Towson shocks ODU, wins in final minutes

NORFOLK

Old Dominion thought it had the Tigers by the tail, but the Monarchs let Towson slip from their grasp Saturday at Foreman Field.

Facing fourth and 29 from his 37-yard line, Towson quarterback Grant Enders scrambled out of the pocket to his right and somehow saw Tom Ryan racing across the field near the first-down stick.

Enders fired a pass and Ryan somehow out-leaped ODU safety Carvin Powell to catch the ball.

Ryan then somehow escaped four Monarchs defenders and started running down the Towson sideline.

And somehow, he dragged ODU defensive back Paul Morant into the end zone with 1:07 remaining as Morant tried to strip the ball from him the last 10 yards.

Somehow, the Monarchs lost a critical Colonial Athletic Association game that the 19,818 on hand thought was in the bag.

"I simply should have batted the ball down and instead I went for the interception," Powell said. "As it goes, their quarterback throws a Top 10 ESPN play."

And like that, Towson (5-1, 3-0 CAA) ran off the field with a 39-35 victory that was as improbable as it was gut-wrenching.

The Tigers, ranked No. 17 in the Football Championship Subdivision, scored twice in the last 3:13 as No. 18 ODU (5-2, 2-2) let a 34-25 lead get away.

"I told the kids in the locker room that there's nothing we can do about that scoreboard out there," ODU coach Bobby Wilder said. "We just can't let it affect tomorrow. We need to put it behind us and get ready to play at Villanova.

"... We're still in great shape and have great things ahead of us."

After watching Towson run crazy early - Terrance West scored on runs of 54 and 47 yards in the first half - then watching ODU battle back behind the deft passing of Taylor Heinicke - he threw for 360 yards - it appeared late in the third quarter that ODU had this one in hand after three spectacular, consecutive plays.

With ODU leading 28-24, Towson was driving downfield when Powell picked off an Enders pass at the goal line.

On the next play, Heinicke scrambled out of the left side of the pocket, found Nick Mayers running down the left sideline and got him the ball.

Mayers raced downfield, but fumbled at the 3. The ball bounced into the end zone where teammate Prentice Gill fell on it before it scooted out of the end zone. Just like that, ODU led 35-24.

The Monarchs then pulled off a successful onside kick and all the momentum seemed to be ODU blue.

Three plays later, Heinicke hit receiver Antonio Vaughan in the chest with what looked like a 40-yard touchdown pass. But Vaughan dropped it.

ODU stalled and punted, pinning the Tigers at the 2 on a Heinicke pooch punt.

At that point, there wasn't a fourth down that Towson coach Rob Ambrose wasn't going to go for.

"Anybody who knows me knows I'm a gambler," Ambrose said. "Two years ago, I was gambling with five cards with none of them face cards and none of them on suit. Now, I've got kings and aces."

Towson didn't score on its first fourth-quarter drive, but sure tried. ODU defensive back Aaron Evans snuffed out a pitchout to West on fourth and 3 from the ODU 8.

ODU did nothing with the ensuing drive, but a 62-yard punt by Jonathan Plisco flipped the field and Towson had to start again from its 25. This time, the Tigers hit paydirt when Enders scored on an 8-yard keeper with 3:13 remaining. They converted a 2-point conversion on a halfback pass from Leon Kinnard to Mike Evans and ODU's lead was 35-32.

Towson then recovered an onside kick as D.J. Soven hit a chip shot down the right sideline. ODU's Mitch Castleberry went up for the ball, but a Tigers player jarred the ball loose and Towson's Gerald Sheppard caught it.

Still, Towson's chances appeared bleak when ODU defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron sacked Enders with 1:50 left, bloodying his nose and knocking Enders out of the game for a play.

Backup QB Peter Athens was then sacked by J.J. Williams, setting up Towson's last-ditch effort. And after missing a play, Enders returned to the field.

Having to score, Heinicke was sacked twice as Towson rushed only three. On fourth and 12, he was picked off by Kenton Powell as he tried to hit Mayers downfield with 15 seconds left. The freshman's desperation pass was the first interception of his young career.

"I'm shocked," Heinicke said. "I thought we had this one in the bag. But anything can happen and the worst thing happened to us."

Rich Radford, (757) 446-2463, rich.radford@pilotonline.com