Sept. 13, 2000
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No. 18 Villanova Wildcats (1-1 Overall, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
vs.
Norfolk State Spartans (1-1 Overall, 0-1 MEAC)
Saturday, September 16, 2000 -- Noon
Villanova Stadium (12,000)
Villanova, Pa --HOMECOMING WEEKEND
SERIES INFORMATION: First Meeting
Media Information
Interview Requests
All Interview requests should be directed toward Dean Kenefick, Director of Media Relations, (610) 519-4120.
Radio Pre-Game 11:00 a.m.
Game Coverage Noon
WFIL - 560-AM Play By Play Joe Eichhorn
Color Analysis Ryan Fannon
All Wildcat games can be heard on the internet
Game Notes:
NORFOLK STATE REPORT: Norfolk State is a member of the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). In the Sports Network preseason poll, the Spartans are picked to finish ninth in the MEAC. Last season in their second season of eligibility for the MEAC championship, the Spartans tallied a 2-9 record. Their two wins came against Virginia State and Morgan State which was Norfolk's lone conference victory. Last season, Norfolk averaged a league-worst 14.5 points per game. Thus far this year, the Spartans are off to a 1-1 start. In week one, Norfolk downed Virginia State, 31-24, at home before losing at Bethune-Cookman last week by a score of 24-6. In the two games, Norfolk State has rushed for 174 yards and thrown for 356 yards for a total of 530 yards, while they have given up 199 yards on the ground and 412 through the air for 611 total yards. One of Norfolk's early season problems has been in the turnover department. In the first two contests, the Spartans have committed seven turnovers, including five interceptions. At quarterback, University of New Mexico transfer Jon Roberts has completed 15-of-35 for 264 yards to go with two touchdowns and five interceptions. Running back Damien Smith has rushed for 143 yards on 30 carries (4.7 yards per rush), while wide receiver Tyronne Sellers has 10 receptions for 159 yards.
spartan HEAD COACH mo forte: Norfolk State is led by second-year head coach Mo Forte. Norfolk State is Forte's second head coaching job in the MEAC, as he was the head man at North Carolina A&T from 1982-87. During his tenure at A&T, Forte tallied a 27-36-1 mark and he was named the 1986 MEAC Coach of the Year. Forte has a wealth of NFL coaching experience. His last stop in the pros was from 1995-96 when he was the running backs coach for the Detroit Lions. From 198-94, Forte was an assistant with the Denver Broncos. Forte began his coaching career at the University of Minnesota where he was the head JV coach and wide receivers coach from 1970-75. After his stint at Minnesota, he went to Duke University as a wide receivers coach from 1976-77, before becoming the wide receivers coach at Michigan State. His final collegiate assistant stop came at Arizona State from 1980-81.
2000 honors
Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week
Brian Westbrook vs. Millersville Sept. 9
Injury Report
The following is the injury report for the Norfolk State game on Sept. 16
-- Brian Berko-Boateng (Jr/ DB) Sprained right foot.. Questionable for Norfolk State
-- Willie Lewis (Sr/DL) Broken collar bone. Out two months. Out for Norfolk State
-- Robert Richardson (Jr/OC) Torn MCL in left knee. Out for Norfolk State
-- Luke Stopper (Jr., RB) Separated shoulder. Out for Norfolk State
TALLEY'S TENURE: Currently in his 16th season on the Main Line, head coach Andy Talley can feel responsible for every facet of the Villanova football program, having started it from scratch in 1985. In his career at Villanova, Talley has recorded a 102-61-1 mark, making him the all-time winningest coach in Villanova history. Talley's 21-year overall coaching record currently stands at 130-79-2. During his career as the Wildcat mentor, Talley has guided Villanova to five NCAA playoff appearances (1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997), three Conference titles and one Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy. In 1997, Talley garnered the Eddie Robinson Award and the AFCA/GTE National Coach of the Year.
FIRST TIME: For the second straight week, Villanova will be playing an opponent for the first time in the program's history. Not only has Villanova never played Norfolk State before, this week's game will be the first time that the Wildcats have played a team from the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
ATLANTIC 10 ACCOLADES: For his efforts in Villanova's 51-14 win over Millersville, junior running back Brian Westbrook was named Atlantic 10 Conference Offensive Player of the Week. In the win, Westbrook tallied 13 rushes for 132 yards and three touchdowns, four receptions for 79 yards and he returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a score. All total, he amassed 304 yards of all-purpose offense. This is the third time in his career that he has garnered this honor.
ALL-TIME LEADER: Junior running back Brian Westbrook continued his assault on the Villanova record book last Saturday against Millersville, when he became the all-time leading scorer in school history. Entering the game with Millersville, Westbrook needed just one touchdown to break the school scoring record and he wasted no time in making the record his, as he returned the game's opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. The most amazing thing about Westbrook's accomplishment is that he became the all-time leading scorer in just 26 career games. All total, he now owns 18 school records.
MOST POINTS -- CAREER1. BRIAN WESTBROOK (1997-present) 2622. Mark Kiefer (1994-97) 2413. Brian Finneran (1994-97) 2164. Mike Siani (1969-71) 2085. Tom Withka (1987-90) 204
TAKING IT TO THE HOUSE: Brian Westbrook electrified the Villanova Stadium crowd from the get go in last Saturday's win over Millersville when he returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. This was the third time in his career that Westbrook has returned a kickoff for a score. In 1997, he had an 89-yard return for a score against Colgate in the first round of the I-AA playoffs and in 1998, he returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown against the University of Pittsburgh. Westbrook is the only player in Villanova history to have more than one career kickoff return for a touchdown.
GREAT START: After two games, Brian Westbrook has 559 yards of all-purpose offense. In the season opener at Rutgers, he tallied 255 all-purpose yardage and last week he amassed 304 yards of all-purpose offense in the Wildcats win over Millersville. In 1998 when Westbrook led the nation in all-purpose yardage with 3,026 yards, he averaged 275 all-purpose yards per game. After two games this year, he is averaging 279.5. STRONG PERFORMANCE: With Brian Westbrook stealing the spotlight last Saturday, the play of sophomore quarterback Brett Gordon did not receive many headlines. In the win, Gordon was extremely efficient, completing 17 of 22 (77 percent) for 224 yards and two touchdowns. After two games, Gordon is 46-of-70 (65.7 percent) for 509 yards and five touchdowns.
DOMINANT DUC: Brian Westbrook is not the only Villanova running back who has a nose for the end zone. Senior fullback Ducarmel Augustin has scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) this season and has a career total of 152 points which ranks him 12th all-time on Villanova's scoring list. With his two touchdown performance last Saturday versus Millersville, Augustin moved past both Chuck Bushbeck (1978-80) and Gus Fernandez (1975-77) on the Villanova scoring chart. For his career, Augustin has scored 21 touchdowns.
JINXED: The position on the team that has been hit the hardest by injury thus far this year is the center spot. It all started on Wednesday, August 30 when starting junior center Robert Richardson tore the MCL in his left knee during practice. With Richardson sidelined, the Wildcats were forced to use true freshman Mike Finn at the center spot. Finn started against Rutgers and Millersville, but during the first half of the Millersville contest, he sprained his ankle and had to be replaced by senior Brian Lewis. Fortunately for Villanova bad things didn't happen in three and Lewis was able to finish the Millersville game injury free. Finn is expected to be able to play this week versus Norfolk State, while Richardson should return to the Wildcat lineup for the Atlantic 10 Conference opener versus Maine on Sept. 23.
BLOCK PARTY: The Villanova punt return team continues to excel. In last Saturday's win over Millersville, Wildcat senior safety Matt Bride blocked a Marauder punt out of the end zone for a safety. This was the seventh punt Villanova has blocked in the last two seasons.
PRESSURE ON THE QUARTERBACK: After not putting much pressure on Rutgers quarterback Mike McMahon in week one, the Villanova defense came back strong this past Saturday versus Millersville. Villanova put a heavy rush on Millersville signal caller Drew Folmar all day long and finished the game with six sacks. Junior defensive tackle Kwesi Solomon led the charge with two quarterback sacks.
IRON MAN: Offensive tackle Stan Bennett has been an iron man for the Villanova Wildcats. Bennett, who has started every game of his Wildcat career, will be making his 38th-straight start this week against Norfolk State. As a true freshman in 1997, Bennett started all 13 games at guard before moving to tackle the last two years where he started all 11 contests both seasons.
45-STRAIGHT: Kicker Casey Hannon enters the Norfolk State game riding a streak of 45-straight made PATs. His last miss came in the 1999 season opener at Air Force when he had a PAT blocked In aturday's win over Millersville, Hannon tied his career-high seven PATs. As a sophomore last year, Hannon was 12-of-17 in field goals and is 36-of-37 in PATs. Of his 12 made field goals, five were from 40-yards or more, including a career-long 50-yard field goal versus James Madison on Oct. 2. This was just the fourth time in school history that a kicker has made a field goal of 50-yards or more.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Serving as team captains in 2000 will be senior running back Ducarmel Augustin, senior offensive tackle Stan Bennett and fifth-year senior defensive end Darren Lenz.
STOPPING THE RUN: The Villanova defense has done a good job early on this year of stopping the run. After two contests, the `Cats have yielded 180 yards on the ground for an average of 90.0 per game. 42 of those 180 yards came late in the fourth quarter of Villanova's 51-14 blowout win over Millersville.
WEST COAST INFLUENCE: As has been the case the last three seasons, Villanova continues to have a number of California natives on the roster. All total, Villanova has 14 players on its roster who call California home. Of the 14, 13 appear on the Wildcat depth including eight who are starters.
STAFF CHANGES: For the fourth time in the last five years Villanova will have a different defensive coordinator. The new man in charge of the Wildcat defense is Joe Trainer who has coached the Villanova linebackers for the past three seasons. Trainer replaces Jim Fleming who left the Main Line to become head coach at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. Another new member of the Wildcats staff is Clayton Carlin who has been hired to coach the Villanova defensive backs. Carlin comes to Villanova from New Mexico State where he coached the wide receivers for the previous three seasons.
OVERTIME HISTORY: During Andy Talley's tenure as Villanova's head football coach, the Wildcats have participated in seven overtime games and have tallied a 5-2 record. Five of the seven overtime games have been played at Villanova Stadium. Last year, Villanova played two overtime games. On Oct. 16, Villanova defeated UConn, 48-45, in triple overtime in a game played in Storrs, Conn. In the season finale at Villanova Stadium, the `Cats rallied from a 45-24 deficit with 8:37 remaining to win a 51-45 thriller in one overtime.
WILDCATS ON THE RADIO: Every Villanova football game this season will be carried live by the Villanova Football Radio Network. The flagship station for the Wildcats this season will be WFIL-AM 560. Returning for his 14th season as Villanova's play-by-play man is Joe Eichhorn. Joining Eichhorn for a ninth consecutive year is Ryan Fannon. All 11 Wildcat gridiron contests will be broadcast live, with a pre-game show airing 30 minutes prior to kickoff during away games and one hour prior to kickoff for home games.
ANDY TALLEY RADIO SHOW: Continuing in 2000, WFIL-AM 560-AM and WZZD-AM 990 will broadcast the Andy Talley Radio Show. The one-hour call-in show is hosted by color commentator Ryan Fannon and will provide a weekly recap of Villanova football games, as well as a preview of upcoming contests. The show will be held at the Wild Onion Restaurant located just up the street from Villanova Stadium on Conestoga Road. Throughout the one-hour program, Fannon and Coach Talley will take questions concerning all the teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, as well as NCAA I-AA football on a national scene. The show will take place on Thursday nights before road games at 6 p.m., and on Saturday's following Wildcat home games.
ATLANTIC 10 FAX-ON-DEMAND: Information on the Wildcat football team and the entire Atlantic 10 Football Conference is available 24 hours a day through the Atlantic 10 fax-on-demand system. This service is for media use only. To access, dial 201-947-4062 from the handset of your fax machine. Select the information you are interested in from the request numbers below.
VILLANOVA A-10Notes/Stats 2411 2301Notes Only 2412Stats Only 2413Schedule 2414 2304Roster 2415Depth Chart 2416Last Game Stats 2417
