2009 FOOTBALL
December 18, 2009
David Berman
Villanova Media Relations
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Junior wide receiver
Matt Szczur (Erma, N.J.) rushed for a career-high 159 yards and carried No. 2 seed Villanova (14-1) to its first national championship on Friday night in front of 14,328 at Finley Stadium. The Wildcats knocked off No. 1 seed and undefeated Montana (14-1) to win a national title as head coach
Andy Talley reached the pinnacle of college football in his 25
th season on the Main Line. Szczur racked up 270 all-purpose yards en route to being named the championship game’s Most Outstanding Player.
This is the 18
th national championship in University history for Villanova and the second in the last four weeks. Villanova won the women’s cross country national title in Terre Haute, Ind., last month.
“It is hard to explain how much this means, not just to me, but to the entire program,” Talley said. “I had always been content having a great program, graduating our kids and winning enough games to keep my job. We have been close before but I knew this was a really good team that had a good chance to go all the way. For me, you don’t get a chance to come through this on the national scene very often. It is extremely special.”
Villanova trailed 14-3 midway through the second quarter before putting the ball in the hands of Szczur and junior quarterback
Chris Whitney (Warminster, Pa.). Szczur ran for a five-yard touchdown with 3:34 left before halftime and later accounted for the winning margin with a three-yard touchdown run at the 11:04 mark of the fourth period. Whitney finished with 102 yards on 16 carries while also completing 10-of-13 passes for 142 yards with one score and one interception.
Along the way to winning the championship, the Wildcats totaled 493 yards of total offense. Early in the contest the team set a new single season record for total offense in a season, adding to records already established for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in a season. Whitney finishes the season with 991 rushing yards, more than double his own previous record for the most rushing yards in a season by a Villanova quarterback. The Wildcats held the ball for nearly 20 minutes after halftime after Montana had a narrow edge in controlling the ball in the first half.
“I give our offensive line all the credit in the world,” Whitney said. “They allowed me to run the option. I new that I wouldn’t be able to hand off and then block the defensive end, so we had to get into the alley. Once we did that, one guy couldn’t cover both me and Szczur. It was 2-on-1 at that point once we got into the alley.”
Whitney hit senior tight end
Chris Farmer (Philadelphia, Pa.) for a three-yard score with 5:27 left in the third period to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 16-14. Villanova had given up a lead just two times all season long and didn’t relinquish their advantage in the biggest game in the century-plus history of the program.
A game of this magnitude was never going to end without a great charge by the Grizzlies in the waning moments. Montana quarterback Andrew Selle completed a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jabin Sambrano with 1:07 to play to pull the Grizzlies to within just two points. Montana was unable to convert an onside kick, however, as the attempt went out of bounds. The Wildcats were then able to run out the clock and finish off their championship run with their ninth consecutive victory.
“Obviously you saw probably one of the better championship games that has been played,” Talley said. “Two really good teams played flat out. We have so much respect for Montana. They played exactly how we thought they would. We have a very special player in Matt Szczur and he seized the opportunity and did a fantastic job for us. He made some big plays and when all was said and done our defense came up with stops.”
The game was a tale of two halves on the offensive end for the Grizzlies, who scored on a 24-yard touchdown reception by Marc Mariani at the 3:15 mark of the first quarter and then stretched the lead to double digits on a four-yard scoring reception by Sambrano with 6:48 to play in the second period. Mariani caught nine passes for 178 yards in the first half but did not catch a pass in the second half.
Villanova scored first in the game on a 23-yard field goal by redshirt freshman kicker
Nick Yako (Cleveland, Ohio) with 5:12 left in the opening period. Yako made six of his last seven field goal tries of the season and his lone attempt tonight gave the Wildcats a brief 3-0 lead before Montana roared back with 14 unanswered points.
“Montana did a great job in the first half and we had trouble catching up to them,” Talley said. “Their quarterback was 17-of-23 at halftime and we just hoped he would come back to earth. We didn’t change anything at halftime. The locker room was very calm. Our defense gave us a chance to have more control of the football in the second half. The one critical decision we made was to go for it on fourth down. The reason we did that was because in these playoffs we have pretty much played flat out. We had momentum and good things were happening and we just wanted to keep riding that. Chris Whitney had a phenomenal second half and Matt Szczur showed that he is the best player in our program since Brian Westbrook.
After Szczur recorded the first touchdown of the night for the Wildcats in the second quarter, Yako missed an extra point attempt wide left. It was the first and only miss of the season for Yako, who set individual and team single-season records in his first collegiate campaign for extra points (kicking) made and attempted.
VILLANOVA ROSTER
|
| No. |
Name |
Class |
Position |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
High School |
| 1 |
James Pitts |
Sophomore |
DB |
6-0 |
180 |
Montclair, N.J. |
Montclair |
| 2 |
Fred Maldonado |
Junior |
DB |
5-11 |
190 |
West Chester, Pa. |
West Chester East |
| 3 |
Brandyn Harvey |
Senior |
WR |
6-4 |
205 |
Sping Valley, Calif. |
Monte Vista |
| 4 |
Matt Szczur |
Junior |
WR |
5-11 |
195 |
Erma, N.J. |
Lower Cape May Regional |
| 5 |
Antwon Young |
Senior |
QB |
6-4 |
225 |
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
Plantation |
| 6 |
Ronnie Akins |
Freshman |
DB |
6-0 |
190 |
Lansdale, Pa. |
North Penn |
| 7 |
Jarred Corey |
Junior |
DB |
5-10 |
170 |
Davie, Fla. |
Western |
| 8 |
Norman White |
Sophomore |
WR |
6-3 |
210 |
Hammonton, N.J. |
St. Joseph's |
| 9 |
Marquis Kirkland |
Junior |
LB |
5-10 |
250 |
Syracuse, N.Y. |
Henninger |
| 10 |
Thomas Teel |
Junior |
DB |
5-10 |
205 |
Dumont, N.J. |
Dumont |
| 11 |
Larry Jackson |
Redshirt Freshman |
WR |
6-4 |
205 |
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
Cardinal Gibbons |
| 12 |
Christian Culicerto |
Sophomore |
QB |
5-9 |
190 |
Charlotte, N.C. |
Charlotte Catholic |
| 13 |
Martel Moody |
Junior |
DB |
5-11 |
185 |
Tampa, Fla. |
Jefferson |
| 14 |
Ross Ventrone |
Senior |
DB |
5-8 |
190 |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
Chartiers Valley |
| 15 |
Dominic Scarnecchia |
Sophomore |
DB |
5-10 |
195 |
Youngstown, Ohio |
Cardinal Mooney |
| 16 |
Marlon Calbi |
Sophomore |
QB |
5-11 |
180 |
Montclair, N.J. |
Montclair |
| 17 |
Chris Whitney |
Junior |
QB |
6-2 |
230 |
Warminster, Pa. |
St. Joseph's Prep |
| 18 |
Anthony Johnson |
Junior |
LB |
5-10 |
215 |
Atlanta, Ga. |
Grady |
| 19 |
Chris Johnson |
Redshirt Freshman |
QB |
6-1 |
220 |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
Roman Catholic |
| 20 |
Mikey Reynolds |
Sophomore |
WR |
5-6 |
165 |
Moorestown, N.J. |
Moorestown |
| 21 |
John Dempsey |
Junior |
DB |
6-0 |
210 |
Secane, Pa. |
Cardinal O'Hara |
| 22 |
Angelo Babbaro |
Junior |
RB |
5-9 |
195 |
Canfield, Ohio |
Canfield |
| 23 |
Osayi Osunde |
Senior |
LB |
6-1 |
245 |
Bloomsburg, Pa. |
Central Columbia |
| 24 |
Lawrence Doss |
Sophomore |
RB |
5-7 |
180 |
Bellflower, Calif. |
St. John Bosco |
| 25 |
Aaron Ball |
Junior |
RB |
5-9 |
200 |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
Cabrillo |
| 26 |
Kelvin Johnson |
Sophomore |
DB |
5-10 |
195 |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
William Penn Charter |
| 27 |
Joshua Potts |
Sophomore |
DB |
5-10 |
175 |
Harrisburg, Pa. |
Harrisburg |
| 28 |
Eric Loper |
Freshman |
DB |
5-11 |
180 |
Sicklerville, N.J. |
Timber Creek |
| 29 |
Mike Mayock |
Freshman |
DB |
6-1 |
190 |
Newtown Square, Pa. |
Malvern Prep |
| 30 |
John Nelson |
Junior |
PK |
5-5 |
160 |
Newtown, Conn. |
Newtown |
| 31 |
Nick Hurley |
Freshman |
WR |
5-10 |
175 |
Wheeling, W.Va. |
Wheeling Central Catholic |
| 32 |
Tony Canci |
Senior |
RB |
5-11 |
220 |
Brookhaven, Pa. |
Sun Valley |
| 33 |
Aaron Conaway |
Freshman |
RB |
5-7 |
180 |
Columbia, Md. |
DeMatha |
| 34 |
Louis Adeyemi |
Junior |
RB |
5-10 |
210 |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
Santa Monica |
| 35 |
Angel Clybourn |
Freshman |
LB |
6-1 |
220 |
Mays Landing, N.J. |
Blair Academy |
| 36 |
Vince Peterson |
Redshirt Freshman |
DB |
5-11 |
190 |
Warren, Ohio |
Howland |
| 37 |
Matthew Fritz |
Senior |
DB |
5-10 |
190 |
Gilbertsville, Pa. |
Boyertown |
| 39 |
George Siracuse |
Freshman |
LB |
5-11 |
210 |
Dingmans Ferry, Pa. |
Delaware Valley |
| 40 |
Jonathan Toroni |
Sophomore |
PK |
5-6 |
180 |
Berwyn, Pa. |
Conestoga |
| 41 |
Aaron Grey |
Sophomore |
RB |
5-9 |
180 |
Lake Forest, Calif. |
El Toro |
| 42 |
Jacob Wade |
Junior |
LB |
5-11 |
235 |
Silver Spring, Md. |
Montgomery Blair |
| 43 |
Delano Ferguson |
Redshirt Freshman |
LB |
6-0 |
205 |
Silver Spring, Md. |
John F. Kennedy |
| 44 |
Devon Bridges |
Freshman |
LB |
5-11 |
220 |
Upper Marlboro, Md. |
Frederick Douglas |
| 45 |
Connor Nelson |
Sophomore |
LB |
6-2 |
220 |
Holmdel, N.J. |
Holmdel |
| 46 |
Jeremy Rodriguez |
Sophomore |
LB |
6-1 |
225 |
Laureldale, Pa. |
Muhlenburg |
| 47 |
Sean Morrissey |
Senior |
LS |
6-2 |
200 |
Rockville, Md. |
Our Lady of Good Counsel |
| 48 |
Will Thompson |
Senior |
LS |
6-1 |
225 |
Glen Arm, Md. |
Loyola Blakefield |
| 49 |
Nick Yako |
Redshirt Freshman |
PK |
6-0 |
215 |
Cleveland, Ohio |
St. Ignatius |
| 50 |
Dan Shirey |
Freshman |
OL |
6-2 |
280 |
Feasterville, Pa. |
Neshaminy |
| 51 |
Joe Makoid |
Redshirt Freshman |
DL |
5-10 |
265 |
Warminster, Pa. |
Archbishop Wood |
| 52 |
Rakim Cox |
Freshman |
DL |
6-4 |
240 |
San Diego, Calif. |
San Diego |
| 53 |
Miller Edwards |
Sophomore |
LB |
6-0 |
225 |
Springfield, Ill. |
Sacred Heart-Griffin |
| 54 |
Terence Thomas |
Junior |
LB |
6-0 |
230 |
Plainsboro, N.J. |
Lawrenceville School |
| 55 |
Thomas Weaver |
Junior |
DL |
6-1 |
295 |
Irvington, N.J. |
Irvington |
| 56 |
Tim Kukucka |
Senior |
DE |
6-3 |
250 |
Wall, N.J. |
Wall |
| 57 |
Mario Johnson |
Junior |
DE |
6-2 |
250 |
San Francisco, Calif. |
City College of San Francisco |
| 58 |
Marlon Johnson |
Redshirt Freshman |
DE |
6-2 |
245 |
Baltimore, Md. |
St. Mary's |
| 59 |
Patrick Haggerty |
Freshman |
LB |
5-10 |
205 |
Shillington, Pa. |
Governor Mifflin |
| 60 |
Brian Brannigan |
Senior |
OL |
6-2 |
285 |
Clementon, N.J. |
St. Joseph |
| 61 |
Michael Sheridan |
Senior |
OL |
6-2 |
300 |
Cleveland, Ohio |
St. Ignatius |
| 65 |
Gene Oakley |
Junior |
OL |
6-3 |
290 |
Harrington Park, N.J. |
Old Tappan |
| 67 |
Brant Clouser |
Junior |
OL |
6-2 |
290 |
Altoona, Pa. |
Altoona |
| 70 |
Jonathan Bugli |
Senior |
OL |
6-5 |
295 |
Newburyport, Mass. |
Newburyport |
| 71 |
Benjamin Ijalana |
Junior |
OL |
6-4 |
320 |
Hainesport, N.J. |
Rancocas Valley |
| 74 |
Chris Otten |
Junior |
OL |
6-1 |
295 |
Ardmore, Pa. |
21st Century Cyber Charter School |
| 75 |
Josh Bucci |
Freshman |
OL |
6-5 |
330 |
Beaver, Pa. |
Beaver |
| 76 |
Ryan Bennett |
Sophomore |
OL |
6-4 |
300 |
Somerville, N.J. |
Immaculata |
| 79 |
Chidozie Ekweozor |
Redshirt Freshman |
OL |
6-5 |
305 |
Spring Valley, Calif. |
Mount Miguel |
| 81 |
Joe Price |
Freshman |
WR |
6-2 |
180 |
Havertown, Pa. |
Malvern Prep |
| 82 |
Chris Farmer |
Junior |
TE |
6-5 |
260 |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
West Catholic |
| 83 |
Zach Ugarte |
Senior |
P |
5-11 |
205 |
Ocklawaha, Fla. |
Trinity Catholic |
| 84 |
Dorian Wells |
Redshirt Freshman |
WR |
5-9 |
180 |
West Covina, Calif. |
South Hills |
| 85 |
Eric Predatsch |
Senior |
TE |
6-4 |
245 |
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. |
Ketcham |
| 86 |
John Jackson |
Redshirt Freshman |
TE |
6-3 |
250 |
Warrington, Pa. |
Central Bucks South |
| 87 |
Kenny Miles |
Freshman |
WR |
5-11 |
185 |
Buena, N.J. |
Buena |
| 88 |
Blaise Butler |
Sophomore |
DL |
6-6 |
250 |
Ardmore, Pa. |
Haverford School |
| 89 |
Brennan Erbeznik |
Freshman |
TE |
6-5 |
230 |
Santa Monica, Calif. |
Santa Monica |
| 91 |
Tamai Young |
Freshman |
DL |
6-1 |
260 |
Ewing, N.J. |
Peddie School |
| 92 |
Sean Miller |
Sophomore |
P |
6-3 |
185 |
Egg Harbor Twp., N.J. |
St. Augustin College Prep |
| 93 |
Mark Hamilton |
Freshman |
P |
5-10 |
160 |
Gaithersburg, Md. |
Our Lady of Good Counsel |
| 94 |
Phil Matusz |
Senior |
DL |
6-2 |
300 |
Greenville, Pa. |
Greenville |
| 95 |
Conor Maher |
Sophomore |
LB |
6-2 |
215 |
Stony Point, N.Y. |
North Rockland |
| 96 |
Chris Halcovage |
Freshman |
WR |
5-11 |
175 |
Pottsville, Pa. |
Nativity BVM |
| 97 |
Alex Behm |
Junior |
DL |
6-1 |
230 |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
Loyola |
| 98 |
Donald Davis |
Redshirt Freshman |
DL |
6-4 |
250 |
Glassboro, N.J. |
Glassboro |
HONORS AND AWARDS
Lambert Meadowlands Cup
Villanova
AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year
Andy Talley, Head Coach
AFCA FCS Region I Coach of the Year
Andy Talley, Head Coach
Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation - Sportsman's Award
Andy Talley, Head Coach
FootballScoop.com 2009 FCS Coordinator of the Year - Finalist
Sam Venuto, Offensive Coordinator
Buck Buchanan Award - Finalist
Tim Kukucka (DE)
SPORTS NETWORK FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM
First Team
Ben Ijalana (OL)
Matt Szczur (KR)
Second Team
Terence Thomas (LB)
Third Team
Tim Kukucka (DE)
ASSOCIATED PRESS FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM
First Team
Matt Szczur (All-Purpose Returner)
Second Team
Ben Ijalana (OL)
Third Team
Tim Kukucka (DE)
Walter Camp FCS All-America Team
Ben Ijalana (OL)
Matt Szczur (WR)
MAXWELL CLUB AWARDS
Maxwell Club Tri-State Player of the Year
Matt Szczur (WR)
Maxwell Club President's Award for Outstanding Achievement
Matt Szczur
CAA FOOTBALL MAJOR POSTSEASON AWARDS
CAA Football Offensive Player of the Year
Matt Szczur, WR
CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Year
Matt Szczur, KR
CAA Football Coach of the Year
Andy Talley
CAA FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
First Team Offense
Ben Ijalana (OL)
Matt Szczur (WR/KR)
Chris Whitney (QB)
First Team Defense
Tim Kukucka (DE)
Terence Thomas (LB)
Second Team Offense
Brandyn Harvey (WR)
Second Team Defense
Phil Matusz (OL)
Osayi Osunde (LB)
Third Team Offense
Aaron Ball (RB)
Brian Brannigan (OL)
Brant Clouser (OL)
Third Team Defense
John Dempsey (S)
Marquis Kirkland (LB)
James Pitts (CB)
College Sports News FCS Special Teams Player of the Week
Nick Yako, PK (Sept. 7)
CAA Football Offensive Player of the Week
Brandyn Harvey, WR (Sept. 7)
Chris Whitney, QB (Nov. 8)
CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week
Fred Maldonado, DB (Oct. 18)
CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Matt Szczur, KR (Sept. 21)
Nick Yako, PK (Sept. 7)
CAA Football Student-Athlete of the Year
Osayi Osunde
ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District II
Angelo Babbaro
Osayi Osunde
Chris Whitney
