Well, that could have been very different. Towson University is in the national DII semifinals, after beating Rowan, but it almost frittered away in the final moments, as Rowan scored two late tries to make it 44-41.

Towson in yellow, Rowan in brown. Colleen McCloskey photos. Click on each image to enlarge.

“I have to say I have never been a part of a game like the one we played yesterday,” said Towson Co-Head Coach Don Stone. “It was like we - both teams - played two different games. The weather definitely played a role in the outcome of the game; it was cold with gusty winds all day long.  Fortunately, we had the wind at our back in the first half and we played the first 40 minutes in the Rowan half of the field by kicking effectively and keeping them pinned deep. It was literally impossible to kick effectively with the gusting winds in your face, which is why we posted 27 points in the first half.”

But keeping the ball in hand, Towson was able to score three times in the second period. Scrumhalf Eric Sweeney was the difference in the game in that he he hit all three conversion and two penalties in the first half, and added one more conversion in the second despite the wind.

But you have to give Rowan credit. They realized that the wind was doing and attacked the Towson deep three in the second half.

“We literally had to change our defense because Rowan was capitalizing on our kick and the wind,” said Stone. “We played possession ball for the last 20 minutes which lead to our last two scores.” 

Banged up from a tough game against Coast Guard the day before, Towson needed to empty their bench to hold on as players just ran out of energy. But it was enough. 

Vince Francescangeli, John Schuberth, and Jason Laraia all scored tries while Eric Sweeney converted all three and added two penalties for a 27-5 Towson lead at halftime. But then Rowan scored four tries to take a 29-27 lead thank in large part to the wind. Sweeney scored on a quick-tap to put his team back on top - you notice they started tapping penalties because kicking for points or for touch against the wind was a waste of time. Will Ngonga's try made it 37-29. Nick DiPietro scored after that to make it 44-29, with Sweeney getting the conversion. 

The game of two halves ended in Towson’s favor, with Sweeney’s first-half goalkicking a key part of it. But in the end, it took a full squad effort for Towson to make it through.

“If we’d had one more kickoff we felt we would have scored, as we had the momentum,” said Rowan co-captain JC Carr. “We wholeheartedly believe that with one more kickoff we would have won. We can’t blame it on that, because in the first half flat out just didn’t play like us. We had major breakdowns on defense and far too many penalties.”

Carr said he and co-captains Kris Raso, John Edler, and Larry Quinn all agreed that the Rowan players left it all out on the field, especially in the second half.

“Maybe if we’d played the way we did in the second half all through the game the outcome would have been different,” said Carr. “I give Towson a tremendous amount of credit. They are a great team.