TOWSON, Md. — With a 4-6 record eliminating any chance of playoff football, the Towson Tigers are focused on finishing the season on a positive note, hoping to reach .500 with a 6-6 record. Head coach Pete Shinnick says his team remains highly motivated despite falling short of preseason expectations.
Towson Tigers football team stays motivated despite missing playoffs
"We all had big dreams. We all had big desires at the beginning of this season, obviously those aren't going to happen, but you still got 2 games left in the game of football," Shinnick said. "I mean, you're not guaranteed much. You never know when it's gonna be your last one."
For the seniors, closing the season strong is what's keeping them connected to the team's mission.
"Even though we haven't got that many wins as we wanted to and stuff like that and it isn't going like, playoff like, but like I mean as far as like culture and family that's what's keeping the team going," said Tigers linebacker CJ McClendon.
Another senior emphasized the importance of team unity in these final games.
"I think, you know, staying together, being locked in for the last two and trying to finish out strong is kind of the best thing we can do and the guys that I'm with I've been playing with for a long time," Tigers linebacker Dan Volpe said. "I think they definitely helped me stay locked in throughout the whole season and definitely for these last two games. I think we've got a very solid room up front."
The Tigers are coming off a tough 28-10 loss against a top-10 Villanova team. In their final two games against Albany on the road and at home against Campbell, they'll have to overcome one of their biggest hurdles all year and put together 60 full minutes of complete and consistent football.
"I always play till the clock says zero and just go out there with passion," said McClendon. "It don't matter. Like we had to meet them boys on the concrete, so it's like we gotta get it on. We gotta get it on. So it's like, so we gotta go out there and play and do what we do best."
Coach Shinnick acknowledges the team has been close but not quite there this season.
"We're close but not enough, you know what I mean? And so, we just gotta have a little more. And so I gotta find a way to get that out of them. I gotta find a way to keep searching for the answer," Shinnick said.
The seniors are determined to end their careers on a high note.
"I think the best thing we can do right now is just go out with the banks and me and the rest of the seniors out on a high note and just kind of play our great football for the next two games and that's really all we can do," Volpe said.
The Tigers will face Albany on Saturday with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
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