Towson opened up the 2011 college football season with a dominating, 42-3 win against the Morgan State Bears. Towson's offense dominated the Bears, amassing 534 yards Saturday night.
Sophomore quarterback Grant Enders was 15-19 for 197 yards passing and threw for three touchdowns. During his first game in a Tigers uniform, Enders also rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
"The thing about his particular offense, with coach Ambrose calling the offense, this is completely different from what they did last year," Morgan coach Donald Hill-Eley said. "[Enders] did a good job isolating the game and slowing us down."
After junior receiver Tyrone Hendrix returned the opening kickoff 69 yards for Morgan, the Bears took a quick 3-0 lead less than three minutes into Saturday night's game. This would be their only lead of the night. Towson's offense responded with a six-play, 69-yard drive, capped off by a Grant Enders touchdown pass to senior fullback Tyler Wharton.
The Tigers looked to hold onto their momentum after junior safety Jordan Dangerfield intercepted junior quarterback Don Dickerson at midfield. Enders and the Towson offense tried to piece together another touchdown drive, but failed to convert on a fourth down attempt eight plays later.
"There were three plays in the first half that should we have done the right way, this would have been a lot more points a lot sooner," Ambrose said. "We had the opportunity to not hit base hits, but to hit home runs, and we whiffed three times in the first half."
Towson's offense would score with 1:43 left during the first half, on a Gerard Sheppard 25-yard cross. Sheppard, one of Towson's five NCAA FBS transfers, scored his first collegiate touchdown after transferring from Connecticut -- where Ambrose originally recruited him while offensive coordinator for the Huskies.
The Tigers scored three times during the third quarter. After throwing his second touchdown of the night to Wharton, Enders broke out on an 18-yard run, juking out both Morgan safeties in his first rushing touchdown as a Tiger.
"It was one of those plays you see in practice a lot, the two safeties were drifting and we caught them sleeping with a quick count," Enders said.
Then, with 42 seconds left during the quarter, sophomore tailback Sterlin Phifer, a Boston College transfer, pounded in a two-yard run on the goal line. Phifer's run put Towson higher than the 30-point mark for the second time since Ambrose took over the program.
With Towson's offense dominating the time of possession, the defensive unit was able to stay fresh, and hold Morgan without a touchdown. With only 160 yards of total offense, Morgan's sole production for the night came on special teams. The Bears special teams unit racked up 200 return yards on four returns.
"We put our defense's back against the wall, time and time again, and that has to change," Ambrose said. "We're about to go play in the toughest conference in the country and there's no way we can try doing that."
Towson began the fourth quarter with a 12-play, 85-yard Touchdown drive, this time led by redshirt sophomore Peter Athens under center. Athens, who started as a true freshman before tearing his ACL in 2009, battled with Enders through the summer for the starting quarterback position. Athens ended the night 3-3 for 73 yards and a touchdown.
"We progressed through camp and gave all of these kids an equal opportunity, which is a difficult thing to do in evaluating play calls against different defenses," Ambrose said about the quarterback battle. "Grant showed the most consistency, and when it comes down to it, that's the name of the game. Grant's performance during camp was staggering."
Towson kicks off conference play Saturday, Sept. 10, at home against the Villanova Wildcats.
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