Marquis Kirkland | 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.

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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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