A&T still winless in CAA after loss at Towson

TOWSON, Md. — North Carolina A&T did achieve one thing in its loss to Towson.

"First and foremost, (we) didn't want to get shut out," A&T coach Vincent Brown said.

It took two Justin Fomby touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to avoid that shutout, but they weren't enough to prevent Towson from taking a 31-13 victory on Saturday.

Brown was so intent on ensuring his team didn't rest on one score - Fomby hit Cortez Lane with a 16-yard scoring pass with 7:47 to play - that he used two timeouts in the final 20 seconds to get another. Fomby responded with a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Antoine Bell with six seconds left.

"We've been struggling to score points all year, especially the past five or six weeks," Brown said. "So, with about eight or nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, I said, 'Hey, let's go with Fomby to try to get some points on the board.'

"We wanted another touchdown at the end to show we're going to keep fighting and keep trying to move the football to lay down a foundation for next week," he said.

A&T started freshman Braxton Thomas at quarterback. It was his fourth time playing this season, meaning that if he plays against Elon next week, he will officially go into the 2025 season as a sophomore instead of a redshirt freshman.

Thomas rushed for 42 yards, but he was sacked five times while throwing for just 47 yards on 5-for-16 passing. Fomby, a five-year veteran, will see his collegiate career end next weekend. He was 14 of 20 for 176 yards.

A&T (1-10, 0-7 CAA) still has one shutout staring it in the collective face. It hasn't won a game in the Coastal Athletic Conference in its two seasons in the league, and will need to defeat Elon in the season and home finale next weekend to correct that omission.

For Towson, Sean Brown threw for 251 yards and a touchdown.