VILLANOVA, Pa.—Two blocked punts by the Wildcats defense in the final 6:07 of the game, a go-ahead touchdown on a fourth down quarterback keeper and an ensuing two-point conversion with 1:11 to play was just some of the excitement that Villanova (6-5, 4-4 CAA Football) packed into its latest thriller in the "Battle of the Blue" rivalry against No. 20 Delaware (7-4, 4-4 CAA Football) on Saturday afternoon. Final game of the season. Senior Day. Military flyover moments before kickoff. The 56^th edition of the rivalry and the 16^th in the Battle of the Blue Trophy era had it all as the Wildcats stormed past the Blue Hens in the closing minutes for a 29-26 victory, their 10^th in the past 11 games versus Delaware and 15^th in the past 17 meetings. The venerable trophy painted with each team's hue of blue is staying on campus for another year.
 
Expect the unexpected. That is typically the best way to anticipate each year's meeting in a series that has given fans everything that a college football rivalry should entail, including the kinds of late drama and plot twists seemingly every year which can make or break a season. Take Saturday's game, in which Villanova snapped a two-game losing streak and secured a winning record for the season by overcoming a nine-point deficit in the final 16 minutes of the contest. In their first 10 games of the season the Wildcats had not beaten a ranked team, blocked a kick or scored a two-point conversion this season. They accomplished all those things in the final 6:07 of a game which will not be forgotten anytime soon.
 
"The opening statement is pretty easy [today], Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said while still absorbing the final outcome during his postgame press conference. "I am super proud of these guys, super proud of our team. They showed a lot of resilience in that game and found a way to get it done at the end."
 
The game had four lead changes, the last of which came with 1:11 remaining when junior quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.) kept the ball and ran wide for a two-yard touchdown run on fourth down to turn a five-point deficit into a 27-26 lead. He ran the ball in a second time for a two-point conversion which accounted for the final points and the Wildcats hung on for dear life in the closing seconds before the Blue Hens finally ran out of time near midfield on a last-ditch drive.
 
Villanova muffed a punt which was recovered by Delaware early in the third quarter, then had a reoccurrence of the same misfortune in the opening minute of the fourth period. A 25-yard field goal with 10:35 to play gave the Blue Hens a 26-21 advantage and the Wildcats stalled at their own 36-yard line less than two minutes later. Delaware had its offense on the field for nearly 17 minutes in the second half alone and ran 89 plays from scrimmage in the game, but the Villanova defense was looking more and more game for the challenge as the day went on.
 
The wild closing sequence to the game essentially began with 6:07 remaining when sophomore Richie Kimmel (Holmes, Pa.) blocked a punt which was recovered by graduate Danny Abraham (Randolph, Mass.) to set up the Wildcats with excellent field position at the Blue Hens 27-yard line. The drive didn't go anywhere – nine yards on six plays – and Villanova turned the ball over on downs with 2:43 to go. Recent history repeated itself however, as Delaware went three-and-out while the Wildcats used their first two charged timeouts of the half after before the second down and third down snaps. It was fourth-and-five for the Blue Hens and this time freshman Devon Marshall (Boston, Mass.) came up with a block that graduate Tyler Will (Newtown Square, Pa.) recovered to set up first and goal at the 10-yard line with 2:15 remaining.  
 
Consecutive carries by senior running back DeeWil Barlee (Upper Darby, Pa.) brought Villanova down to the one-yard line and to the doorstep of retaking the lead for the first time since the final minute of the first half. Watkins was stuffed for a one-yard loss on third-and-goal though, and Ferrante used his final timeout with 1:14 to play. After the timeout, the Delaware defense looked straight up the middle as Watkins broke right and easily scampered into the end zone for the decisive score. He did go middle up the middle for the two-point conversion which at least put a field goal's distance between the teams. After all, the Blue Hens had already made two field goals on the day to match their entire season's total entering the game.
 
Delaware was down to 31 seconds by the time it threw two incomplete passes from its own 31-yard line on the final possession of the game. Blue Hens quarterback Nolan Henderson completed a short six-yard pass to Marcus Yarns, but the clock kept ticking and was down to six seconds by the time Henderson hit Chandler Harvin who stepped out of bounds after making a catch at the Delaware 48-yard line. Henderson's final pass of the game was a completion to Kyron Cumby, but he fumbled after a one-yard gain and Abraham recovered the loose ball as the clock ticked to zero.  
 
An epic and frenetic sprint to the finish line which had Nova Nation in a frenzy. And yet, the biggest roar came before the game even started. After the Wildcats honored 30 members of their 2022 squad in a pregame Senior Day celebration, the captains of each team proceeded to midfield for the coin toss at 1:01 p.m., two minutes prior to kickoff. As soon as the coin was in the air the entire stadium – teams and fans alike – had their eyes on the skies as an EA-18G Growler soared over the stadium under the command of Pilot Nathan Barton and Navigator Nick Sweeney. The thunderous roar of the jet was just the right bit of pomp and circumstance to fit the memorable day.
 
Villanova won the toss and deferred to the second half, then recovered a Delaware fumble two plays into the game. Seven plays later, Watkins scored on a seven-yard touchdown run at the 9:53 mark of the opening quarter to give the Wildcats the first strike and a 7-0 lead. Thyrick Pitts hauled in a 48-yard touchdown reception with 8:02 remaining in the period to tie the score before later making a seven-yard touchdown catch at the 7:05 mark of the second quarter which gave the Blue Hens a 13-7 lead.
 
A missed PAT potentially loomed large and Barlee capped an eight-play, 73-yard touchdown drive with a one-yard run into the end zone with 3:07 to play before halftime which restored a 14-13 Villanova lead. That slim advantage did not make it to the intermission however, as Delaware kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired to head to the locker rooms with a 16-14 lead.
 
Jourdan Townsend's 25-yard touchdown reception with 9:53 to play in the third quarter extended the Blue Hens lead to 23-14, but Barlee found the end zone for the second time on an 11-yard touchdown run at the 1:01 mark of the period which pulled the Wildcats back to within two points at 23-21.
 
Villanova did have to defend 89 offensive plays by Delaware, but the Wildcats defense saw a season-high three different players post double-digit tackle totals. Sophomore linebacker Brendan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.) had career highs of 12 tackles, nine solo stops and three tackles for loss. Junior safety Jalen Goodman (Narberth, Pa.) also registered 12 total stops and redshirt freshman linebacker Shane Hartzell (Perkasie, Pa.) recorded 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and the only sack by either team for a nine-yard setback.
 
There were fumble recoveries by Abraham and sophomore Ty Trinh (Owings Mills, Md.), plus the blocked punts by Kimmel and Marshall which were recovered by Abraham and Will. It took every one of those big plays to overcome Delaware outgaining the Wildcats by a 461-250 margin in yards of total offense. Blue Hens quarterback Nolan Henderson was 37-of-59 for 347 yards and three scores.
 
Watkins was only 5-of-16 through the air for 122 yards, with fifth-year receiver Dez Boykin (Whitehall, Pa.) making catches of 58 yards and 38 yards to account for nearly all of the Wildcats passing offense. In the final game of his collegiate career, Boykin added to his 96 receiving yards with two kickoff returns for 41 total yards. The returns were significant, as Boykin moved past former Villanova legend Matt Szczur and into fourth place in the program record book with 1,725 career kickoff return yards. Watkins did run 10 times for 60 yards and two touchdowns, while Barlee tied a career high with 22 carries for 66 yards and two scores. Barlee had a milestone of his own for the game as he moved past four different players and into 18^th place in school history with 1,629 career rushing yards.
 
Villanova finishes with a winning record for the eight time in the last 10 full seasons it has played (not including a 2-2 record in the abbreviated Spring 2021 campaign). It now leads the all-time series against Delaware by a 33-22-1 margin. The Wildcats have played – and beaten – the Blue Hens more times than any other opponent the program has ever faced.