VILLANOVA, Pa. — Two Wildcats earned mention on the AFCA's All-America list on Thursday morning, rounding out a week where 'Cats were named to four different organizations' accolades. Graduate offensive lineman Temi Ajirotutu (Queens, N.Y.) picked up a 1st Team laurel following a dominant season in the trenches and junior kick returner Ja'briel Mace (Somers Point, N.J.) was a 2nd Team pick to earn honors on all four lists this week.
The slate of national honors comes as the Wildcats are riding an 11-game winning streak and headed to the semifinal round of the Division I Football Championship where they will host Illinois State this coming Saturday night. Villanova is 12-2 overall – tying its second-most wins ever – and earned an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs after finishing in second place in the regular season CAA Football standings. This is the third straight playoff appearance and fourth in the last five years for the Wildcats, who finished the season ranked in the top 10 both major national polls.
Ajirotutu has started all 14 games at left guard and is part of an offensive line that has been critical to the team's success this season. Villanova leads CAA Football in rushing offense with an average of 180.7 yards per game and the Wildcats rank 11th nationally with 297 first downs. Entering this week's semifinal playoff game the Villanova offense is averaging better than 30 points per game (30.6) for the year and has given up only 24 sacks all season, including just five in three playoff games. The Wildcats have averaged 219.5 yards per game on the ground and 423.5 yards of total offense over their last six contests.
During his career, Ajirotutu has been a mainstay on the Villanova offensive line. He has started 45 of the 51 career games he has played in and was named to this year's CAA Football First Team Offense. Ajirotutu is one of seven active players on the Wildcats roster who has played in at least 50 career games, and one of 27 members of the roster who has played in 30 or more collegiate games.
Mace is having one of the best kickoff return seasons in school history while also leading the team in rushing. He has 22 kickoff returns for 723 yards and two touchdowns. Mace ranks second nationally with an average of 32.9 yards per return and is bidding to become only the second player in Villanova history to average better than 30.0 yards per return over a full season. His 723 total kickoff return yards are the seventh most in a season in school history and rank third in the country. Mace was the first player in the country this season to have two kickoff return touchdowns. His two scores came in a span of three games: first for 100 yards against William & Mary and two weeks later for 97 yards at Elon.
At the end of the regular season Mace became only the second player in school history to be named the CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Year. He was named to the CAA Football First Team Offense and was a three-time weekly honoree during the season. Mace has starred in the backfield for the Wildcats in addition to his success on kick returns. He broke Brian Westbrook's single game school record for rushing yards at Towson on November 8 when he ran for 291 yards and all our Villanova touchdowns on 28 carries in a 28-10 win. Mace has run for over 100 yards three times in his last six outings, including 151 yards and a touchdown in the quarterfinals of the playoffs at Tarleton State last week.
