Athens Named co-CAA Rookie of the week

(from TU Athletic Media Relations)

RICHMOND, Va. – Quarterback Peter Athens (Huntingtown H.S./Huntingtown, Md.) of Towson University has been named as the co-winner of the Colonial Athletic Association “Rookie of the Week” award, it has been announced by CAA officials.
Athens shared the award with quarterback Justin Thorpe of James Madison University.
He is the first Tiger football player ever to be honored as the CAA Rookie of the Week award winner.
Playing in his first game at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday evening, Athens led the Tigers to a 21-17 victory over Coastal Carolina University, providing Coach Rob Ambrose with his first victory as the Tigers’ head coach.
Making his second consecutive start, Athens completed 13 of 18 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked once and threw one interception.
While sharing time at quarterback with classmate Tommy Chroniger (DeMatha H.S./Crofton, Md.), the two quarterbacks combined to complete 17 of 25 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns.
After the Tigers took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Athens directed an 83-yard, 12-play drive in the second quarter. His four-yard touchdown pass to senior Dave Newsom (Elizabeth H.S./Elizabeth, N.J.) gave the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 11:02 remaining in the first half.
When Coastal Carolina cut its deficit to 14-10 in the third quarter, Athens led the Tigers on another scoring drive. He capped off a 47-yard, six-play drive by throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Newsom, giving Towson a 21-10 advantage with 11:49 left in the game. On the touchdown pass, he used a pump fake to freeze the Coastal Carolina defensive back and then lofted the pass to Newsom, who was wide-open in the end zone.
In two games, Athens has completed 28 of 43 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns. All three of his touchdown passes have been thrown to Newsom. With 11 receptions for 122 yards and three touchdowns in two games, Newsom is the leading pass receiver in the CAA.
A first-year freshman, Athens is one of several freshmen who have done well in their first two college football games. Tailback Tremayne Dameron (King George H.S./King George, Va.), a “red shirt” freshman, has rushed for 117 yards in two games and had a career high 84 yards against Coastal Carolina. Linebacker Danzel White (C.D. Hylton H.S./Manassas, Va.), another “red shirt” freshman, ranks second on the team with 15 tackles. Defensive tackle Matt Morgan (Horseheads H.S./Horseheads, N.Y.), a “red shirt” freshman who started the first two games, has made seven tackles in two games, including one sack.
Athens and Chroniger are two of seven first-year freshmen who have seen action in the first two games of the season.
The Tigers, now 1-1 on the season, will seek their second consecutive victory when they travel to Hughes Stadium to face Morgan State University on Saturday, September 26 at 4:00 p.m. It will be the 22nd meeting between the schools. Towson leads the all-time series by a 16-5 margin.

Coastal Carolina: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

THE GOOD: UConn's...er...I mean Towson's new look offense
For years, it was very familiar to see Towson's offense step on the field with a lot of spread gun formations. This year, they're lining up in an I and smacking people in the mouth. Towson's offense doesn't have the flash that the Phil Albert Turf-Show had, it's a run and gun machine that collects first downs and controls the clock.

Towson ran on first down almost every drive. Freshman Tailback Tremane Dameron had a great game, with 84 yards on 21 carries and led the team in receptions with 7 catches for 61 yards.

The Tigers' new-found run game helped take some of the pressure of the two competing true freshman QB's Peter Athens and Tommy Chroninger. Chroninger is a hell-uva athlete, he even made a great play on special teams. Athens has a cannon. He threads the needle like no other. Through the entire first half, Towson was perfect on passes under 15 yards.

THE BAD: Pass Defense
How do you minimize the efforts of a defensive line that's as athletic is it is deep? How about you let them into the backfield, and dump off screen passes galore.

Towson's strongest defensive corps is easily the line. But the reads off of screen passes were not there Saturday night. Despite a good amount of over-pursuits by the front seven, the secondary has to address their soft coverage of running backs and average open field tackling.

Overall, Towson allowed 20 receptions for 295 yards and both Chanticleer touchdowns.

THE UGLY: The Officiating
Mr. Official, do NOT tell the band to stop playing when they're doing Sportscenter. I understand it's NCAA regulation, but you could have caused a riot last night.

I understand they had a lot of work to do last night, with both teams combining for 20 penalties.

Towson had a lot of procedural calls. This was something that Ambrose was very strict about during camp. Let's just say these guys will be in great shape next week, because they're conditioning schedule just got a lot more intense.

"I'm not a big fan of official evaluation, I will evaluate this game," Rob Ambrose at the press conference

OTHER NOTES AND THOUGHTS:
Great crowd and atmosphere all night. 7000+ in attendance.

Brady Smith recorded his first sack as a Tiger.

I was on the sidelines after Boyer missed a field goal opportunity pretty badly. Let's just say, Ambrose didn't have kind words after the botch.

Gameday Blog: Coastal Carolina

TOWSON, Md. -- (6:57) Tigers just entered field to "Welcome to the Jungle," I think Events services stole it from my Brady Smith interview. The New Uniforms look sick. Captains just went out. Butt, Newsome, Smith and TAMBA TONGU!

(7:00) Towson wins toss. Elects to receive.

(7:02) Steafanik takes the first carry in an I? Crazier things have happened.

(7:03) Athens first completion @ the U to Dameron for 1-yard gain.
-Athens rockets in a first down to Newsome.

(7:05) Ambrose goes for it on 4th and 1. False start on the offense. "Same ole Towson."

(7:09) Brady Smith is a monster...even on special teams. Here comes the defense. What you got Hachmann.

(7:10) Big play by Chants. Too bad they had a holding penalty to begin with AND unsportsmanline. Those penalties will compound. Instead of a big TD, Chants will have the ball on their 8. 2nd and 23.

(7:14) Chants punter Ben Erdman bobbles the snap in the endzone. 9 yard punt. Towson has the ball on the 23.

(7:15) Welcome to college football Tom Chroniger. Delay of game. Towson. 5 yard penalty. Ball on the Coastal 7

(7:21) Chroniger to Godlasky. Godlasky's famous post to the corner of the endzone. Great touch by Chroniger to his WIDE open TE.

(7:28) Brady Smith's first sack as a Tiger. Loss of 7 yards to end the drive.

(7:30) Great screen from Athens to Dameron...Flags on the field. Clipping on the offense. "Same ole Towson."

(7:41) Chroniger to Godlasky. Might end up the game's leading receiver.

(7:43) Chroniger fumbles, offense recovers. Lucky

(7:45) Athens has time to throw...Athens threads the needle to Newsome in the back of the endzone. B-E-A-UTIFUL. Very Schaefer-esque.

(7:49) Towson plays the actual fight-song. (Sportscenter)

(7:50) Neither team reads the screen apparently. Towson gets burned by WR Whitley for a big gain.

(7:52) 6 plays, 52 yards by the Chants for their first TD. Towson 14 Coastal 7

(7:53) Towson's PA just announced dollar dogs in the 3rd quarter while playing the Backstreet boys?

(8:05) After back and forth horrible special teams plays, and a controversial incomplete pass call, the quality of the officiating crew is being called into play.

(8:09) Stalled drive by Towson in bad field position. Horrible punt by Shears saved by Chroniger on special teams.

(8:10) The word is out on Towson's defense. Throw the screen

(8:10) GREAT pick by Safty Danny Collins.

(8:11) And Chroniger is back in? RA is cycling his QB's. Dameron good carry for a first. Great block by the back judge.

(8:16) Offense is completely clueless within the last 30 seconds of half. Horrible clock management, and Chroninger throws a REALLY bad pick to end the half.

---Half Time--- Towson 14 Coastal 7

(8:38) Mediocre kickoff by Towson. Fumbled by Sullivan who fell on it, horrible field position.

(8:45) Athens is marching down field with the offense. Bullet passes every drive for first downs. Making Newsome look like Reggie Wayne.

(8:47) Athens for another first down. Towson remains perfect in passes under 15 yards

(8:51) Boyer misses his first FG attempt. Towson 14 Coastal 7

(8:56) Big penalty day on both sides. Coastal just had a great Childers run called back because of a OBVIOUS clip

(8:58) Zach Macdowall for Coastal has entered the game. The Chants starting QB sat out until this drive because of an injury, but now that he's in is carving the Towson Secondary.

(9:03) Heading down to the field. Check Twitter for updates. http://twitter.com/towson_gameday

(10:14) Towson wins. GREAT atmosphere all game

Northwestern Recap: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

THE GOOD: Ambrose's decisions on WHICH true freshmen he would play....

I liked Peter Athens at quarterback all of camp. He embodies a lot of Sean Schaefer qualities. He's a great leader for being a boy among men, he has good vision and great accuracy. He showed some youth once the game started in his decision making and his reluctance to get rid of the ball in certain situations, but the mental errors leave as he matures into the system. Not too sure about burning Tommy Chroninger's redshirt as well, but they don't pay me to make these calls.

Alex Blake and Tom Ryan add good size and hands to a receiver corps that before Saturday looked like a large group of glorified slot receivers.

I've always been high on B.J Greening, he's very tough and has a good amount of natural ability. He reminds me of a young Matt Castor with more speed.

THE BAD: Lack of size in defensive front seven

I realize it wouldn't do much good analyzing this game as closely as other, but it was obvious NU had the game plan on Brady Smith (despite the double teams was still able to record 11 tackles in his first start with the Tigers). But with Smith taken care of, DT Rob Osbourne out and the eventual loss of middle linebacker Alex Butt, it was easy for the far superior Northwestern offensive line to carve gaping holes through the Towson front seven.

That along with a stalling offense kept a very young defense on the field for a long time. Thankfully they'll have an early bye week to rest and reload after the beating they took. Could you imagine being a year out of high school and facing a squad of highly-tuned, well-oiled athletic machines. You'd be pretty sore after as well.

THE UGLY: Alex Butt's shoulder

Senior middle linebacker Alex Butt was sidelined early in the game with a shoulder injury. Before any X-rays have been taken, the rumor mill buzz suggests it could possibly be an AC Joint injury. Nothing confirmed yet, but with your best defensive tackle in Osbourne sidelined, the last thing you wanna lose is your middle linebacker. (Who is also your captain and emotional leader in the locker room)

OTHER NOTES AND THOUGHTS:
A (-1) turnover margin against a Big 10 school...I'll take it.

Yaky Ibia's sack was probably the most entertaining play of the game. I love seeing big guys do well.

Brady Smith (who was a captain of this team before playing his first down for the Tigers) recorded 11 tackles despite being double teamed most of game. 3rd in the conference for the weekend.

NORTHWESTERN SPOILS ROB AMBROSE’S DEBUT, 47-14

(from athletic media relations)


EVANSTON, Ill. – For the Towson University football team, there was plenty of optimism in the air as the Tigers opened their season on Saturday at Northwestern University. The Tigers had a new head coach, new football helmets, new uniforms, a new coaching staff and a host of new players.

However, that optimism was tempered by the fact that the Tigers were facing a powerful Northwestern team that was the best team ever to face the Tigers in the 420-game history of the program. The Wildcats’ talent was very apparent as they spoiled the debut of Coach Rob Ambrose with a 47-14 victory over Towson before a crowd of 17,857 at Ryan Field.

Against a revamped Tiger defense that started two “red shirt” freshmen and had only two seniors, the Wildcats used their “no huddle” offense to near-perfection as they scored on their first four possessions of the game to take a 28-0 lead with 12:44 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats extended their lead to 37-7 at halftime and went on to post a 47-14 victory.

“First of all, Northwestern has a heck of a football team,” said Coach Ambrose. “This was a true test for us today. I know that the numbers on the scoreboard don’t look great but the faces in our locker room tell a different story. We played hard and we played hard for longer than we've ever played before. We showed a lot of heart and I can take some solace in that.

“We were trailing by 37-7 and I challenged our team at halftime to play a 60-minute game,” he said. “It’s difficult to play hard for all 60 minutes but we showed some resilience in the second half. We rose to the occasion and responded. We found some heart today and we’ll work from there.”

With a true freshman, Peter Athens, starting at quarterback, the Tigers won the opening toss and got the ball at their own 40-yard line when the kickoff went out of bounds. On their second play from scrimmage, the Tigers surprised the Wildcats with a well-executed screen pass from Athens to “red shirt” freshman running Tremayne Dameron, who ran to the Northwestern 30-yard line for a first down. However, the play was negated by a holding penalty and, two plays later, the Tigers were forced to punt.

On their first play from scrimmage, quarterback Mike Kafka of Northwestern was thrown for a four-yard loss by linebacker Donte Blakey. However, that was only a temporary setback for the Wildcats who marched 60 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead on a two-yard run by junior Jacob Schmidt. Midway through the first quarter, Kafka led the Wildcats on a 56-yard drive in nine plays. When freshman Arby Fields scored on a two-yard run, Northwestern owned a 14-0 lead with 3:37 left in the opening quarter. On the first two possessions of the game, Kafka completed all six pass attempts for 84 yards.

With 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Fields upped the Wildcats’ lead to 21-0 when he ran around left end for a 23-yard touchdown.

Early in the second quarter, Kafka sat out a series and junior Dan Persa replaced him. On his third play, Persa stood up against heavy pressure and lofted a 72-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Andrew Brewer putting the Wildcats ahead, 28-0 with 12:44 left in the second period.

On their next possession, the Tigers found themselves backed up near their own end zone due to a muffed kickoff return. Rather than risk having a punt blocked for a touchdown, the Tigers took a semi-intentional safety, giving the Wildcats a 30-0 advantage.

Junior safety Ray White made the Tigers’ biggest defensive play of the first half when he intercepted a pass at the Towson 32-yard line. On their fifth possession of the first half, the Tigers’ offense started to click. Led by Athens and Dameron, the Tigers drove 78 yards in 12 plays to score their first touchdown of the season. On the drive, Athens completed three of four passes for 37 yards. His 21-yard pass to senior Casey Cegles on a third down play moved the ball inside the Northwestern five-yard line. Two plays later, Dameron scored the first touchdown of his career on a one-yard run, cutting Towson’s deficit to 37-7.

The Tigers’ momentum was short-lived, however. A 49-yard kickoff return by Stephen Simmons gave the Wildcats excellent field position at the Towson 38-yard line. On the fifth play of the drive, Scott Concannon scored on a 21-yard run to give Northwestern a 37-7 lead with 1:17 remaining in the first half.

On the Wildcats’ first possession of the second half, the Tiger defense forced a punt for the first time in the game. Junior tackle Yaky Ibia’s nine-yard sack of Kafka pinned the Wildcats back at their own 14-yard line. When Stefan Demos’ punt rolled dead at midfield, the Tigers had great field position. After moving to the Northwestern 33-yard line, the Tigers were faced with a fourth down-and-four. The Tigers decided to go for the first down and Athens made a terrific play. He scrambled to his right and fired a pass to senior David Newsom at the 15-yard line. Newsom caught the pass and ran toward the end zone. Just as he was about to be pushed out of bounds, he dove for the goal line and reached the end zone. However, the officials ruled that he went out at the one-yard line.

As the Tigers were about to run a play, the officials stopped the clock because the play was being reviewed up in the press box. After a three-minute delay, the officials ruled that Newsom had scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass. When junior Jon Boyer made the conversion, Towson had trimmed its deficit to 37-14 with 10:07 left in the third quarter.

The Wildcats responded with a time-consuming drive that ate up 5:12. They marched to the Tigers’ nine-yard line where the Tiger defense stiffened. Demos booted a 26-yard field goal to up the Wildcats’ lead to 40-10.

Early in the fourth quarter, Concannon scored his second touchdown of the game on a three-yard run, capping off 60-yard drive. His touchdown run gave Northwestern a 47-14 lead.

The Wildcats, who posted a 9-4 record last season and played in the Alamo Bowl, rolled up 485 yards of total offense against the Tigers. Kafka, a candidate for All-American honors, completed 15 of 20 passes for 192 yards. Simmons led the Wildcats with 77 rushing yards as Northwestern ran for 221 yards. Brewer was the Wildcats’ receivers with six catches for 145 and a touchdown.

The first true freshman to open the season at quarterback for Towson since Dan Dullea in 1973, Athens completed 15 of 25 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown. He also threw two interceptions.

Despite his solid effort, Coach Ambrose wasn’t ready to name Athens as the Tigers’ starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

Ambrose said, “Peter did some good things but he also did a few ‘bonehead’ things. We had anticipated playing our other quarterbacks more than we did but he seemed comfortable out there and we wanted to get him into a rhythm.”

A product of Huntingtown High School in Southern Maryland, Athens was one of seven true freshmen to appear in their first collegiate game at Northwestern. B.J. Greening, a Calvert High School graduate, was the Tigers’ leading rusher with 35 yards on nine carries while quarterback Tommy Chroniger of DeMatha ran for three yards on one carry. Wide receivers Alex Blake of Friendly High School and Tom Ryan of Philadelphia also saw considerable action. Place kicker Marc Magas of Damascus High School handled the kickoff duties while defensive back Dwayne Price of Friendly High School made two tackles.

“I realize that I had been saying that we want to ‘red shirt’ our true freshmen,” said Ambrose. “But we have an extremely talented freshman class. When our coaching staff evaluated them, we realized that they had to play. All of our true freshmen made a contribution against Northwestern.”

In his first game as a Tiger, senior defensive end Brady Smith made a career high 11 tackles. Smith was a two-year starter at Boston College who was making his Towson debut. Held in such high esteem by the coaching staff, Smith was a game captain against Northwestern, meaning that he was a captain before ever playing in a game for Towson.

“It was very exciting to play Northwestern,” said Smith. “They have a great team and they are very tough up front. I am sure they will do well.

“This game was a good starting point for us and I know we will work hard to get better,” he added.

Blakey made ten tackles in the loss, setting a career high. Linebacker Danzel White, a “red shirt” freshman, made his first career start and had nine tackles.

The Tigers, who are idle next week, return to action on September 19 when they host Coastal Carolina at Johnny Unitas® Stadium at 7:00 p.m.

TIGER TIDBITS: The Tigers played before a crowd of 17,857, the eighth-largest crowd ever to watch Towson play … The Tiger defense suffered a serious setback in the first quarter when senior linebacker Alex Butt suffered a shoulder injury … He did not return to the game … Darius Hill, another “red shirt” freshman, took his place in the lineup and made eight tackles.

On the Tigers’ 57-player roster, there were seven true freshmen and 14 “red shirt” freshmen … The Tigers are going to use game captains this season … Ollie Thomas, Cegles, Butt, Smith and Newsom were the game captains at Northwestern.

White’s interception was the third of his career and only Towson’s fourth interception in its last 13 games … Ibia’s sack was the first of his college career … He finished the game with six tackles, a sack and two tackles for lost yardage.

Newsom was the Tigers’ top receiver at Northwestern … He caught six passes for 74 yards and a touchdown … Cegles had four receptions for 40 yards.

In his first collegiate start, Dameron ran for 33 yards on 14 carries.

Brady Smith Interview: The Trailer

I got together with Brady Smith today for a one-on-one interview. What was supposed to be a 5 minute talk turned into an in-depth feature interview with the new Tigers' defensive end. Since I'm still producing the feature, here's the trailer. Towson Gameday airs on WMJF-TV and always @ http://towsontigersfootball.blogspot.com