On Saturday, Nov. 30, No. 11 Villanova (9-3) hosted Eastern Kentucky (8-4) in the first round of the FCS playoffs. The Wildcats overcame a poor start in the second half to take the lead and beat Eastern Kentucky, 22-17.
The win marks Villanova’s 16th consecutive home win in Villanova Stadium. For many players, it was their last home game as a Wildcat.
“It’s the last time I’m ever going to strap it up on Villanova’s field,” graduate quarterback Connor Watkins said. “We’ve been pretty successful, and during my tenure here at home, we haven’t lost too many games here. I knew that I didn’t want to leave this field with a loss.”
Watkins led the Wildcat offense with 14 completions for 177 yards. Watkins also had 62 yards on 13 rushing attempts.
Watkins led the team in a dominant come-from-behind win, but the first half was not going the Wildcats’ way.
On Eastern Kentucky’s first drive, redshirt senior running back Joshua Carter ran 77 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game. Carter finished the game with a touchdown and 156 yards rushing on 21 carries. He was a crucial part of the Eastern Kentucky offense all season.
Later in the first quarter, Watkins threw an inception that set Eastern Kentucky up with the ball on Villanova’s 24-yard line. The Colonels capitalized on the short-field advantage of the interception by scoring a touchdown. Eastern Kentucky suddenly led Villanova, 14-0.
Villanova struggled on offense for much of the first half. The Wildcats were unable to score on four attempts from the two-yard line, forcing a turnover on downs. Eastern Kentucky had an answer to almost every Villanova drive.
Villanova only had 22 rushing yards entering the half. Eastern Kentucky led Villanova narrowly, 17-9.
True freshman running back David Avit had some ground to make up in the second half. After Villanova rushed for just 22 yards in the first half, Avit finished the night with 97 yards on 17 carries.
Avit was named the Coastal Athletic Association Offensive Freshman of the Year.
The Wildcats ran for a total of 154 yards in the second half, ending the game with 176 rushing yards.
After working its way back, Villanova took its first lead of the game with 14:37 left to play. Graduate kicker Ethan Gettman capped off a drive with a field goal. Villanova led Eastern Kentucky for the first time, 19-17.
Villanova managed to walk away with a win despite losing the turnover battle 4-1.
“The turnovers killed us today,” Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said. “I can’t remember the last time we had four turnovers and won a game.”
Senior James Welde caught his first collegiate pass and it was a five-yard touchdown to bring the game within one point.
“Talk about resilience, [Welde’s] first career catch happens to be a touchdown in his senior year,” Ferrante said. “[Welde’s] been a backup for most of his career. He gets the opportunity to be a starting tight end today and gives us a touchdown in the end zone.”
Eastern Kentucky took possession of the ball with 1:00 left after a Villanova field goal. In three plays, the Colonels were 10 yards away from the endzone with six seconds remaining.
Graduate quarterback Matt Morrissey tried to connect with redshirt freshman Jackson House in the back of the endzone as time expired. House caught the ball but landed out of bounds. Only an inch separated the incomplete pass from being a touchdown.
“We will enjoy this one for 24 hours,” Ferrante said. “Then we’ll clean up a lot of things because we made a lot of mistakes and then hopefully we’ll play in a cleaner game next week, but the bottom line is 24 hours to enjoy, put it in the rearview mirror, get back to work tomorrow.”
Villanova will prepare to take No. 6 Incarnate Word (10-2) in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, Dec. 7. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m.
