, arguing it would help fund the two smaller schools’ football programs. But university officials are opposing the bill, saying it would strip the Athletics Department of flexibility in scheduling and force it to subsidize the smaller programs.

“The university should be making its decisions on scheduling football, not the legislature,” university lobbyist Ross Stern said. “This really is stepping on the university’s autonomy.” The Terps are generally regarded as the most prestigious football program in the state, but Walker said the state’s two Football Championship Series (formerly called Division 1-AA) teams would benefit financially and otherwise from playing their in-state ACC counterpart. Instead of playing out-of-state FCS schools, he said, the Terps should play the Tigers or the Bears.

“It’s definitely about keeping money in the state of Maryland,” said Walker, a former NFL quarterback who also works as a college football commentator for ESPN. “In the past two years, Maryland has played James Madison and Delaware, which are both FCS schools. We have two FCS schools right here in Maryland. “Now we can have these schools play all the time, not just once in a lifetime,” added Walker, who starred for Howard University before playing for the New England Patriots, Barcelona Dragons and Minnesota Vikings as a professional in the 1990s.

House bill would require more in-state matchups

State Del. Jay Walker, an ESPN college football commentator and former NFL player, has introduced House Bill 482, the Maryland Football Act, which would require the University of Maryland, a Football Bowl Subdivision school, to play at least one game every four years against Morgan State or Towson, two Football Championship Subdivision schools. Walker said he was inspired to create the bill when he saw Maryland schedule FCS team James Madison instead of one of the state schools.

"The football commentator in me understands football," Walker said. "The legislator in me sees a way to help fund the football programs at our FCS schools properly. We've got one flagship program, Maryland, and two FCS teams, Towson and Morgan State. When you see Maryland play James Madison, you say: 'Wait - we have Towson and Morgan State. They could do so much for their programs with the proceeds from that game.' "And Morgan and Towson should have the ability to play Maryland more than once in a lifetime. We want to see it happen on a more frequent basis."

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READ Jay "Sky" Walker BIO:
www.friendsofjaywalker.com/bio.htm
Jay Walker, Maryland State Delegate

Note to Fans: In the past, Maryland has scheduled games with Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA) Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) members James Madison, William and Mary and Villanova. Towson is also a member of the CAA and is scheduled to open the 2010 season at Indiana (money game). The Tigers recently have played money games at Northwestern (2009) and Navy (2008). Morgan State (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) has played money games at Akron (2009), Rutgers (2008) and San Jose State (2004). Both are experienced at taking a butt kicking and picking up a $100,000 to $350,000 check from the home team. If Maryland does not want to play Tigers and Bears --the 1-AA Howard Bison (MEAC) are less than 15 miles away from Byrd Stadium and does not recruit the same type student/athletes as Maryland. Howard standards are higher on the academics.

No excuse for the Terps not playing two local teams twice in a decade which are located within a 50 mile radius of College Park. "Sky" Walker is right--keep some of the money in Maryland and give the local teams an opportunity to knock off the Terrapins. We expect House Bill 482 to get some traction with the push from state delegates from Towson and Morgan. All three are state-supported and funded schools. Terps, Tigers and Bears! Oh my!

-beepbeep

Morgan State Bears 12. Towson Tigers 9

Morgan State's defense saves the day vs. Towson

Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley went conservative in Saturday's game with Towson. The rain started in the first quarter and got harder as time went on, so Hill-Eley decided to play the field-position game - and his plan worked perfectly. Darren McKhan returned a blocked extra point for a two-point conversion and made a crucial fourth-quarter interception, and Morgan's defense came up with several key plays late to help the Bears hang on for a 12-9 victory over Towson at Hughes Stadium. This was the Bears' first victory against the Tigers since 2003. Hill-Eley's plan worked because his defense came up big several times.

Morgan State Bears RB Darren McKhan scores one against Towson.

Towson ran up 344 yards of total offense, but the Bears forced three turnovers, blocked the extra point and limited the Tigers to two of 13 third-down conversions. Punter Nicholas Adams made a number of good kicks to pin Towson deep. "I didn't want to do anything that would give them any energy," Hill-Eley said. "Some coaches don't take it into consideration, but with me, we always take Mother Nature into consideration." The Morgan offense never really got going, finishing with only six first downs and 161 yards but had just one turnover. All three of Towson's turnovers came in the fourth quarter, ending its last three drives and handing the Tigers a 13th straight road loss.

Attendance: 4,307 at Hughes Stadium, Baltimore, MD

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Towson Tigers at Morgan State Bears

All-MEAC RB Devan James,#34 is ready to bust loose on cross-town rival Tigers.

Their players eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same malls and date women from each other's campuses. But pit Towson against Morgan State in football and get set for a row. The schools square off Saturday for the 22nd time in their intracity rivalry at Morgan's Hughes Stadium at 4 p.m. Both teams are 1-1. Lineups of Tigers and Bears, oh my. Let the battle for North Baltimore begin.

"It's easy to get juiced for Morgan," said Dan Bridges, Towson's 290-pound offensive tackle. "

It's one of those games that we don't want to lose the most."Ditto, says Morgan."I saw a couple of [Towson] players at Wal-mart last week, but I just kept movin'," said Devan James, Morgan's star running back. "Can't be too friendly because it's time to go to war."Five miles separate the colleges, which first met in football in 1979. Towson leads the series 16-5, with four straight wins. Last year, the Tigers rallied after halftime and held on, 21-16, as Morgan failed to score on three consecutive plays from Towson's 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. Two years ago, a late interception sparked the Tigers, 28-21.

College football: Towson, Morgan not very neighborly

Rivalry is intense between teams separated by five miles
Their players eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same malls and date women from each other's campuses. But pit Towson against Morgan State in football and get set for a row. The schools square off Saturday for the 22nd time in their intracity rivalry at Morgan's Hughes Stadium at 4 p.m. Both teams are 1-1. Lineups of Tigers and Bears, oh my. Let the battle for North Baltimore begin.

"It's easy to get juiced for Morgan," said Dan Bridges, Towson's 290-pound offensive tackle. "It's one of those games that we don't want to lose the most."Ditto, says Morgan."I saw a couple of [Towson] players at Wal-mart last week, but I just kept movin'," said Devan James, Morgan's star running back. "Can't be too friendly because it's time to go to war." Five miles separate the colleges, which first met in football in 1979. Towson leads the series 16-5, with four straight wins. Last year, the Tigers rallied after halftime and held on, 21-16, as Morgan failed to score on three consecutive plays from Towson's 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. Two years ago, a late interception sparked the Tigers, 28-21.

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Morgan State beats Towson for eighth straight, 80-64

Morgan State forward Marquise Kately (right) makes a shot over Towson forward Jarrel Smith (22) in the first half.

Reggie Holmes leads way with 18 points

Add the Colonial Athletic Association to the list of conferences that have been victimized by the ever-improving Morgan State basketball team this season. After beating teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference ( Maryland) and Big East (DePaul), the Bears added Towson of the CAA to their portfolio of victories yesterday, never trailing in the first Bracketbuster appearance by a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member in an 80-64 romp at Towson Center.

Granted, Towson (9-20) is not among the premier teams in one of the toughest mid-major leagues in the country, but it was still a significant win for the Bears, their eighth in a row and 10th in the past 11 games. "We appreciate the opportunity to participate in the Bracketbuster, representing not only ourselves, but the conference," Morgan coach Todd Bozeman said. "We want to one day have all the [MEAC] teams participate."

Said Tigers coach Pat Kennedy: "This is a very solid Morgan team. We were concerned about their balance, and their flow and consistency were much sharper than ours. It seemed like every time we had an opportunity, we made tough decisions that turned into bad plays."All five Bears starters scored in double figures, with Reggie Holmes (St.Frances) leading the way with 18 and Jermaine "Itchy" Bolden (Douglass) adding 16 and nine assists. Marquise Kately also had 16 points, and freshman Kevin Thompson (Walbrook) pitched in with 12 points, five assists and nine rebounds.

Morgan had a 51-35 edge on rebounds.Morgan (18-10) has now beaten MEAC rival Coppin State and UMBC in addition to Maryland and Towson.

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Schaefer sets record in Towson Tigers' win over MSU Bears

Towson quarterback becomes school's all-time passing yardage leader in 21-16 victory over Morgan State

Sean Schaefer threw three touchdowns and became Towson's all-time passing yardage leader, and the Tigers rallied to beat Morgan State 21-16 Saturday night. Schaefer, who passed for 243 yards, broke the record of 8,900 career passing yards set by Dan Crowley (1991-94) on a 40-yard screen pass to Hakeem Moore with 3:50 remaining in the game.

MSU Bears running back Devan James hits a career high 178 yards on 33 carries at Towson.

Schaefer connected with Steve Holmes for a 12-yard touchdown to pull Towson (1-1) within two points in the third quarter. The record-breaking quarterback threw a 4-yard passing score to Marcus Lee to put the Tigers ahead for good with 1:59 left in the quarter. Devan James totaled a career-best 178 yards on 33 carries for Morgan State (0-1). The Tigers improved to 16-5 all-time against Morgan. Towson took a 7-0 lead on the game's first drive when Schaefer threw 55-yard touchdown to Casey Cegles.

Towson-Morgan box score

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Attendance: 4,705 (42%) @ Johnny Unitas Stadium, Towson, MD (Capacity: 11,198).

Morgan State vs. Towson This Saturday!

Morgan State football head coach Donald Hill-Ely will lead the Bears into battle Saturday against the cross-town rivals Towson University. With a 30-37 record, Hill-Ely is the third winningest coach in school history behind legendary coaches Eddie P. Hurt and Earl C. Banks.

College football has officially returned in Baltimore, as the Morgan State Bears will take on the Towson Tigers this Saturday, 6 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium. With just five miles between each school, MSU and Towson hold a recent tradition of playing at least one of their first two games of the season against each other, and this Saturday will mark the 21st matchup between the neighboring rivals.

Last season, quarterback Sean Schaefer completed 20-of-40 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns to help Towson claim their third consecutive win over Morgan, fourth win in the last five years. Towson leads the overall series between the two schools, 15-5. The key for Morgan to break the three-game losing streak will be to contain Schaefer, who completed 29-of-47 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns last week in their 41-13 loss against Navy.

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Morgan State can't commit to series with Towson after 2009

Photo: MSU star RB Chad Simpson

By Ken Murray, Baltimore Sun

As dusk settled over Hughes Stadium Saturday night, Towson coach Gordy Combs made a pitch to keep alive the football rivalry with Morgan State.

And it didn't have anything to do with the fact Towson has won 15 of the past 17 meetings between the schools.

"We still have a contract for 2008 and '09, and I hope we can extend the contract for another four or five years after that," Combs said. "I think it's a great game for both teams."

It's a game of local interest, easy travel arrangements and familiar opponents. But beyond 2009, the future of the series is uncertain.

Because the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has expanded to 10 teams this season --- and is considering further growth - the Bears are reluctant to commit to an extension.

A nine-game MEAC schedule leaves Morgan with two nonconference games each of the next three years. Morgan athletic director Floyd Kerr said discussions are ongoing in the MEAC over how the conference will reconfigure and how the schedule will be played.

"Where we are right now, we have to solve the internal part to it," Kerr said yesterday. "Are all 10 going to play each other [every year], or will we have divisional play or something else?"

Winston-Salem State, which plays at Morgan tomorrow in a game that will not count in the MEAC standings, became the 10th team in the conference last July. Other schools, such as North Carolina Central and Savannah State, also have applied.

Kerr likes the idea of extending the Towson series, but said he owes return games to Savannah and Maine in the near future.

"I think it's a good series, good for both schools, good for the community," Kerr said of the Towson rivalry. "It's all good, and in good spirit."

Towson escapes Morgan State

Scott's interception for 68 yards helps set up winning score for Tigers

By Ken Murray, Baltimore Sun

A local rivalry known for bizarre plays and crazy finishes played to its reputation yesterday. Towson University, which usually wins these affairs, beat Morgan State again, but barely.

The Tigers waded through high-snap misadventures, a two-interception game from quarterback Sean Schaefer, and a depleting run of cramps before escaping Hughes Stadium with a 28-21 victory.

Just when Morgan State had seemingly wrestled control of the game away from the Tigers with a dazzling 56-yard touchdown run by Chad Simpson and a gift safety, the Tigers took it right back.

Photo: Morgan State University RB Chad Simpson

Towson safety Kenny Scott stepped in front of Morgan's Roderick Wolfe to make the play of the game, a fourth-quarter interception he returned 68 yards to the Bears' 2.

On the next play, Schaefer waited in the pocket for tight end John Godlasky - Towson almost never throws to its tight ends - to clear in the back of the end zone and lobbed a 2-yard touchdown pass that broke Morgan's back.

"They ran a lot of pick routes, and I had to do a good job of fighting over the picks and make the play," Scott, a team co-captain, said of his game-changing play. "Coach was saying all week long we've got to make a play when we get the chance."

After getting shredded for 245 rushing yards, 195 by Simpson, coach Gordy Combs reached for a bottom line that has Towson off to a 2-0 start.

"We stopped them when we had to," Combs said. "That's the big thing. I'm not going to get overly concerned about how much yardage we gave up."

The Tigers were resilient on defense and methodical on offense. Schaefer more than offset his two interceptions with four touchdown passes to four different receivers.

But when Austin Weibley sent a shotgun snap over Schaefer's head into the end zone for a safety less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Morgan had come back from a 14-3 deficit to tie the game at 21.

When quarterback Mario Melton sprung Simpson for a 16-yard gain on Morgan's ensuing possession with a knockdown block, the Bears (1-1) looked like they would take over the game.

They chewed up 36 more yards on the ground before Melton, on second-and-one, tossed an option pitch high and behind Devan James, who was filling in for a cramping Simpson.

James took a 6-yard loss on the play. On third-and-seven, Melton threw his costly interception.

"The play call was an inside slant because we knew they were coming with a blitz off the edge," Morgan coach Donald Hill-Eley said. "But rather than the quarterback throwing to his hot read, which was the slant that was wide open, he decided to throw the ball outside to Wolfe. ... It ended up costing us.

"But that one play doesn't make the game. We left about 24 points on the field."

The stadium's new FieldTurf was littered with squandered opportunities for Morgan.

Bears kicker Johnathan Skeete had two blocked field goals. Wolfe, who later made a sensational 44-yard catch, had a touchdown pass knocked from his hands in the end zone by Ollie Thomas. And a long pass to wide-out Edwin Baptiste was ruled incomplete in the end zone because he did not have control.

Simpson powered Morgan's second-half comeback with 110 yards on just 10 carries before going off with cramps. "I was cramping up the whole game," he said.

Towson's depth was a factor as Combs went deep into his bench.

"We were able to play 15, 16, 17 defensive players, 10 offensive linemen, all three tailbacks, a host of receivers and all three tight ends," he said.

When starting center Nick Bradway broke his right hand, he was replaced by Weibley and the Tigers were forced to pull back on offense. Without Rasheed McClaude (cramps), tailback Nick Williams pounded for 91 yards.