Sept. 18, 2005
Box Score | Photo Gallery
VILLANOVA, Pa. - In a game marked by a rain delay caused by severe lightning in the area, Villanova (1-1, 1-0 Atlantic 10) defeated Northeastern (0-3, 0-1 A-10) 38-20 on Saturday evening at Villanova Stadium. The Wildcats won their conference opener for the eighth time in the past 10 years.
Villanova led 13-3 late in the first quarter when a heavy thunderstorm moved through the region and forced a stoppage of play. When the game resumed, the Huskies quickly recorded their first touchdown of the game and closed the gap to 13-10. However, Villanova extended its lead with a pair of touchdowns during the remainder of the quarter, and went into halftime with a 26-10 lead.
Senior linebacker Brian Hulea (Canfield, Ohio) recovered a fumble for a touchdown with 10:40 left in the period, and sophomore running back Matt Dicken (Cape May, N.J.) rushed in for a two-yard score with 5:00 remaining.
Dicken tallied 15 carries for 28 yards on the evening, but included two touchdowns in that line. Senior running back Martin Gibson (District Heights, Md.) also had 15 carries and collected 80 yards. Sophomore quarterback Frank Jankowski (Berwick, Pa.) made his first career start and was 16-of-25 for 241 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His touchdown pass was to sophomore wide receiver Anton Ridley (Laurel, Del.), who caught the first touchdown reception of his career with a collegiate-best 27-yard reception.
A Northeastern field goal early in the third period made the score 26-13, but the Wildcats put the game out of reach on a 19-yard field goal by senior kicker Adam James (Marietta, Ga.) with 6:42 left in the quarter and Ridley's touchdown catch with 4:00 remaining.
The Huskies owned a 351-342 edge in total offense for the game. Quarterbacks Anthony Orio and John Sperrazza combined for 214 passing yards, and Cory Parks totaled 129 receiving yards for the game. Running back Maurice Murray collected 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
The Wildcats return to action next Saturday when the play Penn at Franklin Field at 7 p.m. The game is a home game for Villanova.
NOTES: The rain delay began with 42.1 seconds left in the first quarter when severe lightning was spotted in the immediate area ... The delay lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes and the game resumed at 9:15 p.m. ... The delay marked the third time in the last nine years that the Wildcats have endured a lightning delay in a home opener ... The other occasions were also night games, coming in 1997 against West Chester and 2001 against Colgate ... Since beginning conference play at the I-AA level in 1988, the Wildcats are now 13-5 in conference openers. The Wildcats have won eight of their last 10 conference openers and have scored 30 or more points in eight of the 10 contests ... Villanova leads the all-time series with Northeastern by a 9-5 tally, including a 6-1 advantage in games played at Villanova Stadium ... The Wildcats have won their last six home games against Northeastern.
