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.
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:
