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No. 18 Villanova Wildcats (0-1 Overall, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
vs.
Millersville Marauders (0-0 Overall, 0-0 PSAC East)
Saturday, September 9, 2000 -- 1:00 p.m. Villanova Stadium (12,000), Villanova, Pa
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 Noon
Game Coverage 1:00 p.m.
WFIL - 560-AM Play By Play Joe Eichhorn
Color Analysis Ryan Fannon
All Wildcat games can be heard on the internet
MILLERSVILLE REPORT: The Marauders will open their 2000 season this Saturday at Villanova Stadium. Last year, Millersville tallied a 9-3 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the PSAC East to finish in second place. Millersville was rewarded for their fine season by earning a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs where they defeated Shepherd, 21-14, in the first round before losing to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 26-21, in the second round. Millersville is led by senior quarterback Drew Folmar who completed 199-of-316 for 2,700 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. Already the owner of 21 school records, Folmar has three 400-yard and six 300-yard career passing games to his credit. Folmar's favorite target is senior wide receiver Sean Scott who is a native of Philadelphia and attended Archbishop Carroll which is located just down the road from the Villanova campus. As a junior in 1999, Scott registered 67 receptions for 1,030 yards and six touchdowns. At running back, senior John Flamish rushed for 1,030 yards (6.4 yards per rush) and had a team-high 14 touchdowns with 13 coming via the rush. On defense, the Marauders return just three starters including senior linebacker Matt Shields, junior linebacker Mike Zellner and sophomore defensive end Nick Reynolds. Reynolds finished second on the team last year in tackles with 67 total stops to go with a team-high tying five sacks.
MARAUDER HEAD COACH GENE CARPENTER: Millersville is led by Dr. Gene Carpenter who is entering his 31st season as head coach of the Marauder program. In his tenure at Millersville, Carpenter has led his teams to 10 PSAC Eastern Division titles, four NCAA playoff appearances, and an outstanding record of 206-85-6. His overall college coaching record currently stands at 214-86-6. In the state of Pennsylvania, only Penn State's Joe Paterno has more victories among active coaches. During his Millersville career, Carpenter has had 12 seasons with eight or more wins and he has tallied winning seasons in 27 of the 30 seasons he has served as head coach.
Injury Report
The following is the injury report for the Millersville game on Sept. 9
-- Brian Berko-Boateng (Jr/ DB) Sprained right foot. Doubtful for Millersville
-- Robert Richardson (Jr/OC) Torn MCL in left knee. Out for Millersville
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 101-61-1 mark, making him the all-time winningest coach in Villanova history. Talley's 21-year overall coaching record currently stands at 129-79-2. 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.
HOME OPENERS: During the tenure of head coach Andy Talley, Villanova has registered a 10-4 mark in season home openers, including winning the last four home openers in a row. Saturday's game with Millersville will mark the third time that Villanova has opened the home portion of its schedule against a Division II team. The Wildcats played their home openers in 1992 (26-6 win) and 1997 (64-0 win) against Division II West Chester.
DIVISION II OPPONENTS: Since Villanova restored football in 1985, the Wildcats have compiled a perfect 3-0 record against Division II opponents with all three wins coming against West Chester. Like Millersville, West Chester is a member of the PSAC Eastern Division. Villanova defeated West Chester, 26-6, in 1992 and again in 1994 by a score of 35-14. The last time the Wildcats played a Division II opponent came in 1997 when Villanova dominated West Chester, 64-0, in the season opener with all 64 points coming in the first half. The game was called just three plays into the third quarter due to a violent thunderstorm.
WESTBROOK RETURNS: Much of the discussion during preseason practice centered around the health of junior running back Brian Westbrook who missed all of the 1999 season due to a knee injury. In Villanova's season opener last Saturday at Rutgers, Westbrook returned to the field and showed no signs of being hampered by the injury. In the loss, Westbrook tallied 255 yards of all-purpose offense including 46 yards on 14 carries, nine receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown and five kickoffs for 116 yards.
ONE MORE SCORE: With his next touchdown, Brian Westbrook will become the all-time leading scorer in the history of Villanova football. Entering play against Millersville, Westbrook has 238 career points which is second to former Villanova place kicker Mark Kiefer (1994-97) who tallied 241 points during his career. Westbrook already owns the school mark for career touchdowns with 39. MOST POINTS -- CAREER 1. Mark Kiefer (1994-97) 241 2. BRIAN WESTBROOK (1997-present) 238 3. Brian Finneran (1994-97) 216 4. Mike Siani (1969-71) 208 5. Tom Withka (1987-90) 204
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.
THE NEW LEADER: Sophomore quarterback Brett Gordon made his first career start Saturday night at Rutgers and played with the confidence and poise of a seasoned veteran. In the loss, Gordon completed 29-of-48 for 285 yards to go with three touchdowns and one interception. The fact that Gordon was even on the field is an amazing story in itself when you consider he tore the ACL in his right knee on the second play from scrimmage in the annual Blue/White spring game on April 19. Through a grueling rehabilitation process, Gordon was cleared to participate in preseason camp and was eventually cleared to play in the season opener at Rutgers.
THIRD GENERATION: Quarterback Brett Gordon became the third member of his family to be the starting quarterback at Villanova when he made his first collegiate start last Saturday at Rutgers. His grandfather, Andrew, was a Villanova quarterback from 1946-48, while his father, Drew, was a Wildcat signal caller from 1969-71. Andrew Gordon was the quarterback of the Villanova teams that played in the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl (24-14 loss to Kentucky) and the 1949 Harbor Bowl (27-7 win over Nevada). Drew Gordon ranks ninth on Villanova's career passing yards list with 2,370 yards. Villanova junior running back Luke Stopper is also a third generation Wildcat football player. His grandfather, Anthony, played at Villanova from 1935-37 and his father, John, performed on the Main Line from 1967-69.
CENTER OF ATTENTION: When starting junior center Robert Richardson tore the MCL in his left knee during practice last Wednesday, the Wildcats were forced to start true freshman Mike Finn at the center spot. By starting at Rutgers on Saturday, Finn became just the second true freshman to start the season opening game in Andy Talley's 16-year Villanova coaching career. The other rookie lineman to accomplish this is current starting tackle Stan Bennett who has gone on to start each and every game of his Wildcat career. Finn, who is a native of Danville, Pa., and a graduate of Danville High School, earned first team All-State honors last season. Richardson is expected to be out two more weeks and is targeted to return to the line-up versus Maine on Sept. 23.
OWN WORST ENEMY: The Villanova Wildcats hurt themselves last Saturday in the season opener at Rutgers by committing far to many penalties. Officially, the Wildcat were called for nine penalties for 84 yards. However, Villanova had 13 total yellow flags thrown against them with four being declined by Rutgers. Last season, Villanova was called for 57 penalties the entire year for an average of 5.1 per game.
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 37th-straight start this week against Millersville. 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.
38-STRAIGHT: Kicker Casey Hannon enters the Millersville game riding a streak of 38-straight made PATs. His last miss came in the 1999 season opener at Air Force when he had a PAT blocked. 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 Villanova history that a kicker has made a field goal of 50-yards or more.
SAFETY NET: The best player on the Villanova defense last week against Rutgers was free safety Braheem Powell. Powell led the Wildcat defense with six solo tackles, one assisted stop for seven total tackles. In addition, Powell returned an interception 26 yards and he was credited with three pass break-ups. Powell, who has started 23-straight games in the Villanova secondary, has made six career interceptions.
GROUNDED: The Villanova defense was strong against the run last Saturday in the season opener at Rutgers. In the setback, the Wildcat defense yielded just 46 yards on 32 carries (1.4 yards per rush).
LEADING THE CHARGE: Up front, the Wildcat defense will be led in 2000 by junior defensive tackle Kwesi Solomon. Solomon came into his own last season and emerged as a first team All-Atlantic 10 performer. He started all 11 games last year and was credited with 21 solo tackles, 18 assisted stops for a total of 39 total tackles to go with a team-high seven sacks. Solomon has gained national recognition this summer as he has been named second team preseason All-American by The Sports Network and The Sporting News. In the season opener at Rutgers, Solomon had two solo tackles.
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.
PLAYING ON SUNDAY: Former Villanova star wide receiver Brian Finneran has made the active roster of the Atlanta Falcons. Finneran, the 1997 Walter Payton Award winner which represents the top offensive player in all of I-AA, had a strong preseason with the falcons leading them in receiving with 16 catches for 254 yards and four touchdowns. Finneran has been seeing most of his time as Atlanta's fourth receiver. Last season, Finneran began the season with the Philadelphia Eagles before getting released after week five. The last Wildcat before Finneran to play in an NFL game was defensive tackle Willie Oshodin who played for the Denver Broncos from 1993-95. 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-10
Notes/Stats 2411 2301
Notes Only 2412
Stats Only 2413
Schedule 2414 2304
Roster 2415
Depth Chart 2416
Last Game Stats 2417
Game One
Rutgers 34, Villanova 21
Sept. 2, 2000 - Rutgers Stadium, New Brunswick, N.J.
For the fourth time in the last five years, Villanova opened its season against a I-A opponent, as the `Cats traveled up the turnpike to central New Jersey to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Despite a valiant effort by the Wildcats, Rutgers came away with a 34-21 victory.
Rutgers got on the board first as the Knights took the opening kickoff and drove 63 yards on nine plays and scored on a 17-yard pass from quarterback Mike McMahon to Errol Johnson. The Wildcats tied the score at 7-7 when junior running back Brian Westbrook caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brett Gordon.
The score would stay 7-7 until Rutgers scored on a three-yard pass from McMahon to LJ Smith with 2:43 left until halftime. The Knights would head to the locker room with a 14-7 advantage.
McMahon and Johnson hooked-up again at the 12:21 mark of the third quarter on a five-yard touchdown, giving Rutgers a 20-7 lead. The Scarlet Knights would push their lead to 27-7 on McMahon's fourth touchdown pass of the day to Antonio Lovelace.
Villanova cut into the Rutgers lead early in the last stanza when senior fullback Ducarmel Augustin scored on an eight-yard pass to make the score 27-14 with 13:04 left.
After Walter King caught McMahon's fifth touchdown of the night with 2:49 left in regulation, Villanova finished the game's scoring when Gordon hit senior Steve Ward on a three-yard scoring strike.
Making his first collegiate start, Gordon completed 29-of-48 for 285 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. After missing all of the 1999 season due to a knee injury, Westbrook returned to action and looked to be completely healthy. All total, he amassed 255 yards of all-purpose offense including 14 carries for 46 yards, nine receptions for 93 yards and five kickoffs for 116 yards. Junior wide out Murle Sango tallied seven catches for 64 yards, while senior wide receiver Steve Ward had six receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, senior free safety Braheem Powell led the way with seven tackles, three pass break-ups and an interception. Sophomore linebacker Steve Neugebauer registered two sacks for the Wildcats.
For Rutgers, McMahon was spectacular, as he connected on 27-of-44 for 323 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receiver Walter King had a big game for the Knights with five receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
