Tigers Make Pirates Walk the Plank on Senior Day
This article is a little long overdue. With all the holidays and being out in the woods I haven’t had much time for this. The 2022-2023 Towson Football season is over. Although it was not what the Tigers had hoped for, they ended it on a high note. They finished the season on a 4 game win streak after losing 5 in a row. This Towson team has come a long way from being blown out in Morgantown, to struggling to find any rhythm on offense and enduring the pain of losing week after week. Instead of laying down and giving up, they fought, they never quit, they won. The Tigers looked like a whole new team on both sides of the ball and it showed during their win streak.
Senior day is a celebration of the guys who have left their mark on the program. Whether they be guys who have played all 4 years or are transfers, they deserve to be celebrated. Not many guys go on to keep playing, so this is pretty much their last ride. The Tigers took on the Hampton Pirates to close out the season, and they did it in dominating fashion.
Towson earned a big 27-7 victory, which brought their record to 6-5 and 4-4 in conference play. Tyrell Pigrome threw for only 127 yards on 12 completions and a touchdown. Pigrome did throw an INT, but it did not matter much in the long run. Isaiah Perkins and Darain Street accounted for both of Towson’s receiving touchdowns on the day. Perkins only had 2 catches but cashed it in from 14 yards out for a touchdown. Street had 4 catches for 35 yards and a touchdown.
The rushing attack seemed to be a little more quiet, as Joachim Bangda, Tyrell Pigrome, and Devin Matthews led the charge. Those 3 combined for 175 yards but they did not score on the ground. Pigrome’s ability to run has made the Tigers offense more effective and given them an edge over the course of the season.
Defensively, The Tigers were led by Ryan Kearney with 7 total tackles. They got 4 sacks from 4 different guys: Vinnie Shaffer, Bryce Lauer and Oly Okombi and half sacks for Tamar Reece and Jesus Gibbs. Ubayd Steed and Robert Javier made big plays in the secondary as Steed had 2 INT’s and Javier had a pick 6. Javier also locked it down today with 5 pass break ups
Hampton had a tough day on both sides of the ball. Malcolm Mays threw for 119 yards and a touchdown, but added 3 INT’s, which killed the Pirates in the long run. Sofian Massoud came in and completed 6/7 for 53 but was sacked 3 times. Their run game was held to just 100 yards and most of it came between Darren Butts, Elijah Burns and Malcolm Mays. Jadakis Bonds caught the lone touchdown for the Pirates and finished the day with 68 yards. Defensively, Ali Shockley led all players in tackles with 11 and an INT. KeShaun Moore added a sack for the Pirates defense.
It was an up and down year but the Tigers finished off strong. Hopefully the Tigers can improve upon their record next year. This is James Judson, signing off. We will see you guys in August for the season preview. GOOOO TIGERS!