No. 11/12 Villanova stretched its home win streak to 20 games with a 29-16 victory over Albany on Saturday, Oct. 25.
The Homecoming Weekend win moves Villanova (6-2, 5-1 CAA) to No. 3 in Coastal Athletic Association standings. Albany (1-7, 0-4 CAA) remains winless against conference opponents.
“These guys love playing at home,” head coach Mark Ferrante said. “The environment today was great. The Wildcat Walk was probably the best one we’ve had so far this year, with everyone in the back there, whatever the record is or the streak is.”
Graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide passed for 203 yards, completing 15-of-22 attempts. He also threw two touchdowns, both caught by graduate wide receiver Luke Colella. Colella finished the game with six receptions for a total of 107 yards.
Villanova finished with 256 yards of total offense, in contrast to Albany’s season-low 154.
Sophomore running back David Avit continued to command the ground game for Villanova, leading the team with 80 rushing yards and one touchdown on 20 attempts. Sophomore running back Isaiah Ragland added another 14 yards with 12 touches.
Albany starting quarterback Jack Shields passed for 102 yards and one touchdown. Villanova’s defense registered three sacks against Shields and one against backup quarterback Aidan Semo.
Graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell led the way for the defense with eight tackles and two sacks. Junior linebacker Turner Inge recorded another seven tackles and one sack.
In a slow first half for the Wildcats, the Great Danes got on board first with an eight-yard passing touchdown during their opening drive.
“I think that after that first drive, you know, a lot of times it takes a little bit of settling in,” Hartzell said. “Some of these offenses have scripted drives…So I think it just takes a little bit to get a feel of what we’re going up against. And after that, we were able to settle in.”
Avit tied the game for Villanova early in the second quarter. In the scoring drive, Avit rushed for 28 yards on seven touches. The Wildcats advanced 51 yards across 10 plays.
Villanova immediately regained possession as junior defensive back Josh Oluremi forced and recovered a fumble on Albany’s kickoff return.
On the next drive, McQuaide was sacked on third down for a loss of 11 yards. Graduate kicker Jack Barnum still added points on the board for Villanova, completing a 41-yard field goal.
The first half ended with Villanova ahead, 12-7.
Early in the third quarter, Albany intercepted McQuaide’s pass that popped out of the hands of Colella on a hit and brought the ball to a dangerous position, at Villanova’s 26-yard line.
But the Wildcats secured critical stops on the next four plays, and a holding penalty sent Albany further back. Graduate defensive back Kaleb Moody shifted the balance back in Villanova’s favor, blocking Albany’s 48-yard field goal attempt. Sophomore defensive back Zahmir Dawud recovered the ball.
The energy from the blocked field goal translated into another Villanova touchdown. On the next drive, McQuaide launched the ball 34 yards downfield for Colella to score.
Dawud immediately sealed an interception on Albany’s next possession, but was ruled out of bounds. After further review, the call was overturned and Villanova took possession at Albany’s 43-yard line.
The Wildcats continued to build the lead. Graduate wide receiver Lucas Kopecky caught a 15-yard pass, advancing it to Albany’s 27-yard line. Barnum completed a 44-yard field goal to put Villanova up, 22-7.
The Great Danes opened the fourth quarter with a field goal.
Colella then notched another big play to score his second touchdown of the day. He completed a 36-yard pass to make it 29-10.
Albany scored the last points of the game at the end of an 11-play drive in which it advanced 80 yards. The Great Danes scored with five minutes and 54 seconds left on the clock.
After a bye week, on Saturday, Nov. 8, Villanova will travel to Towson (3-5, 1-3 CAA) for another conference matchup (1:00 p.m., FloSports).
