Villanova vs. ODU: Wildcats Lose in Royal Fashion to Monarchs

Villanova could not overcome a strong start by the Old Dominion Monarchs, or the Wildcats inability to hang on to the football, and lost the first ever meeting (football) of the schools by a margin of 37-14  on Homecoming day.

ODU got on the board with 10:47  left in the opening quarter on a 42 yard touchdown pass from the Monarch’s outstanding freshman QB Taylor Heinicke to wide receiver Antonio Vaughan. The score came a mere  nine seconds  after the Monarchs Devon Simmons  recovered  a Dustin Thomas fumble at the Wildcats 42 yard line. The Monarchs failed to convert the extra point.

A short time later the Monarchs boosted their lead to 13-0 on a 53 yard run by Lorenzo Smith and a Jarod Brown extra point. Villanova gave the Homecoming crowd a chance to cheer when it marched 57 yards in 11 plays to score on a 6 yard pass from Thomas to Joe Price. Mark Hamilton converted the extra point to make the score 13-7 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

After the Monarchs added a 32 field goal by Brown to take a 16-7 lead, The Cats imploded when Thomas again fumbled and ODU’s Craig Wilkins recovered it at the Villanova two yard line. Heinicke ran it in from the one yard line to expand the lead to 23-7. To their credit, Villanova did not throw in the towel, instead they marched 77 yards in 11 plays to score on a 20 yard burst by Austin Medley. However, ODU closed out the first half by driving 75 yards in 11 plays to score with 24 seconds left. The score came on a 16 yard pass from Heinicke to Nick Mayers. The half ended with the Monarchs up 30-14.

In the second half, Old Dominion took a 37-14 lead after Thomas was picked off deep in Villanova territory. The Monarchs Angus Harper plunged in from the 1 yard line for what turned out to be the last score of the afternoon. At this point, Thomas was replaced at QB by freshman Chris Polony, who played the rest of the way.

All in all the Wildcats lost the ball 4 times – three fumbles and one interception. Consequently, the Wildcats were forced to chase the Monarchs from behind the entire game. With the loss, the Wildcats fell to 1-7, 0-5 in the CAA. With the win, the 21st ranked  Monarchs are now 6-2 overall, 3-2 in the CAA.  Next up for Villanova is a game against the Maine Black Bears at 3:30pm on Saturday, October 29 at Villanova Stadium. ODU will entertain James Madison next Saturday.

The Wildcats were without senior cornerback James Pitts, who was out with an injury.

You can view a full photo slideshow of the game below:

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Villanova vs. William and Mary: Tribe Triumphant as Wildcats Fall Short

Powered by senior tailback Jonathan Grimes of Palmyra, New Jersey, William & Mary beat Villanova 20-16 at Villanova stadium on Saturday in a CAA conference game. Grimes gained 137 yards on 31 carries and scored both of the Tribe’s touchdowns.

In a game where the lead seesawed back and forth, Villanova gained the first lead 3-0 on a 25 yard field goal by Mark Hamilton at the 7:21 mark of the first quarter. The key play in the drive, which followed a poor punt by William & Mary, was an 18 yard pass from Christian Culicerto to Dorian Wells. The Tribe came right back to take the lead 7-3 on a 1 yard run by Grimes. Drake Kuhn added the extra point.

Villanova retook the lead when Culicerto hit Wells with a 15 yard pass to cap a four play, 57 yard drive at the 11:44 mark of the second quarter. The Tribe, on its next possession, drove down the field to go ahead 14-10 on a 22 yard run by Grimes. The drive went 75 yards in 10 plays. An interception by freshman linebacker Joey Harmon deep in Tribe territory gave the Cats another scoring opportunity. Mark Hamilton brought the Wildcats within one point of the Tribe on a career long 45 yard field goal with1:39 left in the first half.

Following a miscue by William & Mary on a punt at the outset of the 3rd quarter, Hamilton kicked a 25 yard field goal to put the Wildcats ahead 16-14. However, once again, William & Mary bounced right back and drove from their own 30 yard line to the Wildcats’ 17 yard line. On 4th down, Drake Kuhn kicked a 34 yard field goal to put the Tribe in the lead for good, 17-16.

In the 4th quarter Kuhn added another field goal to extend the Tribe’s lead to 20-16. Villanova made one last effort to retake the lead and win the CAA contest by marching from its own 16 yard line to the William & Mary 23 yard line where B.W. Webb picked off an errant pass by Culicerto. William & Mary then was able to run out the clock and give the Tribe a hard fought 20-16 win.

With the win William & Mary improved to 3-2 overall, 1-1 in the CAA. Villanova fell to 1-4, 0-2 in the CAA. For the victorious Tribe, Alex Gottlieb grabbed 4 passes for 81 yards and D.J. Mangas caught 5 passes for 67 yards. Michael Graham threw for 171 yards on 13 of 24 attempts. Villanova was led in rushing by freshman Jamal Abdur-Rahman with 43 yards on 4 carries. Dorian Wells led the receivers with 6 receptions for 59 yards and one touchdown. Christian Culicerto completed 15 of 24 for 132 yards, one for a touchdown, and threw one interception. Ronnie Akins had 11 tackles for the Wildcats while James Pitts and Dillon Lucas each added 10 tackles.

Next week Villanova travels to New Hampshire to take on UNH and The Tribe plays at Delaware. The Wildcats Craig James did not play because of an injury and Austin Medley, who missed the Penn game with an injury, was dressed for the game but did not play.

Villanova vs. Monmouth: Wildcats Woes Won’t End

The 0-2 Villanova Wildcats entertained the 0-1 Monmouth Hawks in their home opener at Villanova stadium on Saturday. Beset by injuries, the Wildcats started Chris Polony, a true freshman, at quarterback.

Villanova, an extemely young and inexperienced team, struggled mightily before succumbing to the Hawks 20-9. The Wildcats did not pick up a first down until Polony was replaced by senior Christian Culicerto midway through the second quarter.

Monmouth, which was playing Villanova for the first time ever on the gridiron, seized the lead 3-0 on a 32 yard field goal by Eric Spillane with 9:16 left in the 2nd quarter. The Wildcats, who were already playing without the injured Norman White and Joe Price, also played without Mikey Reynolds, who was suspended for violating team rules. The shorthanded squad lost a golden opportunity to take the lead when Dorian Wells, after catching a pass from Culicerto, rumbled 49 yards to the Monmouth two yard line (where Jose Gumbs knocked the ball out of Wells hands and into the end zone). Wells nearly recovered the ball in the end zone before it went out of the end zone for a touchback.  Consequently, the half ended with the Hawks clinging to a 3-0 lead.

Villanova finally scored on its first possession of the second half marching 83 yards in 10 plays. Austin Medley culminated the drive with a 36 yard dash for the touchdown. The key play on the drive was 13 yard run by Culicerto, who was facing a 3rd and 12 situation. Hamilton converted the extra point to give the Cats a 7-3 lead.

Monmouth went back on top for good after driving 76 yards in 11 plays. The score came with 2:23 left in the 3rd quarter, on a 7 yard toss from Kyle Frazier to Tristan Roberts. Frazier completed 17 of 30 passes on the day for 220 yards.

Villanova threatened to regain the lead following a nifty kickoff return by Jamal Abdur Rahman that gave the Wildcats good field position. Nova marched to the Hawks 1 yard line but failed to score. The Wildcats chose to go for the lead on 4th down from the 1, but Medley was stopped. After the game, Coach Andy Talley said, “We were so close and I wanted to put some pressure on Monmouth.”

Monmouth then drove from its own 2 yard line to the Nova 19, before Spillane kicked a 36 yard field goal. Villanova again mounted a drive, but could not capitalize as Nick Yako missed on a 44 yard field goal try.

With 3:02 left, Monmouth, after taking over on its own 1 yard line following a Villanova punt, took a safety when its punter ran out of the end zone to make the score 13-9. Then, with 1:12 left in the game, Baliel Sloan El ran 45 yards for a touchdown to ice the game for the Hawks.

For the Wildcats, Culicerto hit 11-24 passes for 183 yards. Medley, who scored the lone Villanova touchdown, ran for 53 yards on 7 carries. Dorian Wells caught 6 passes for 98 yards. Defensively, the Cats, who played the second half without James Pitts, who suffered ” an upper body” injury (Coach Talley indicated it was thought Pitts sustained a concussion), were led by true freshman Dillon Lucas with 8 tackles including a sack, and true freshman Joe Sarnese with 10 total tackles.

For the prevailing Hawks, Balial Sloan El was their leading rusher, picking up 76 yards on 13 carries and 1 touchdown. Mitchell Pollard caught 7 passes for 118 yards. Neal Sterling also snatched 5 passes for 69 yards.

Although Coach Talley said he had not yet made his final decision about next week, he did indicate that Culicerto had earned the right to be considered for the starting role based on his play against Monmouth.

Next up for the 0-3 Wildcats is a game against the Penn Quakers at Franklin Field next Saturday night. The paid attendance for Saturday’s game was 11,817.

[photo credits: Christian Hafer]

Full photo slideshow below:

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Villanova Football 2011: Wildcats Wild Outlook

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.

Coach Andy Talley

QB Dustin Thomas

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.

Rakim Cox

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!

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

Game Action

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.

Richmond Offense

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.

Chris Whitney

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.

Aaron Ball & Norman White Celebrate

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).

Line of Scrimmage

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.

James Pitts

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.

Tremayne Graham Returning a Kick

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.

Chris Whitney Stiff Arm

 

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.

 

Spider Fans

 

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.

 

Richmond Offense

 

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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