Andreas Jeninga/The Hoya Freshman defensive end Alex Buzbee takes down Towson sophomore quarterback Anthony Melzi, but not before Melzi manages to complete the throw in Saturday’s 27-6 loss.

The result might have been different had the Georgetown defense spent all 60 minutes on the field against Towson. Though the Hoyas held the Tigers to two offensive scores, Towson junior cornerback Davon Telp ran back two interceptions for touchdowns as the Tigers took a 27-6 victory over the Hoyas Saturday at Harbin Field.

For the second straight week, the Hoyas were unable to produce any substantial offense, earning a season-low 234 total yards. Senior strong safety Matt Fronczke was the only Georgetown player to light up the scoreboard, picking off Towson sophomore quarterback Anthony Melzi and taking it 52 yards to the house.

“Overall, I thought the defense played solid,” Fronczke said. “But if you don’t win you didn’t play good enough. It seems every week we have problems getting both sides of the ball to play together. One side plays well, the other side lets something up.”

Freshman defensive end Alex Buzbee contributed to Georgetown’s strong defensive effort, recording four tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble. He was selected yesterday as the Patriot League freshman of the week. Buzbee is second on the team with five sacks on the season.

The Tigers, too, had little offense, mounting just one drive late in the second half that gave them a 7-6 advantage they did not relinquish. The Hoya defense held Towson (5-5, 3-3 Patriot) to just 14 points, though senior tailback Matt Romeo pounded the defensive front for 185 yards and senior flanker Jason Galloway caught a 71-yard bomb. Other Tiger players added just 57 total offensive yards.

The defensive battle did not surprise Georgetown head coach Bob Benson.

“Pretty much the game went the way we thought it would,” he said. “We didn’t think it would be high-scoring. We had no false sense of reality that we would score 30 or 40 points.”

Georgetown was hampered by injuries up front, particularly to senior left tackle Ty Hollister. The offensive line allowed five sacks on junior quarterback Drew Crawford, who played most of the game, completing 11-of-24 for 139 yards.

Freshman Alondzo Turner had little success on his few opportunities against the Towson defensive front, which held the Hoyas under 100 yards on the ground. Junior John Sims led the team in rushing with 42 yards.

The Hoyas’ air game suffered as senior wide receiver Luke cArdle missed most of the second half. McArdle came into the game bruised up but further aggravated his shoulder after getting hit hard by sophomore Neil Anderson on a kickoff return late in the second quarter.

In the end, it was the inability of the offense to make good on the opportunities provided by the defense that cost Georgetown the game.

“Going into this game, we just needed more confidence in ourselves,” Crawford said. “We didn’t do anything early, and that really put us in a hole – even despite the close score. It was almost like we were down by more than we really were.”

Fronczke opened the scoring with his interception return midway through the first quarter, though sophomore Michael Gillman missed the extra point attempt. Georgetown was poised to widen its lead after junior defensive back Byron Anderson got another interception on Towson’s next drive. Sophomore running back Marcus Slayton picked up a first down, but Crawford was sacked and then had two incompletions, forcing freshman Keith Allan to punt it away.

Junior free safety Brian Fitzpatrick picked off Crawford on the Hoyas’ next possession, but freshman Andrae Brown could not move the ball. A 43-yard field goal attempt by freshman Stephan Toth fell short.

On the next play, McArdle drew a pass interference call but Georgetown still could not produce any offense.

The Tigers’ last drive of the first half was the best offensive display of the half for either team, as Romeo led the team and scored from four yards out to cap off a 14-play, 55-yard drive.

With 1:34 left on the clock, Crawford responded with two 30-plus yard passes, one to senior Walter Bowser and another to McArdle to put the Hoyas at the one. With no time outs left, Turner tried to lunge forward for the touchdown but was denied by the Towson defensive front. Gillman’s 18-yard attempt with five seconds left was blocked, leaving Georgetown down by one at the half.

Opening the second half with the ball, Georgetown got to midfield before Crawford mishandled the snap and Towson senior linebacker Steve Hessler dove on the football. Toth did not convert this turnover into points either, as his 26-yard try sailed wide right.

The Hoyas’ inability to eat up the clock on offense finally cost them early in the fourth, as their defense was fooled by a fleaflicker. Romeo received the handoff and pitched the ball back to Melzi, who found Galloway deep. Galloway had beaten the Georgetown coverage and ran it into the end zone for an easy six. Towson took a 14-6 lead.

Telp later cemented that margin with his two interception return touchdowns in the final 2:10. One return, for 95 yards, set a new Tiger record.

The victory was Towson’s first on the road against a divisional opponent in six contests. It was the Tigers’ last conference match on the road before they depart the Patriot League for the Atlantic-10 next year.

The Hoyas’ third consecutive loss eliminates the chance for a .500 record on the season.

“The last two losses have thrown us off our rhythm,” Crawford said. “Both times, the offense let the whole team down.”

As the season winds down, Georgetown will look not just to its offense to salvage the remaining matches, but its special teams – which missed a field goal and an extra point Saturday after a perfect performance at Fordham.

“For the last two weeks, we’re going to have to put it all together,” Fronczke said. “The seniors especially are going to have to step up. We want to go out on a winning note.”

The Hoyas (3-7, 1-5 Patriot) play their last home game next Saturday against Davidson (3-7, 2-4 Pioneer). Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m.