VILLANOVA, Pa.—Veteran running backs Justin Covington (Bronx, N.Y.) and Jalen Jackson (Richmond, Va.) combined for 245 rushing yards and the defense kept a remarkable streak intact as No. 8 Villanova (8-2, 6-1 CAA Football) pulled away from a 33-14 win over Stony Brook (4-6, 3-4 CAA Football) on a celebratory Senior Day at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The festivities surrounding the final home game of the regular season included the Wildcats honoring their graduating seniors prior to kickoff and an on-field presentation during the game to recognize legendary former head coach Andy Talley who is being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame next month.
 
Covington and Jackson each topped 100 rushing yards as Villanova scored 26 unanswered points from the final minute of the second quarter through the middle of the fourth period to gradually put the game out of reach of the Seawolves, who were limited 175 total yards of offense in another sterling Wildcats defensive effort. Stony Brook scored both of its touchdowns on the ground against a defensive unit which has now gone six consecutive games and 174 straight passing attempts by the opposition without allowing a passing touchdown. Villanova began the day ranked in the top 12 nationally in seven different defensive categories and improved its averages in six of the seven with its latest strong performance.
 
"I liked the way we stayed patient with the running game and it was really good to end up with two 100-yard rushers Wildcats head coach Mark Ferrante said. "Our defense continues to do a great job of stopping the run. Stony Brook is one of the top rushing teams in the league, so to hold them right around 100 yards for the game was a strong effort by our guys. Overall it was an outstanding team win on Senior Day."
 
A weather system which brought strong wind gusts and a wind-driven rain across the field affected play by both teams in the first half before clearing just before the start of the third quarter. The two teams combined for just six completions and 50 passing yards in the first 30 minutes, while punts and kickoffs were adventures in the heavy wind. The game was tied 7-7 for most of the second quarter before Villanova took the lead for good on Jackson's second touchdown run of the game with 26 seconds to play before halftime.
 
"It was a slow start for both teams with the defenses controlling the game in the early going," Ferrante said. "The weather conditions made it difficult to throw the ball, but we still ended up with three touchdown passes which was a big boost for the offense."
 
Jackson ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Covington had one of the best games of his career with 142 yards on 13 carries, including one of the longest runs in school history. On the Wildcats second possession of the third quarter, Villanova had to start from its own one-yard line and was facing third-and-nine from the two when Covington burst down the sideline for 83 yards. It was the seventh-longest rush in school history and the longest run by a Wildcats player since Billy Walik had an 84-yard rush against West Chester in 1969. Covington tallied his eighth career 100-yard rushing game and moved into 10^th place in school history with 2,197 rushing yards.
 
Graduate student quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) was 9-of-21 through the air for just 71 yards, but junior wide receiver Jaaron Hayek (Wayne, N.J.) caught two touchdown passes and graduate student tight end Tyler Will (Newtown Square, Pa.) thrilled a hometown crowd with his first career touchdown to score the final Villanova points of the game with 7:46 left in the contest. Hayek had five receptions for 42 yards and the two scores while his older brother, Hunter, registered three catches for 25 yards on the Stony Brook side.
 
Both teams went three-and-out on their first possessions of the game and the game was still scoreless with 5:24 remaining in the opening period when the Seawolves were set up to punt from their own 35-yard line. The snap to the punter was fumbled and Wildcats junior TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.) was credited with a tackle which gave Villanova the ball at the 10-yard line. Jackson rushed for 10 yards and the first points of the game just seven seconds later.
 
Stony Brook countered by going 71 yards on 12 plays to tie the score at 7-7 on a nine-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyquell Fields just 24 seconds into the second quarter. The adverse weather conditions stalled both teams after that, but the Wildcats put together a 12-play, 60-yard drive which ate up 6:41 of clock time to retake the lead just before the intermission. Jackson capped the scoring drive with his second touchdown to swing momentum strongly towards Villanova going into the locker rooms.
 
Graduate student linebackers Forrest Rhyne (Waynesboro, Pa.) and Amin Black (Philadelphia, Pa.) each reached double figures in tackles. Rhyne had a team-high 11 total stops and Black recorded 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss and one of the team's two sacks. Graduate student defensive end Malik Fisher (New York, N.Y.) added eight stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and the Wildcats other sack on the day. Senior cornerback Christian Benford (Randallstown, Md.) recorded his sixth interception of the season and the 13^th of his career in the fourth quarter to set up Villanova's final scoring drive.
 
The long run by Covington in the third quarter set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Hayek with 8:32 left in the period which extended the Wildcats lead to 20-7. Hayek also caught an 18-yard pass for a score with 14:51 to play in the fourth period. Will's two-yard touchdown reception with 7:46 to go swelled the margin to 33-7 before the Seawolves added their second touchdown with just 17 seconds left.
 
Fields was just 4-of-18 for 42 yards passing and backup quarterback Josh Zamot was 2-of-2 for 27 yards late in the contest. Stony Brook recorded 106 of its 175 total yards on the ground, although on 41 carries the Seawolves were still limited to an average of just 2.6 yards per carry. Over the last six games played Villanova has held its opposition to just a 77.6 passing efficiency. The six-game stretch has seen the other teams combine to go 80-of-167 (47.9%) through the air with six interceptions and no touchdown passes.
 
One game remains on the regular season schedule for the Wildcats, who will travel to Delaware next Saturday at 1 p.m. for the annual Battle of the Blue rivalry game.