GREENSBORO, N.C.—Villanova (4-2, 2-1 CAA Football) amassed nearly 400 yards of offense in the first half alone and dominated the time of possession to record a 37-14 win over North Carolina A&T (1-4, 0-2 CAA Football) in the first-ever meeting between the teams at Truist Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Fifth year running back
DeeWil Barlee (Upper Darby, Pa.) became the 12
th player in Villanova history with over 2,000 career rushing yards and sophomore wide receiver
Jaylan Sanchez (North Bergen, N.J.) caught six passes for 158 yards while scoring two touchdowns in the Wildcats win.
The story of the game was the performance of the Villanova offense in the first half. Along the way to building a 30-14 lead at halftime the Wildcats amassed 373 yards of total offense compared to just 54 for the Aggies. Villanova racked up more than 23 minutes (23:09) of possession time in the first half and converted 6-of-9 third down chances while averaging nearly 7.5 yards per play. Fifth year quarterback
Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.) passed for 230 yards and was 15-of-20 through the air by the intermission.
HOW IT STARTED…
- Villanova received the opening kickoff and scored the first points of the game on a 25-yard field goal by sixth year kicker Matthew Mercurio (Salinas, Calif.) at the 8:26 mark of the first quarter. The drive time (6:34) made it the longest drive in terms of clock time for the Wildcats this season.
- On the ensuing kickoff after the Mercurio field goal however, North Carolina A&T return man Taymon Cooke broke away for an explosive 94-yard touchdown which gave the Aggies an instant lead before they had even taken an offensive snap. It was the first kickoff return touchdown allowed by the Villanova defense since a 98-yard return by Richmond two seasons ago.
- The lead swung back to the Wildcats when Sanchez caught a 58-yard touchdown pass at the 6:06 mark of the first quarter, while a 39-yard field goal by Mercurio on the second play of the second period gave Villanova a 13-7 lead. It was short-lived, as North Carolina A&T had excellent field position after a punt four minutes later and needed to go just 33 yards on three plays to go in front again (14-13) with 10:27 left on the second quarter clock.
- It all added up to some strange numbers through the first 15 minutes of the game. At that point in the contest the Wildcats had made more field goals (two) and the Aggies had scored more touchdowns (two) than the Villanova defense had given up first downs (one). North Carolina A&T held a 14-13 lead despite being outgained in total yards, 179-41.
…HOW IT'S GOING
- By the time halftime arrived the Wildcats had scored 17 unanswered points take control of the game for good. Barlee scored on a 21-yard touchdown run with 4:56 left in the second quarter and fifth year wide receiver Rayjuon Pringle (Woodbridge, Va.) caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Watkins with 1:24 to play before the break.
- Another of the game's turning points came after the Pringle touchdown when the Wildcats receovered an onside kick and went 47 yards on seven plays in the final 1:24 of the half leading up to a 19-yard field goal by Mercurio as the second quarter clock expired. Mercurio improved to 5-of-5 on field goal attempts this season and is now 15-of-17 in his Villanova career. He is also 58-of-58 in his Wildcats career on PATs, including 23-of-23 this season.
VILLANOVA ON THE RUN
- With his 21-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Barlee became the 12th player in Villanova history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. His current career totals through the end of the game are 2,032 yards and 14 touchdowns. He ranks 12th in school history and is 128 yards behind Chris Whitney (2007-10) for 11th place. Barlee had 94 yards on 16 carries in Saturday's game.
- Each of the Wildcats big three running backs of Barlee, sixth year Jalen Jackson (Richmond, Va.) and fifth year TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.) moved up in the Villanova record book during the contest. Jackson had 77 yards on 14 carries and moved into 14th place with 1,880 yards. Ayo-Durojaiye rushed for 61 yards on 13 carries and is now 25th in school history with 1,430 yards.
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
- Watkins finished the day 16-of-23 for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Villanova amassed a season-high 537 yards of total offense (289 passing, 248 rushing) and averaged 7.2 yards per play. It is the first time since the Monmouth game last season that the Wildcats topped 500 yards of total offense.
- Sanchez and Pringle alone combined for 255 receiving yards while making six catches apiece. The pair began the day ranked 1-2 in the FCS this season in average yards per reception. Sanchez has five catches of 45 yards or longer this season, including touchdown receptions of 59 yards and 58 yards in Saturday's game. He caught a 59-yard pass from Watkins at the 4:57 mark of the third quarter for the only points scored by either team in the second half.
- Villanova was 8-of-16 on third down in the game to continue an impressive trend over the past three weeks. In the last three games against Rhode Island, UAlbany and North Carolina A&T the Wildcats are a combined 24-of-41 (58.5%) on third down. That is a marked turnaround from the first three games of the season when Villanova converted only 24.2 percent (8-of-33) of its third down chances.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS
- Sixth year linebacker Danny Abraham (Randolph, Mass.) led the Wildcats with seven tackles and had one of the team's four sacks. Fifth year defensive ends Camden Gagnon (Goffstown, N.H.) and Chandon Pierre (Reno, Nev.) in addition to senior safety Tyrell Mims (Philadelphia, Pa.) also had sacks.
- North Carolina A&T had only two first downs in the first half and did not record their third first down of the game until the second-to-last play of the third quarter. Villanova wound up with a 25-8 advantage in first downs on the day and finished the game with a 37:40 time of possession.
FIRST TIME FOE
- The Aggies are in their first year as a member of CAA Football and were playing only their second league contest. They are the only opponent on Villanova's regular season schedule that the Wildcats had never faced before.
NEXT UP
- Villanova returns home for the first time in three weeks when it hosts Elon next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. It will be the first visit to Villanova Stadium for the Phoenix since 2017 and just their second visit ever to the Main Line.
