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VILLANOVA, Pa. - Redshirt freshman quarterback Zack Bednarczyk (Wallington, N.J.) replaced an injured John Robertson (Paramus, N.J.) with less than seven minutes remaining in the game and led a pair of late scoring drives as No. 6 Villanova (2-1, 1-0 CAA Football) rallied for a 28-21 win over Delaware (1-2, 0-1 CAA Football) in front of a boisterous and near-sellout crowd of 11,779 at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Wildcats retained possession of the Battle of the Blue Trophy for the fourth straight year and the eighth time in the nine years that the trophy has been presented. The win was also the 600th in the history of the Villanova program, which dates back to the late 19th century.

There were four lead changes in what has become the annual thriller between the two longtime rivals. After a touchdown and successful two-point conversion gave the Blue Hens a 21-14 lead with 10:58 to play in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats answered back with two late touchdowns to emerge with the win. Bednarczyk threw a six-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Kevin Gulyas (Allentown, Pa.) with 6:18 to play and later scored his first career touchdown on a 21-yard run with 2:35 left. Bednarczyk then ran the ball again on a keeper for a two-point conversion which made the score 28-21 with 2:35 to play.

"It was an amazing game, a typical Villanova-Delaware game," Villanova head coach Andy Talley said. "The defense played tremendous and held us in the game. They did a terrific job in some critical spots to get the ball back to us. I can't say enough for Zack to come in cold like that at quarterback. To do what he did is probably as good of a quarterbacking job as we've had with the second guy going in and figuring out how to help you win the game both with his arm and with his feet. The mental attitude of our program is always that `we are in it to win it.' We keep tapping the rock and hopefully good things will happen."

It was Robertson's customary late-game guile that got Villanova into the red zone on the first of the two late scoring drives. He opened that drive with 10:58 remaining with a 14-yard completion to Gulyas, then ran for 16 yards two plays later on 3rd-and-3 from the Wildcats own 46-yard line. He also found senior wide receiver Aaron Wells (Ellicott City, Md.) for a 10-yard completion on 3rd-and-11 from the Delaware 24-yard line, and scampered for two yards on 4th-and-1 to keep Villanova moving. On 2nd-and-4 from the Blue Hens six-yard line two plays later, Robertson ran for no gain and was injured on the play.

Bednarczyk entered on third down and nearly threw a touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Ryan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.) on his first career pass attempt. On fourth down, Bednarczyk found Gulyas for the score as the Wildcats pulled to within 21-20. The point-after try by Villanova was no good and Delaware regained possession with a one-point lead and 6:11 remaining. The defense for the Wildcats forced a three-and-out however, and momentum swung back to Villanova with 4:47 left.

The game-winning drive for the Wildcats started with Bednarczyk connecting with Gulyas for 34 yards, which quickly got Villanova into Blue Hens territory at the 40-yard line. Two plays later it was 3rd-and-14 at the 44-yard line when Bednarczyk took over the game in the manner that is becoming customary of a Wildcats quarterback. He converted on third down with a 21-yard pass to Wells, then found the end zone with his 21-yard run which restored the Villanova lead at 26-21. A pass attempt for a two-point conversion was no good, but Delaware was whistled for a holding penalty and Bednarczyk ran the ball in for the final points of the game on the second try.

Robertson and Bednarczyk combined for 309 yards of total offense in the victory, while Gulyas had a career-high eight catches for 152 yards. Robertson was 14-of-24 for 208 yards and a touchdown while also running for 23 yards and a score. Bednarczyk also had both a passing and a rushing touchdown, finishing 4-of-6 for 57 yards through the air to go along with the one carry for 21 yards.

Sophomore cornerback Malik Reaves (Jacksonville, Fla.), senior linebacker Don Cherry (Trumbull, Conn.) and senior defensive lineman Reggie Paris (Pemberton, N.J.) led another strong effort by the Wildcats defense. Reaves had a career-high 12 tackles, while Cherry and Paris sacked Blue Hens quarterback Joe Walker on successive plays with Delaware desperately trying to rally in the final two minutes. Sophomore safety Wes Smith (Miramar, Fla.) sealed the outcome with an interception on a 4th-and-27 heave and Villanova took a knee to run out the clock.

Cherry finished the day with 10 tackles and Paris added a career-high nine stops. Junior linebacker Austin Calitro (Danbury, Conn.) also had a sack and a total of seven players recorded six or more tackles.

Villanova raced out of the gates with an 82-yard scoring drive in the first three minutes of the game. Robertson found Gulyas for a 70-yard completion on the first play from scrimmage in the contest and the Wildcats scored four plays later when Robertson scampered into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown run. Delaware answered with a field goal four minutes later and a one-yard touchdown run by Jalen Randolph to take a 10-7 lead with 4:59 to play in the opening quarter.

Junior running back Gary Underwood (Cincinnati, Ohio) caught an eight-yard touchdown pass just 12 seconds into the second period to restore the Villanova lead at 14-10. The half ended with Blue Hens kicker Frank Raggo drilling a 44-yard field goal as time expired at the end of the period. Both offenses then stalled in the third quarter and the Wildcats maintained their 14-13 lead until the decisive final period.

The late-game heroics were a breakthrough for the Villanova offense, which was held in check for the majority of the second and third quarters. Aside from their two scoring drives in the first half, the Wildcats gained just 58 yards on six other drives prior to their fourth quarter rally. Delaware had possession of the ball for more than 35 minutes in the contest and ran 81 offensive plays, compared with Villanova's 58.

Junior punter John Hinchen (Saddle River, N.J.) had a big impact on the game, as he punted five times for an average of 50.0 yards, including a season-best 61-yard attempt in the second quarter. He played a big part in the Blue Hens having an average starting field position of their own 32-yard line for the game.

Delaware got most of its offense on the ground and ran for 205 yards. Randolph had 84 rushing yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Joe Walker ran for 48 yards while also going 13-of-28 for 94 yards through the air.

The upcoming week will be a short one for the Wildcats, who return home to host Penn on Thursday night at 7 p.m.