In front of a Family Weekend crowd, Villanova held Long Island University to 176 yards of total offense, winning its 12th consecutive home game.
True freshman running back David Avit scored his first collegiate touchdown, alongside his 24 carries and 160 rushing yards. On the other side of the ball, junior linebacker Shane Hartzell recovered a fumble and led the team in tackles, with seven.
Villanova (4-1, 1-0 Coastal Athletic Association) defeated LIU (0-5), 24-10, on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Villanova Stadium.
After Villanova suffered its first-season loss against Maryland last week, sixth-year Connor Watkins passed for 128 yards on 11 completions and 24 attempts. Watkins’ performance was more than just the stats on the page.
“He’s managing the game,” head coach Mark Ferrante said. “He’s managing the offense. Obviously, he’d like to have a few more splash plays in the past game, we hit a couple. Connor is doing a good job managing the game, taking what’s there today.”
Villanova’s defense shut out LIU until late in the third quarter. Against FCS opponents, the defense has allowed just 10.75 points per game. In the first half, Long Island had possession of the football for only 8:07.
“I think we had the ball for twenty-two minutes to [LIU’s] eight,” Ferrante said. “If they’re only on the field for eight minutes, that’ll keep them [the defense] fresh, and they’ll go out there and make those plays. That’s where the majority of our maturity is right now. Our defense is keeping us where we need to be, and hopefully, our offense will catch up here over the next couple of weeks.”
LIU entered halftime flustered, only acclimating 26 yards of total offense. All LIU drives in the first half resulted in punts. Villanova dominated the first half and controlled the game.
While Watkins led the offense, Villanova leaned on its committee of young running backs for the bulk of the work. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Ragland scored two of three Villanova touchdowns. Ragland found the end zone both times in the first half before leaving the game with an injury, finishing 47 yards on 14 carries.
Avit stepped up. The freshman had a team-leading 160 rushing yards on 24 attempts. His performance marked his career high in both yards and carries.
“It’s super surreal,” Avit said. “Actually being on [the field] and getting it done. It’s just amazing. I feel so good.”
Avit’s touchdown was the lone Villanova score in the second half.
“We have three-and-outs, and then we have 12-play drives,” Ferrante said. “Let’s find something in the middle there. Let’s have big plays and score a little sooner instead of 12-play drives. And let’s try to minimize those three-and-outs.”
Through the second half of the play, Villanova’s dominance waned. LIU’s Pat Bowen broke away for a 25-yard rushing score on the Sharks’ second-to-last drive.
Ferrante sees this early part of the season for Watkins and the young offense to get on the same page. Junior Jaylan Sanchez is the sole returning position player Watkins has played with.
“For his whole first five years of [Watkins’s] career, he had the same five skill guys: three backs, two wideouts and Sanchez is the only returner right now,” Ferrante said. “He’s just trying to get his timing down with everybody.”
Villanova heads into CAA conference play for the remainder of the regular season. The Wildcats will take on Stony Brook on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. Villanova leads the series all-time, 4-3.
“Winning is hard, and we’re excited that we came out with the win,” Ferrante said.
