BETHLEHEM, PA — On Saturday, Dec. 6, Villanova football secured a trip to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) quarterfinals with a 14-7 victory over Lehigh, its first road playoff win since 2010.
After a scoreless first half and a 7-7 stalemate, Villanova found what it needed in the final three minutes with a touchdown by freshman wide receiver Braden Reed and a fumble recovery by graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell to seal the victory.
No. 5-seed Lehigh, the reigning Patriot League champions, ended an undefeated season on its home field. No. 12 seed Villanova (11-2, 7-1 Coastal Athletic Association) extended a 10-game win streak, its longest since it started the 1997 season 12-0.
“It was a heavyweight fight,” Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said. “Both teams were throwing punches pretty much the whole game, and both defenses were responding very well…I think the biggest difference today, other than the effort and execution these guys have been playing with all year, was that it came down to [Lehigh’s] two turnovers versus [Villanova’s] zero.”
Villanova graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide completed 18-of-28 passes on the day for 208 yards and one touchdown.
Lehigh attempted to throw off Villanova’s offense from the start, opening the game with a squib kickoff. The Wildcats went three-and-out in an unsuccessful opening drive. Villanova punted and stopped the Mountain Hawks at their 12-yard line.
The Mountain Hawks marched down the field on their opening drive, advancing nearly to the goal line on an 85-yard drive across 14 plays. The Wildcats faltered against Lehigh sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnson, who completed 3-for-3 passes on the drive.
But the Villanova defense settled down and managed to keep the Mountain Hawks off the scoreboard. Junior defensive lineman Capri Martin made a crucial second-down stop for Villanova, tackling Lehigh running back Jaden Green on the 5-yard line. After Johnson completed a pass to the 2-yard line, redshirt freshman defensive back Anthony Hawkins made the final tackle to force a Lehigh turnover on downs.
Both teams remained scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
The standoff continued as both teams went three-and-out to start the second quarter and failed to score for the rest of the first half.
Lehigh, which ranks second in the country in scoring defense, succeeded at limiting Villanova’s notorious rushing attack in the first half. It held Villanova to just 26 net rushing yards in the opening half. Sophomore running back Ja’briel Mace ran for 30 yards to lead the way.
The Mountain Hawks got on board first with a touchdown early in the third quarter. Lehigh put itself in scoring position with a 36-yard completion. Three plays later, sophomore running back Aaron Crossley rushed five yards to score the first touchdown of the day.
The Wildcats went three-and-out on their next two drives. But late in the third quarter, they found some offensive momentum as McQuaide completed four consecutive passes. A 23-yard throw to Reed put Villanova on Lehigh’s 8-yard line. Mace punched in the touchdown with a one-yard rush.
The teams traded missed field goals early in the fourth quarter to keep it at 7-7 going into the final six minutes and 41 seconds.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lehigh kicker Connor Poole’s 26-yard field goal attempt went wide right.
Later in the quarter, Villanova had a chance to get on board as graduate kicker Jack Barnum attempted a 35-yard field goal, but missed.
The Wildcats quickly made up for the missed opportunity. Lehigh went three-and-out on its next possession after Villanova linebacker Shane Hartzell sacked Johnson for a loss of 10 yards.
McQuaide then completed back-to-back passes to Mace, for 11 yards, and graduate wide receiver Colella, for 12 yards, to advance Villanova to Lehigh’s 28-yard line. Reed hauled in a 28-yard pass to the end zone on the next play to surge Villanova ahead, 14-7, with 2 minutes and 56 seconds left.
“There’s just a lot of trust on our team,” Reed said. “It’s about the guys in this room. So when we get it in tough situations like that, I think we all come together even more, which helps make us successful.”
The Mountain Hawks threatened on the next possession when a pass interference penalty on Villanova moved Lehigh to Villanova’s 10-yard line with an automatic first down.
Graduate defensive lineman Obinna Nwobodo brought late-game heroics, forcing Johnson to fumble on the next play. Hartzell swept in and recovered the ball to put Villanova back in possession on its 11-yard line.
McQuaide ran down the clock to seal the victory over Lehigh, which will be a conference rival for Villanova next season as it moves to the Patriot League.
Moving onto the FCS quarterfinals, Villanova will go on the road again to face No. 4-seed Tarleton State (12-1, 8-1 United Athletic Conference) next Saturday, Dec. 13.
