Football 11/18/2016 12:00:00 AM

Battle of the Blue on Saturday as Wildcats Visit Delaware

Nov. 18, 2016

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SATURDAY'S REGULAR SEASON FINALE AGAINST DELAWARE

VILLANOVA, Pa.--This weekend will mark the 10th annual Battle of the Blue game as No. 13 Villanova (7-3, 5-2 CAA Football) takes on Delaware (4-6, 2-5 CAA Football) on Saturday afternoon. The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. at Delaware Stadium and will be broadcast live on The Comcast Network in the Philadelphia area, as well as on SNY in the New York region.

Although the Wildcats and the Blue Hens have been playing each other for a long time - the all-time series stretches for well over 100 years now - it was only in 2007 that the annual rivalry game started to be billed as the Battle of the Blue. Villanova has won eight of the nine meetings since then, including a 28-21 victory at home last season to retain the Battle of the Blue trophy.

Thanks in part to the Wildcats success in the Battle of the Blue game, they lead the all-time series with Delaware by a 28-21-1 margin. Saturday's game will be the 50th all-time meeting between the schools, who first met in 1895 when the Blue Hens tallied a 10-6 victory. Villanova has played more games against Delaware than any other opponent in its history, with Boston College (44 meetings) the next most common foe.

It has already been a successful season for the Wildcats, who have guaranteed themselves a winning record for the 14th time in the last 16 years and the 25th time in 32 seasons under head coach Andy Talley. Saturday's game will be Talley's regular season finale before he retires after the season, but Villanova is hoping that this weekend will be more about beginnings than endings.

A win over the Blue Hens would put the Wildcats in excellent position to return to the FCS playoffs for the sixth time in the last nine seasons. The field of 24 teams for the Division I Football Championship will be announced on Sunday morning. Villanova is currently tied for second place in the CAA standings with its 5-2 conference record.

Sophomore quarterback Zach Bednarczyk (Wallington, N.J.) made a memorable collegiate debut when the Wildcats and Delaware last met. He entered last year's game in the fourth quarter with Villanova trailing 21-14 and finished two scoring drives as the Wildcats rallied for an emotional victory after starting quarterback John Robertson left the game with what turned out to be a season-ending injury.

Despite playing just half a quarter, Bednarczyk was 4-of-6 for 57 yards and a touchdown, in addition to running for both a game-winning 21-yard score and a two-point conversion. He has been the Villanova starter under center since that game and is 11-7 in his career. In 10 games this season, Bednarczyk has thrown for 1,489 yards and 11 touchdowns while also rushing for 382 yards and two scores. His career-long 56-yard run accounted for the Wildcats only points in a 20-7 loss to James Madison last week.

Villanova continues to be one of the nation's best defensive teams. Entering the regular season finale, the Wildcats rank second among all FCS teams in red zone defense (62.5% scoring percentage) and third in both scoring defense (15.4 points allowed per game) and total defense (268.9 yards allowed per game).

In last week's game against the Dukes, senior linebacker Austin Calitro (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Jeff Steeb (Sweetwater, N.J.) each had double figures in tackles. Calitro had 3.5 tackles for loss among his 11 total stops, while Steeb had a career high 10 tackles for the day.

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