For the second week in a row it came down to a late two-point conversion for the Towson football team. And for the second straight game, the Tigers came up short, falling 14-12 to Villanova on a cold, windy Saturday afternoon in front of 3,959 fans on Senior Day at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer found receiver Demetrius Harrison for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds left in the game to draw the Tigers within two. But Schaefer?s touch-pass on the conversion attempt fell off of Harrison?s hands to end the comeback bid.
Last week against Maine, the Tigers scored a touchdown late in the game and opted to go for the two-point conversion with only 2:02 remaining, but Schaefer threw an interception that was returned 100-yards to seal the Black Bear?s 16-13 victory.
“I feel like I sound redundant but we didn?t take care of some opportunities and take advantage of some other things,” Towson coach Gordy Combs said.
Towson (3-7, 1-6 Colonial Athletic Association) opened the scoring with 1:31 left in the first quarter when kicker Mark Bencivengo capped a 6-play, 47 yard drive with a 32-yard field goal.
The Tigers were able to take the 3-0 lead into intermission, by utilizing a blitzing defense that confused Villanova (6-4, 4-3) and freshman quarterback Chris Whitney. For the game, Whitney completed 16-of-21 pass for 116 yards with a touchdown.
The Wildcats had a chance to take the lead late in the half, but Whitney fumbled a snap and Towson defensive lineman Scott Bullock recovered the ball at the Tiger?s 8-yard line with just eight seconds left in the second quarter.
“It was senior day and we have a lot of seniors on defense and the juniors wanted to play for us,” senior linebacker Brian Bradford, who finished with a career-high 19 tackles, said. “We wanted to bring it. At times it worked and at times it didn?t.”
Villanova defensive back Ross Ventrone intercepted a Schaeffer pass at his own 32-yard line on the Tiger?s opening drive of the second half.
On the day, Schaefer completed 22-of-36 passes for 242 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Wildcats took advantage of Schaefer?s interception, however, and on the ensuing possession, running back Aaron Ball rushed into the end zone from two yards out to give the Wildcats a 7-3 lead midway through the third quarter.
A 28-yard Bencivengo field goal four minutes later would cut the lead to 7-6, but Villanova responded two possessions later by marching 71 yards on 13 plays to extend its lead to 14-6 on a 10-yard touchdown pass play from Whitney to Phil Atkinson with 12:01 remaining.
Villanova controlled the clock for much of the second half, finishing with 196 yards rushing on 61 carries as a team, and held the ball for 38:56 compared to 21:04 for Towson.
The Tigers finally put together a touchdown drive with just 1:51 left, going 68 yards in just 59 seconds when Sean Schaeffer completed a slant pass to Demetrius Harrison for a 7-yard touchdown reception with :52 seconds remaining.
Following the failed conversion attempt, Villanova recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
“[We] played hard for 60 minutes,” Combs said. “But we didn?t make plays when we were required to make them.”
