One week after a narrow victory on the road against Hampton, Villanova football returned to Villanova Stadium for a Saturday matchup with NC A&T.
The Wildcats came away with a 31-3 victory over the Aggies.
“I’m really happy we came away with the victory,” Ferrante said. “Our guys came in and we did what we needed to do. We started out well then slowed down and were up 10-3 at halftime, but I think it could have been more.”
Graduate quarterback Connor Watkins tied a career-high for most completions in a game, with 18. Watkins’ career-high and the Wildcats dominance on offense was a big confidence booster for the team and something Watkins was pleased to see happen.
“I would say that we were hoping to come out and execute the offense the way we did today,” Watkins said. “Anytime you do that it’s gonna be a huge confidence boost. I think a lot of guys got involved in the game and were bought into the game plan this week which was a huge thing for us.”
While Watkins had a big game, this matchup was also significant for his teammate, graduate wide receiver, Devin Smith. For Smith, today’s game was against a familiar opponent. A native of Durham, North Carolina, Smith spent the past several seasons at NC Central, and this included an annual matchup with Saturday’s opposition.
The first quarter started with NC A&T possession, but an early fourth down lead to the Wildcats regaining possession.
A run from junior Jaylen Sanchez helped the Wildcats gain a third down.
On the next play, Watkins found redshirt freshman, Ja’briel Mace who helped secure a Villanova first down.
Following the run from Mace, the Wildcats continued to inch closer to the game’s first touchdown.
That first touchdown ultimately came with 9:23 seconds left in the first quarter when Sanchez caught the ball off an 18-yard pass from Watkins.
At the end of the first quarter the score remained 7-0. The Wildcats finished the quarter having secured five first downs, 10-44 on rushing yards and 45 passing yards.
The second quarter began with Villanova possession. The possession lasted for roughly three minutes and resulted in a 33-yard field goal.
With 7:39 left in the first half, NC A&T’s 34 yard field goal was successful, trimming the lead to 10-3. Following the field goal, the Wildcats picked up right where they left off on offense.
With 6:20 to go, Smith caught a 34-yard pass from Watkins to bring the ball to the 41 yard line.
The rest of the half was back and forth and the Wildcats went into the locker room with a 10-3 lead. In the second quarter the ‘Cats improved their first down tally to 10 along with 12 rushing yards.
The third quarter began with the Wildcats in possession. They quickly got a third down and seven.
Several minutes later, Watkin’s ran the ball into the end zone for a Wildcat touchdown that grew the lead from 10-3 to 17-3.
Watkins scored an additional touchdown with 5:05 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Cat’s a 24-3 lead.
At the end of the third quarter, the Wildcats stood at 24 first downs overall and 20 rushing yards.
The Wildcats momentum continued in the final quarter of play. Early in the quarter freshman running back David Avit scored his first touchdown of the game.
Avit’s touchdown was the only touchdown of the fourth quarter. The Wildcats finished the fourth quarter with seven first downs and added 2 rushed yards to their overall tally.
Next up for Villnaova is an away game vs Monmouth. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16 at Noon.
