BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 16, 2023) — Morgan State came out sluggish against crosstown rival Towson in the Battle for Greater Baltimore. The Tigers took advantage by scoring the game's first 20 points en route to a 20-10 victory at Hughes Stadium before an announced crowd of 9,867.
The win marked the first win for Towson head coach Pete Shinnick as the Tigers' avoided their first 0-3 start since 1991.
Morgan has dropped the last six games against Towson who increased its series lead against the Bears to 22-6, and has now won 10 of the last 11 meetings. The last time Morgan defeated Towson was on Sept. 26, 2009 when they posted a 12-9 home victory.
Redshirt junior quarterback Nathan Kent completed 18 of 34 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Morgan's offense was shutout in the first half. Duce Taylor, who started at quarterback for the Bears, threw a pair of interceptions to Towson's cornerback Robert Javier in the first half and was picked off by safety Dorian Davis in the second half.
Taylor finished the game completing 9 of 24 for 96 yards for Morgan, which was playing in its home opener.
The Tigers scored on their second possession of the ballgame. Kent engineered an eight play, 85 yard drive, capped by his 3-yard touchdown pass top Da'Kendall James. James led all receivers with six catches for 53 yards.
On the Bears ensuing drive, Taylor tried to get the ball to wideout Tyler Wilkins, but he was picked off by Javier at Morgan's 48. Towson capitalized on the turnover in seven plays when Kent took a QB-keeper 10-yards for a score to extend the Tigers' lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Morgan's offense went three-and-out on their next possession, and on fourth down, freshman punter Shane Messenger's punt was blocked by Christopher Watkins, and Towson took over at Morgan's 31. The Bears's defense stiffened and held the Tigers to a 43-yard field goal by Keegan Vaughan to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead.
Just before halftime, Taylor was picked off again by Javier, this time leading to a 40-yard field goal to give Towson a 20-0 lead at the intermission.
It marked the first time the Bears had been shutout in a first half since Nov. 19, 2022 against Howard (14-0).
The teams played to a stalemate throughout third quarter, punctuated by a big play on special teams by the Bears. Vaughn setup for a 23-yard field goal attempt, but had the kick blocked by defensive end Nana Asante.
Morgan finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when junior kicker Beckett Leary connected on a 29-yard field goal with 5:11 remaining.
The Bears followed it up with another fantastic play by their special teams unit. Senior free safety Jordan Toles raced got a hand up and blocked a 39-yard field goal attempt by Keegan Vaughn, and then tracked down the loose football and returned it 53 yards for a score.
"We didn't do anything offensive," said Morgan coach Damon Wilson. " We didn't move the ball, we still had turnovers. On defense, we started off slow and gave them too much success early. But offensively, we didn't come to play today."
Bear Notes
▪️Towson earned 352 yards of total offense to Morgan's 285 (season high).
▪️Morgan had four turnovers on three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
▪️Morgan recorded two blocked kicks, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
▪️Morgan's defense shutout the Tigers in the second half.
▪️Morgan had a season-high 10 penalties for 110 yards.
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
