Flash Points:

• SFU hosts Towson on Saturday at 7 p.m. to continue its non-conference schedule.
• SFU is 2-0 for the first time since 1975, while Towson is 1-1 after a 63-17 loss at Maryland last week.
• The game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row.
• The Red Flash led 28-10 at Towson last year, but the Tigers came out on top, 35-28.
• Towson returns All-American RB and Kick Returner Shane Simpson.

Towson | DeGol Field | 7 p.m. | NEC Front Row | Family Weekend | Youth Day | Sideline Cancer Day | TD Pledge Drive
 
Towson Notes | Two-Deep
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis football team resumes its non-conference schedule this Saturday as it welcomes Towson to DeGol Field for a 7 p.m. matchup.  The game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row, with Pat Farabaugh, play-by-play, and Jay Roberts, color analyst, on the call.
 
The Tigers are led by Head Coach Rob Ambrose, who has a 48-49 record in his ninth season at the helm.  Towson is coming off a 4-7 record in 2016, including 3-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association to finish ninth in the conference.  The Tigers return 14 starters, with five on offense and nine on defense.
 
Towson is 1-1 this season with a 10-0 win over Morgan State and a 63-17 loss at Maryland.  The Tigers gained 309 yards of total offense, including 210 passing and 99 rushing yards.  Freshman Ryan Stover completed 21-of-36 passes, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.  He also ran for 52 yards on 13 carries.  Sophomore Shane Simpson had 12 carries for 25 yards and seven catches for 53 yards.  Freshman Rodney Dorsey caught three passes for 56 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.  Fellow rookie Jabari Allen added a 14-yard touchdown reception. 
 
The Tigers allowed 534 total yards, including 367 rushing and 167 passing.  Towson had four tackles for loss and two sacks.  Linebacker Diondre Wallace tallied seven tackles, with four solo, and defensive back Monty Fenner made six stops.  Defensive back Justice Pettus-Dixon had three tackles and a pass breakup, while linebacker Robert Heyward had three stops and one for loss.  Defensive end Kanyia Anderson recorded three tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack and Tibo Debaillie added a sack.
 
Towson runs a pro-style offensive scheme.  They are currently averaging 13.5 points per game, ranking 88th in the FCS, and 205.5 total yards, ranking 108th in the nation.  Towson is 91st in the FCS in passing yards per game (147.5) and 105th in rushing offense (58.0). 
 
Through the first two games, junior Morgan Mahalak and freshman Ryan Stover have split time at quarterback.  Mahalak, a six-foot-three transfer from Oregon, has completed 8-of-19 passes for 41 yards and three interceptions this season.  Stover, six-foot-four, has thrown for 254 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while completing 26-of-48 passes.  He has rushed for 41 yards on 16 carries.
 
Sophomore running back Shane Simpson, the 2016 CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-American, ran for 784 yards and three touchdowns last year.  This season, Simpson, five-foot-nine, 185 pounds, has 46 yards and a score on 21 carries and is Towson's leading receiver with 11 catches for 67 yards.  Senior CJ Williams, six-foot, 215 pounds, and freshman Adrian Platt, five-foot-seven, 187 pounds, rotate in at running back.   
 
Junior Jabari Greenwood, a six-foot-three transfer from Kentucky, leads the receiving corps.  Greenwood has six catches for 54 yards.  Freshman Rodney Dorsey, five-foot-nine, has four catches for 55 yards, while sophomore Shane Leatherbury, 5-foot-10, has three receptions for 22 yards.  Tight end Joe Green, a six-foot-two junior, has one catch for 12 yards.
 
The Towson offensive line features a redshirt senior, two redshirt juniors, a redshirt sophomore and a redshirt freshman.  The Tigers only returned one experienced starter from the 2016 season.  Senior left tackle Antonio Harris has made 24 career starts to lead the group.  He moved from left guard to left tackle for this season.  The rest of the group, freshman left guard Nico Russilillo, sophomore center Nick Carnesale, junior right guard Zane Ventimiglia and junior right tackle Matt Kauffman each have two starts after moving into bigger roles this season.
 
The Tigers defense, a 4-3 scheme, ranks 67th in the FCS in scoring defense (31.5) and 60th in the FCS in total defense (384.0).  Towson is 30th in the nation in pass defense (176.0) and 88th in rushing defense (208.0).  The Tigers have forced four turnovers, including three interceptions, and recorded five sacks. 
 
Senior defensive end Kanyia Anderson leads the line with seven tackles, including 4.5 for loss and two sacks.  Fellow end Malik Tyne, a sophomore, has three tackles, all for loss, and a pass breakup.  Senior tackle Clifton Jones has nine tackles, four solo, and junior Zain Harps Upshur has six stops, with half a tackle for loss.  Freshman Bryce Carter, seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble, and senior D'Sean Cummings, two tackles and half a sack, provide depth at the end spots.
 
Junior linebacker Diondre Wallace leads the team with 15 tackles, including 11 solo and one for loss, to anchor the unit.  On the outside, sophomore Keon Paye has eight stops, with four solo and two for loss, while sophomore Robert Heyward has eight tackles, with seven solo and two for loss.  Junior Chris Tedder, six tackles, and freshman Christian Johnson, four stops, also rotate in at linebacker.
 
Junior Monty Fenner leads the secondary with 11 tackles, eight solo, a pass breakup and an interception, which he returned 32 yards.  Sophomore Justice Pettus-Dixon has 11 stops, 10 solo, and two pass breakups, while junior Mitch Boals has nine tackles, including seven solo.  Junior Lyrics Klugh has recorded four tackles, all solo, and an interception.  Senior Tyron McDade is a key part of the depth in the secondary with six tackles and a pick.
 
Sophomore kicker Aidan O'Neill was a Freshman All-American last season, hitting 18-of-22 field goal attempts.  He is two-of-three this season with makes of 42 and 49 yards.  O'Neill is three-of-three on extra points.  Junior punter Pat Toomey is averaging 37.5 yards per kick, with a long of 65 yards.  Simpson was a Third Team All-American as a kick returner last year, averaging 27 yards per return.  This year, Simpson is averaging 20 yards per return.  Klugh also handles return duties, with 17.3 yards per kick return.
 
Saint Francis trails the all-time series, 5-0, against Towson.  Last season at Towson, the Red Flash jumped out to a 28-10 lead late in the second quarter.  However, the Tigers scored the final 25 points of the game, including a go-ahead touchdown with 2:21 left, for a 35-28 win.  SFU also looks for its first win against a CAA opponent.