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          Villanova edges Towson 52-45 in overtime thriller

          Sep 22, 2019
          • Associated Press

          TOWSON, Md. -- Daniel Smith raced into the end zone on a bootleg from the 2 and Villanova edged Towson 52-45 in overtime in a game where two teams, unbeaten and ranked in the FCS top 20, traded score for score Saturday night.

          Towson, ranked No. 5 in the STATS FCS Top 25, rallied for a 45-42 lead after Aiden O'Neill's 34-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining. But 18th-ranked Villanova (4-0, 1-0 Colonial Athletic Association), starting at its own 7, forced overtime when Drew Kresge kicked a 45-yard answering field goal with 10 seconds left.

          Towson won the coin toss and elected to play defense in OT. Justin Covington tore 23 yards to the 2 to begin overtime and Smith scored on the next play. Covington gained 194 yards and has rushed for more than 100 yards in every game this season.

          Towson (3-1, 1-1) was unable to answer as Tom Flacco threw incomplete on fourth-and-1 from the 7.

          Smith passed for 279 yards and four touchdowns. He was picked off twice, including when Towson's Robert Heyward caught a deflected short pass and returned it 49 yards for a score that lifted Towson into a 42-42 tie.

          Flacco threw for 304 yards and a TD, ran 110 yards and another score. Yeedee Thaenrat picked up 32 yards on 10 carries, three of them for touchdowns.

          The teams combined for 1,044 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns.