Football’s perfect start ended Saturday after disappointing 28-7 loss to Towson, PHOTO CREDIT: James Singer
The 12th-ranked Rams had their five-game win streak come to an end on Saturday in a heartbreaking 28-7 loss against Towson University.
Rhody, held to a season-low 162 total yards, struggled to get anything going on both sides of the ball.
“We didn’t play well enough,” University of Rhode Island Head Football Coach Jim Fleming said. “We did things unrepresentative of our football team. We turned it over––couldn’t convert, couldn’t get off the field on third down. It’s been a nice ride for the first five [games], but now you’re back to reality, and we gotta go get refocused and go play Villanova.”
The dreary, rainy conditions during the game matched Rhode Island’s play throughout it. Towson came out to an early 14-0 start after running back Devin Matthews scored two rushing touchdowns, the first coming at the goal line and the second coming in the Wildcat formation after the Tigers recovered a Rhody fumble.
The Rams resorted to the run game and were able to get things going. A 24-yard run from running back Jaylen Smith sparked the drive and an 18-yard run from running back Justice Antrum got the Rams on the board with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.
Rhody had another opportunity to score at Towson’s 8-yard line just before the half, but quarterback Kasim Hill was sacked for a 12-yard loss and kicker C.J. Carrick missed a 37-yard field goal wide right on the next play, keeping the score at 14-7 going into the break.
After the Rhody defense forced a three-and-out on Towson’s opening possession of the second half, they took the ball down and moved it into Towson territory after a 10-yard holding call and a 24-yard reception from running back Ty Murphy. Unfortunately, these two plays would be meaningless, as their offense stalled at the Towson’s 36-yard line, and they were forced to punt.
Receiving the ball at their own 20-yard line, Towson put together their longest drive of the game, a 14-play, 80-yard drive that spanned nearly eight minutes, capped off by a five-yard touchdown pass to the right corner from quarterback Chris Ferguson to receiver Jabari Allen with 2:04 left in the third quarter. The Tigers put the game away late in the fourth quarter when running back Jerry Howard Jr. ran up the left side for an easy one-yard score to make it 28-7.
Rhode Island tried to cut the deficit on the final play of the game, but quarterback Kasim Hill was picked off in the end zone by defensive back Brandon Shurman.
Despite the sour performance, linebackers Andre Blackett and Evan Stewart were stellar on defense, putting together career-highs with 17 and 13 tackles, respectively.
Before the game, the team was treated with a pleasant surprise from another local football team––the New England Patriots. The Rams were set to make the five-and-a-half hour bus trip to Baltimore before being surprised by the Patriots with an opportunity to fly on “AirKraft,” the Patriots official team plane.
“It was very much appreciated by our football program and our kids,” Fleming said. “It gave us the best opportunity to win, and we dropped the ball. Great amount of appreciation for what the Patriots and Mr. Kraft did for us, but we didn’t take advantage of that opportunity and Towson had their way.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Rams from here. Rhody heads back on the road to take on fifth-ranked Villanova. The last time these teams met, Rhody escaped with a 40-37 win in overtime against the Wildcats in March.
“They are solid on all three levels, and it’s going to be an extremely tough out, ” Fleming said. “Just looking at their scores, they’ve been in some battles, and we hope we can get ourselves ready and have another battle down there in Villanova.”
Kick off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game can be streamed on FloFootball.