VILLANOVA, Pa.—In its first December game in exactly five years #5 seed Villanova (10-2) persevered in a hard, physical game to outlast Holy Cross (10-3) for a 21-16 victory in front of 5,109 at Villanova Stadium on Friday night. The win advances the Wildcats to the quarterfinal round of the Division I Football Championship where they will face either #4 seed Sacramento State or South Dakota State. Those teams are playing a second round game on Saturday night starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time. This will be the first quarterfinal appearance in the FCS playoffs for Villanova since 2014.
 
"Wins are hard to come by and fortunately we came out and found a way to get one done today," Wildcats head coach Mark Ferrante said. "I have been talking about the resiliency of this team all year. We had a little momentum there going into halftime, but they came out and grabbed it in the second half with their opening drive and then the ensuing kickoff. It is survive and advance this time of year. Everybody you face is going to be really good. [Holy Cross] was really good and they played a really good game. Their quarterback did a great job throwing the ball and running the ball, but our defense stepped up when they needed to and got stops when they needed them to get us a five-point victory. I am proud of this team and thankful we have an opportunity to play another game next week."
 
Graduate student Justin Covington (Bronx, N.Y.) and senior Jalen Jackson (Richmond, Va.) combined to score three rushing touchdowns as the Wildcats did just enough to come away victorious over a Crusaders team who they last faced in the first round of the 2009 playoffs when Villanova was beginning a national title run. Covington rushed for 62 yards and the first two touchdowns of the game while Jackson ran for 45 yards and a third quarter score which was ultimately the difference in the game. The offense was on the field for just 22:57 in the game and less than 10 minutes in the second half.
 
The matchup between two of the top three defensive teams in the FCS based on total yards allowed per game did not disappoint. Holy Cross, the national statistical leader in total defense entering the night, held the Wildcats to just 281 yards on 54 plays. Villanova, meanwhile, gave up an average of just 4.4 yards per play to the Crusaders who ran 79 total plays for 347 yards. Graduate student linebacker Forrest Rhyne (Waynesboro, Pa.) continued to show the form that has made him a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award this season. Rhyne had double figures in total tackles in both halves and finished the night with a monster stat line of 21 total tackles, three tackles for loss, both Wildcats sacks and a quarterback hurry to boot.
 
Rhyne and sophomore safety Jalen Goodman (Narberth, Pa.) had dominant games, with Goodman making a season-high 12 tackles. Senior linebacker Amin Black (Philadelphia, Pa.) had nine stops and junior Qwahsin Townsel (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J.) added 1.5 tackles for loss among his six total tackles. The big night by Rhyne marked his third time this season recording 19 or more tackles in a game, his seventh game of the year with 10+ total stops and the 15^th such game of his career.
 
After a scoreless first quarter it was Villanova who got on the board first when Covington ran for a two-yard touchdown with 11:20 left in the second period. He scored again on a seven-yard burst with 1:12 left in the half to extend the Wildcats lead to 14-0, a key point in the game with Holy Cross set to receive the opening kickoff of the second half. Covington scored the 16^th and 17^th touchdowns of his career, but remarkably the first two that he has ever scored in the West end zone at Villanova Stadium. All three of Covington's previous touchdowns in home games had been scored in the East end zone.
 
The Crusaders opened the second half by driving 68 yards on 12 plays, culminating with Sean Morris catching a seven-yard touchdown pass from running back Jordan Fuller with 8:38 to play in the third quarter. That was the first touchdown pass allowed by the Villanova defense in a span of 225 pass attempts by the opposition. The last team to throw a passing touchdown against the Wildcats was FBS member Penn State on September 25. The streak of now allowing a touchdown pass lasted for 473:14 of game time.
 
A 22-yard field goal by Holy Cross with 6:10 left in the third period further trimmed the Villanova lead to 14-10, but the Wildcats countered just three plays later on Jackson's 14-yard touchdown run to stretch the margin back to 21-10. Junior running back and leading special teams contributor TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.), who had fumbled the kickoff after the first Crusaders touchdown, made the miscue a distance memory when he broke away for a 55-yard return following the field goal.
 
That gave Villanova its best field position of the day at the Holy Cross 37-yard line, and it took just three plays for the Wildcats to reach the end zone. Jackson ran for four yards on the first paly of the drive, graduate student quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) broke a tackle for a 19-yard gain and Jackson finished it off with a 14-yard touchdown run. Like the scores by Covington earlier in the game, it was another West end zone touchdown for the Villanova offense.
 
Crusaders quarterback Matt Sluka scored on a three-yard touchdown run at the 6:22 mark of the fourth quarter to make the score 21-16. Holy Cross tried a two-point conversion to get to within three points, but a pass attempt by Sluka was intercepted by senior defensive lineman Jared Nelson (Glastonbury, Conn.) and returned 33 yards before he was tackled to end the play. A horse collar tackle penalty against Sluka on the return was declined.
 
In the waning minutes of the game, the Wildcats punted the ball back to the Crusaders with 3:43 left and the defense stopped Holy Cross on third and fourth down from the Villanova 42-yard line. The turnover on downs gave the Wildcats the ball with 2:01 to play and needing one first down to effectively the contest with the Crusaders still holding all three of their timeouts. Two rushes by Covington – for seven and 12 yards – got the first down and Smith ran the clock down with three rushes and finally an incomplete pass as time expired.
 
Smith was 8-of-22 through the air for 133 yards. Sluka and Marco Siderman, who each regularly see playing time under center for Holy Cross, combined to go 22-of-38 for 179 yards and an interception. It was the running back Fuller who threw the touchdown pass which broke the Villanova streak. Sluka ran for 106 yards and a score no 22 carries.