‘Nova falls to James Madison

Greg Ahern

One week following a 40-19 trouncing at the hands of the Towson Tigers, the Villanova football team fell again, this time to defending Division 1-AA champion James Madison in Harrisburg, Va. by a score of 28-13.

The Wildcats got out to an early lead following a Moe Gibson 1-yard touchdown run. Villanova’s final lead of the game came thanks to the foot of kicker Joe Marcoux, who gave the Wildcats a 10-7 edge with a 41-yard field goal. After two more touchdowns by the Dukes, Marcoux split the uprights just before halftime, this time from 34 yards.

The Dukes managed to control the game using their potent rushing attack, which ranks second in the Atlantic 10 averaging 228.5 yards per game. Junior running back Maurice Fenner rushed for 127 and a touchdown on 16 carries while his partner and fellow junior running back Alvin Banks carried the ball 25 times for 114 yards. Further contributing to the rushing attack was junior quarterback Justin Rascati, who notched a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

The rest of the James Madison offense was provided by the efficiency of Rascati’s arm as he went 10-13 and threw for 145 yards and one 3-yard touchdown to tight end Casmine Harris late in the second quarter.

With the loss, Villanova dropped to 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the A-10, while the win gave James Madison a 6-4 overall record and a 4-3 record within the A-10.

Villanova will have to rebound from two straight road losses this Saturday as they host their rival the University of Delaware at 1 p.m. at Villanova Stadium. Delaware, which has recently been one of the strongest teams in the A10, only holds a 5-5 overall record this season while recording the same 2-5 in-conference record as Villanova.

Most people know that statistics, and records should be thrown out during rivalry games because they are largely determined by shear will of the players. In order to end the season on a positive note, the Wildcats must shrug off the past two losses and shore up that run defense.