Tag Archives: Chris Whitney

Villanova Football 2011: Wildcats Wild Outlook

August 15, 2011 Independent Philly

For the past several years, the Villanova football team, coached by Andy Talley, has provided its fans with thrills galore, memorable moments (including foremost, the 2009 National Championship), and an expectation that the Wildcats will continue to play and excel at a very high level.

Gone however are many of the mainstays of the past three glorious years. Matt Szczur is now playing baseball in the Chicago Cubs farm system, and Ben Ijalana, the 2nd round pick of the Indianapolis Colts, is busy preparing for his rookie season in the NFL. Several other ex-Wildcats are also competing for jobs in the NFL, including Brant Clouser (offensive guard) with the NY Giants, Thomas Weaver (nose tackle) with the Washington Redskins, John Dempsey (safety) with the St. Louis Rams, and until recently, Terence Thomas (linebacker) with the Philadelphia Eagles. Finally, Chris Whitney (quarterback) has been reported to be working out for several NFL teams in the hopes of landing a free agent contract.

Today Coach Talley, and several key returning players, met with the media to discuss the upcoming 2011 season.

Coach Talley pointed out the obvious: that Villanova has graduated many of the shining stars of the last three years. Consequently, he will be relying on younger and less experienced players in 2011. However, Coach Talley believes he has a good group of returning players who can continue Villanova’s winning ways. Among the key returnees are Norman White, senior wide receiver, who played a big role in last year’s success; James Pitts, senior cornerback, who has been a big part of the Wildcats defense the past few seasons, and Eric Loper (senior safety).

When asked what he would consider a successful year this coming season, the Coach replied that winning seven games would be a successful year. When asked if redshirt freshman quarterback, Dustin Thomas was ready to take over for Chris Whitney, Talley said, “We are going to find that out when we play Temple”. Talley did say he thought Thomas (who put up stellar numbers in southern New Jersey as a high school quarterback) has the skills and temperament to succeed.

Thomas does not feel daunted about taking over at Quarterback for Whitney. He said his high school team played a similar style of offense and that was one of the reasons he chose Villanova. He said he is excited about the upcoming season and likes the idea of the Wildcats being the underdog.

Talley also singled out two freshman who he thinks can help the Wildcats right away: Dillon Lucas, a linebacker, and Kyle Wallace, an offensive lineman.

Talley also stated that any potential change to the Big East is on hold at the time. However, he and his staff are excited about the the possible opportunity, if, and when, it presents itself.

After answering questions from the media, and waiting out a brief, but intense thunderstorm, the 2011 Wildcats took to the playing field to practice for the upcoming season. Their season kicks off against Temple on September 1st at Lincoln Financial Field when the two teams vie for the Mayor’s Cup. Temple held on for a narrow victory last season and in 2009, Villanova won the game with the Owls by three points.

To view additional photos from today’s practice as well as video interview segments with Andy Talley, Norman White, and Dustin Thomas…

CLICK HERE!

Sports

Villanova 2011 Football Schedule Announced, Big East Decision D-Day Approaches

March 23, 2011 Independent Philly

April 12th will mark the day of the most significant and highly anticipated announcement in the history of Villanova University athletics. Either Villanova will announce that they have accepted a bid to move up and play football in the Big East, or the will choose to remain in the CAA and continue to play FCS games. The move will not just affect the football team but the basketball team, the rest of the athletic teams, and the University itself.

If the Wildcats decide to move up they will be solidifying their spot in the Big East for basketball as well as football. It has been speculated that the Big East may eventually drop the schools that don’t play football on the top-level (such as Georgetown, St. John’s, Villanova, etc) and those schools would be left to find a new conference to play in.

The decision is not so simple. Villanova Stadium currently is not large enough for Big East football and therefore games (at least for the first few seasons) would have to be played in Chester at the home of the Philadelphia Union. It is then speculated that when Temple’s contract with Lincoln Financial Field is up, that Villanova could play their home games in South Philly.

There is also a large cost financially to moving up in football and it is unclear whether donors will step up to shoulder the brunt of these expenses.

Fans, faculty, alumni, and students all stand divided on what would be best for Villanova. Personally we would love to see them move up to Big East football and make sure that the rivalries they have created in basketball will remain intact. It would also be wonderful to see a program that finally got over the hump in 2009 and won the FCS title to take on a new challenge with different opponents.

As we all await the landmark decision of April 12th, one thing is for certain today; we know who Villanova will be competing against in the upcoming 2011 football season.

The Wildcats and head coach Andy Talley return 23 letter-men and nine starters from last year’s team that went 9-5 overall and advanced to the national semifinals for the second straight year although it is hard to imagine how they will replace players like Chris Whitney, Aaron Ball, and Matt Szczur.

The season will kickoff on Thursday, September 1, with the third annual Mayor’s Cup game against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. This is the third of four straight openers versus the Owls. The Wildcats won the inaugural Mayor’s Cup battle over Temple with a thrilling 27-24 victory in 2009, while the Owls tallied a 31-24 win last year.

The Wildcats will again take on cross-town Big 5 rival Penn at historic Franklin Field and as always will finish their season against their biggest rival Delaware on the Main Line. Last year the Wildcats beat Delaware (the Blue Hens were ranked #1 at the time) on the road in the final game to sneak into the FCS playoffs where they again made a deep run.

Normally Peaceful Quakers Using a Shotgun (formation)

The complete schedule is listed below:

2011 VILLANOVA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:

DATE: OPPONENT: LOCATION:

Sept. 1 Temple Philadelphia, Pa.

Sept. 10 Towson Towson, Md.

Sept. 17 Monmouth Villanova, Pa.

Sept. 24 Penn Philadelphia, Pa.

Oct. 1 William & Mary Villanova, Pa.

Oct. 8 New Hampshire Durham, N.H.

Oct. 15 James Madison Harrisonburg, Va.

Oct. 22 Old Dominion Villanova, Pa.

Oct. 29 Maine Villanova, Pa.

Nov. 5 Massachusetts Amherst, Mass

Nov. 19 Delaware Villanova, Pa.

Sports

Villanova Loses Battle of the Wildcats to UNH and Puts Playoff Hopes in Jeopardy

November 13, 2010 Independent Philly

Villanova Wildcats: Defending FCS Champions

The Wildcats of Villanova took on the Wildcats of the University of New Hampshire in a crucial Colonial Athletic Association game on Saturday, with playoff implications riding on the outcome, both coaches believing that seven wins will be necessary to make the playoffs. Villanova, coached by Andy Talley, began the day with an overall record of 6 -3 (4-2 in the CAA). UNH, coached by Sean McDonnell, started the day 5 -4 (3 -3 in the CAA). Ninth ranked Villanova was seeking its 16th consecutive home win.

Prior to the game, the senior members of the Villanova team, many of whom played a large role in helping the Cats win the 2009 FCS Championship, were honored in a pre-game ceremony.

For the seventh consecutive game, Villanova was without the services of star player Matt Szczur, who is recovering from an ankle injury.

On a day when Villanova dominated the time-of- possession and statistically outgained its rival, it could not draw even with University of New Hampshire at the end of the game. UNH, behind the outstanding running of Dontra Peters (12 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown), and the clutch passing of QB R.J. Toman (11- 22-for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns) beat Villanova 31 -24, in a wild game that was not finally decided until the final 13 seconds when QB Chris Whitney was sacked and fumbled at the UNH 9 yardline. Cody Muller recovered for UNH to put an end to the drama.

Villanova contolled the ball for slightly over 38 minutes, netting 450 yards on a staggering 92 offensive plays. By contrast, the UNH Wildcats had the ball for 21 minutes and 55 seconds, and gained 368 yards net on 59 plays.Villanova had 32 firstdowns compared to 15 for UNH.

Villanova began the game in ragged fashion with Whitney fumbling the ball on the first play from scrimmage. UNH recovered at the Nova 24 yardline. UNH did not take advantage of the great field position and had to punt. New Hampshire did take the lead on its next possession when Peters scampered 51 yards for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Angelo Babbaro fumbled and once again UNH pounced on the ball, this time at the VU 16 yardline. Mike Perkins was credited with the recovery . Five plays later A.J. DeLago kicked a 22 yard field goal to make it 10 -0 in favor of the visitors.

Villanova finally got some momentum going late in the first quarter and began a march covering 86 yards in 17 plays that ended with a 10 yard touchdown run by Babbaro at the 10:40 mark of the 2nd quarter. Mark Hamilton kicked the extra point to make it 10-7. UNH promptly drove down the field in 7 plays covering 64 yards and scored on a 10 yard run by Toman. The home team returned the favor and scored on its next possession on a 29 yard field goal by Mark Hamilton, the first of his career.

Thirteen seconds later, UNH scored again on a bomb from Toman to Joey Orlando covering 56 yards.Villanova closed out the scoring in the 1st half driving 60 yards in 6 plays with Whitney running it in from the 5 yard line. The half ended with UNH holding on to its lead 24-17.

The second half began promisingly for Villanova when Martel Moody picked off a Toman pass and returned it 31 yards into UNH territory. A penalty on the interception against Villanova set them back to the UNH 49 yardline. However, the Cats failed to capitalize on the opportunity and Hamilton’s 40 yard field goal try was blocked by UNH’s Steve Young. UNH then boosted its lead to 31-17 when Toman threw a 6 yard pass to Terrance Fox for a touchdown.

Villanova scored early in the final quarter on a 2 yard run by Whitney, to make it a 31-24 game.Villanova teased the home crowd by driving deep into UNH territory several times in the fourth quarter but could not score. Consequently, the visitors were able to breath a sigh of relief when Whitney’s fumble in the final seconds cost Villanova a last minute opportunity to send the game into overtime.

On the day, Whitney, the senior quarterback, ran for 88 yards on 24 carries and 2 touchdowns. Aaron Ball, the senior running back, contributed 82 yards on 19 carries, and Babbaro, also a senior, gained 43 yards and a touchdown on 6 carries. Norman White lead the Cats with 6 receptions for 67 yards , Dorian Wells caught 5 passes for 78 yards. Whitney threw 36 passes, completing 16 for 192 yards. The leading defenders for Villanova were Marquis Kirkland, the senior linebacker, with 10 tackles and a sack. Antoine Lewis, the defensive lineman, had 9 tackles and a sack.

For Villanova, it all comes down to next week’s match up, their last of the season, in Newark, Delaware against the Blue Hens. If the Wildcats are victorious, the possibility of making the playoffs and defending its FCS championship is still alive. A loss will end the Cats season.

Sports

Villanova vs. Richmond: Cats Squash Spiders in Halloween Weekend Contest

October 30, 2010 Independent Philly

The 5^th ranked Villanova Wildcats, coached by Andy Talley, entertained the 14^th ranked Spiders of Richmond, coached by first year Head Coach Latrell Scott, in a key Colonial Athletic Conference game on Saturday. The Cats were 3-1 in the CAA coming into the game while the Spiders had a 2-2 mark in league play. Overall Villanova leads the series with Richmond 20-9.

The Wildcats came into the game riding a 14 game home winning streak. Nova last lost at home on October 25, 2008 when James Madison completed a hail-mary pass on the final play of the game to win 23-19.

Led by senior QB Chris Whitney, Villanova got on the board with just under six minutes to go in the 1st quarter, scoring on a 45 yard touchdown run by Whitney. The drive covered 87 yards in 10 plays. Whitney’s 45 yard run matched the longest of his career. Nick Yako converted the extra point to make it 7-0 Villanova.

Nova scored again on its next drive on a 5 yard pass from Whitney to Norman White. It was the fifth straight game in which White has caught a touchdown pass. The highlight of the drive was a 36 yard run by Whitney which put him over the 100 yard rushing mark in the first quarter (5 carries for 103 yards).

Richmond then mounted a drive from their own 30 to the Villanova 1 yard line but failed to score on four straight plays. On fourth down Marquis Kirkland and Eric Loper stuffed Richmond RB Tyler Kirchoff to force a turnover on downs.

The Wildcats then extended their lead to 21-0 at the 2:51 mark of the 2^nd quarter on a 28 yard burst by Aaron Ball. The drive was set up by an interception from Nova cornerback James Pitts.

Whitney ended the first half with over 100 yards rushing and completed 6 of 11 passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.

In the 3^rd quarter, Richmond scored on a 1 yard plunge by Kendall Gaskins. The touchdown was set up by a 32 yard completion from QB (and punter) Nick Hicks to Tremayne Graham. The drive covered 58 yards in 6 plays.

Villanova failed to gain a 1^st down on its first four possessions of the 2^nd half. The Wildcats regained the ball when Rakim Cox batted down a pass behind the line of scrimmage; John Dempsey recovered the ball and ran it back to the Richmond 12 yard line.

: Montel White Passing

Several plays later, Whitney threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Farmer to put the Wildcats up 28-7 which proved to be the final score.

Villanova’s defense forced four turnovers (two interceptions: one by James Pitts and one by Eric Loper and two fumble recoveries: one by Marquis Kirkland and the other by John Dempsey). In addition, the defense held Richmond to only 59 yards rushing on 40 carries.

For the triumphant Wildcats, senior Chris Whitney led the way with 116 yards rushing on 11 carries. Whitney also passed for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 9 completions in 16 attempts. Aaron Ball and Angelo Babbaro each rushed for 40 yards. Norman White caught 3 passes for 17 yards and one touchdown and Ball caught two passes for 37 yards. For Richmond, backup QB Nick Hicks completed 8 of 17 for 117 yards. Tre Gray had five receptions for 62 yards.

Once again, Matt Szczur did not suit up for the Wildcats.

Next up for Villanova is an away game At Rhode Island on November 6th.

In other local action, both Temple & Penn won on Saturday. Temple beat Akron for their second shutout victory in a row, and Penn defeated Brown.

Please view our photo gallery slideshow below:

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Sports

Villanova Dukes It Out With James Madison To Earn The Wildcats A 14-7 Victory

October 23, 2010 Independent Philly

On a picture-perfect day for football, the Villanova Wildcats hosted the Dukes of James Madison in a Colonial Athletic league homecoming contest on the Main Line. The Wildcats began the day with a record of 4- 2 after last week’s convincing win over the Maine Black Bears.

The Dukes of James Madison came into the game with an identical 4 -2 record. Coached by Mickey Matthews, the Dukes started out their season 3- 0, including a 21 – 16 win over nationally ranked Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Since then, the Dukes have posted a win over Towson and lost to league rivals Delaware (13- 10) and last weekend, to New Hampshire (28 -14). Matthews is the winningest coach in JMU history, and led the Dukes to an NCAA championship in 2004.

After a scoreless first period , Villanova got on the scoreboard by driving 80 yards in 15 plays for a touchdown, which came on a 7 yard pass from Chris Whitney to Norman White. Nick Yako converted to make it 7 -0 . The drive featured two fourth down conversions. The first came on a fake punt by Dom Scarnecchia on 4th & 9 at mid-field. Scarnecchia scampered 23 yards for a first down to the JMU 27. Later in the drive , Whitney hit White on a 4th & 8 pass for a 13 yard gain to the JMU 12 yard line.

A few minutes later, with 1:19 to go in the half, the Cats scored again on a 54 yard pass play from Whitney to Mikey Reynolds. The drive covered 71 yards in 4 plays.

Whitney finished the first half completing 13 of 17 pass attempts for 159 yards and the 2 touchdowns. White caught 7 passes for 73 yards and Reynolds caught 3 for 75 yards. Both teams missed a field goal in the first half which ended with the Cats on top 14-0.

JMU came out in the second half and scored its lone touchdown on its first possession . The score came via a 2 yard run by Kavon Seaton. The Dukes drive took 9 plays to cover 73 yards. JMU totally dominated the third quarter holding onto the ball for 12 minutes; Villanova had the ball for only 6 plays during the third quarter.

QB Chris Whitney Scrambling Away From Defenders

In the 4th quarter Villanova threatened, driving 67 yards from their 28 yard line to the JMU 10 yard line. However Nick Yako missed for a second time on a 23 yard field goal try (wide left). Nova had another drive late in the fourth quarter to the JMU 2 yard line, but a Whitney fumble on 4th down and 1 was recovered by JMU.

On its last drive JMU drove into Villanova territory and as time expired Drew Dudzik’s pass was intercepted by James Pitts in the Cats end zone to preserve the victory.

The Cats gained 209 yards rushing on 47 carries. Angelo Babbaro led the way with 72 yards on 13 carries. Aaron Ball chipped in 56 yards, also on 13 carries, becoming the second leading rusher in Villanova history behind only the great Brian Westbrook. Lawrence Doss added 33 yards on 5 carries. Whitney, who did not complete a pass in the second half (0-2), finished 13 of 19 for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Norman White had 7 receptions for 73 yards. Linebacker Marquis Kirkland had 10 tackles to lead the defense.

For the Dukes, who were held to 87 yards rushing on 32 carries, Scott Noble led the way gaining 39 yards on 14 carries. Drew Dudzik passed for 213 yards on 22 completions in 32 attempts, with the one pick by Pitts on the game- ending play.

Matt Szczur, still nursing an ankle injury, did not dress for the Wildcats.

Villanova next hosts the Richmond Spiders on Saturday, October 30th in another CAA conference match.

On the local front, Temple & Penn also posted wins. Temple shutting out Buffalo and the Quakers beating Yale.

Article by Stephen Miller

{All photos credits for this article appear courtesy of Michael Green Photography: www.mpgreenphotography.com}

Before the football game the Villanova Men’s Basketball team held its Blue/White Scrimmage game for fans.

To see photos of the game, please follow this link:

http://independentphilly.com/photo-gallery/villanova-blue-white-basketball-scrimmage/

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