In the midst of a game-winning, 89-yard scoring drive Saturday, Towson University quarterback Sean Schaefer winked at coach Gordy Combs on the sidelines.
“I wondered why he winked at me,” Combs said Monday afternoon, recalling the events of Towson?s 33-30 win over Hofstra.
“It was like, ?Don?t worry about it, coach. I got it,? ” Combs said with a laugh.
Only a sophomore, Schaefer has shown the poise and leadership to take his team to heights never before seen at Towson. With Saturday?s come-from-behind win, the Tigers jumped two spots to No. 19 in the Division I-AA national poll.
Schaefer orchestrated Saturday?s long, game-winning drive with two minutes remaining and capped it off with an 11-yard scoring strike to senior Eric Yancey on fourth down, with 24 seconds left in the game.
“You feel so confident [with Schaefer], you don?t even have to call timeouts,” Combs said. “He?s going to make the right decisions.”
With his poise, it shouldn?t come as a surprise that Schaefer lists his career goal as becoming a fireman.
“Staying calm under pressure. … You?ve just got to keep your cool and composure,” Schaefer said, drawing parallels between the two tasks.
On Saturday, Schaefer was an incredible 43 of 60 with three touchdowns and no interceptions, earning Atlantic 10 Conference offensive player of the week honors.
“It was incredible,” Schaefer said of the final drive. “It was great to be part of a game like that. We had the right plays called. We just took our time, took what they gave us.”
He did exactly that. On a fourth-and-5 play, he made the correct read and found Yancey in the end zone.
“I can?t even describe the feeling I had after he caught that,” Schaefer said.
Combs found it difficult to describe the feeling of knowing that Schaefer still has two full seasons remaining after this one. And Schaefer is fitting in with the team more and more every day, according to the coach.
“It?s so important for the quarterback to be one of the guys, and he?s one of the guys,” Combs said.
The coach describes him as a leader by example. And who knows how far he can lead them with the way he?s played of late?
“Now that he?s done these kind of things these past couple of games,” Combs said, “they?ll listen to him more.”
