Fireworks for Ferrante in Villanova's opener
Patrick Zeng
@Roundtripper891
For the first time since 1985, a new man was calling the shots on the sideline for Villanova football. Mark Ferrante made his debut as the head coach of Wildcats on Saturday afternoon as Nova made the trip to Lehigh. And it certainly felt like a new era with the style in which the Cats used to secure their first victory of the season.
Last year, Villanova relied heavily on its top tier defense to carry them to their 9-4 record. Things felt a little different on a chilly afternoon in Bethlehem, PA. It was Villanova's offense that led the charge to the thrilling 38-35 victory. Junior Quarterback Zach Bednarczyk led the way for Nova with 281 yards of total offense along with three touchdowns. The veteran was a threat all day, completing 74% of his passes to keep the offense humming. His elusiveness continually frustrated the Lehigh defense as they were not able to sack him and kept the positive gains coming. In total Villanova put up 475 yards of total offense.
The ground game was the star of the show offensively last season for the Cats and it showed that it can yet again be a force. Nova ran the ball 38 times for 281 yards led by a powerful performance from senior Matt Gudzak. Gudzak had a healthy 11.8 yards per carry to go along with his two touchdowns as the Mountain Hawks struggled to find an answer for him. Aaron Forbes chipped in 44 yards as more of an exterior threat. Along with the versatility of Bednarczyck, Villanova certainly has a bevy of options on the ground this season.
It was senior Tight End Ryan Bell that led the Wildcats in receiving for the afternoon. The New Jersey native was Bednarczyk's favorite target on the day, racking up 78 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions. It was Bell that caught the first touchdown of the day on a masterful 4 play 60 yard drive to kick off the season. Taurus Phillips pitched in 97 yards and a touchdown, 75 of those yards came on an absolute dime of a throw from Bednarczyck after Phillips burned his man.
The defense on the other hand seemed to be a little bit of a work in progress. Without star man Tanoh Kpassagnon the pass rush seemed to struggle. Only one sack was registered on the day as Lehigh quarterback Brad Mayes seemingly had all day in the pocket on a large amount of his drop backs. This allowed for Mayes to throw for over 400 yards on 49 attempts. The run defense in comparison remained very solid. The Cats only gave up 86 yards on the ground, led by a fantastic performance from senior linebacker Ed Shockley(14 tackles, 1.5 for a loss).
Star defensive back Rob Rolle seems primed for another great season after contributing 8 tackles and an electrifying 63 yard fumble return for a touchdown before it was called back for a block in the back. Andy Talley, who was in attendance for the game, would have been disappointed with the amount of penalties that Nova self inflicted upon themselves including multiple personal fouls. Coach Ferrante will definitely look to clean those up before next week's Big Five match up against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls will be looking to rebound from the 49-16 drubbing they endured at the hands of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend.
Final ruling: The Mark Ferrante era is off to a flying start, but the defense gave some reasons for concern.
Fun Facts from @NovaFootball:
-The 38 points are the most points scored by a Wildcat head coach in his debut.
-Today was the first season opener versus a FCS opponent since 2004.
-The Wildcats improve to 30-4 versus Patriot League opponents since 1985.
- Villanova improves to 31-3 since 2011 when scoring 30 or more points.
@Roundtripper891
 |
| Philly.com |
Last year, Villanova relied heavily on its top tier defense to carry them to their 9-4 record. Things felt a little different on a chilly afternoon in Bethlehem, PA. It was Villanova's offense that led the charge to the thrilling 38-35 victory. Junior Quarterback Zach Bednarczyk led the way for Nova with 281 yards of total offense along with three touchdowns. The veteran was a threat all day, completing 74% of his passes to keep the offense humming. His elusiveness continually frustrated the Lehigh defense as they were not able to sack him and kept the positive gains coming. In total Villanova put up 475 yards of total offense.
 |
| CSN Philly |
It was senior Tight End Ryan Bell that led the Wildcats in receiving for the afternoon. The New Jersey native was Bednarczyk's favorite target on the day, racking up 78 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions. It was Bell that caught the first touchdown of the day on a masterful 4 play 60 yard drive to kick off the season. Taurus Phillips pitched in 97 yards and a touchdown, 75 of those yards came on an absolute dime of a throw from Bednarczyck after Phillips burned his man.
The defense on the other hand seemed to be a little bit of a work in progress. Without star man Tanoh Kpassagnon the pass rush seemed to struggle. Only one sack was registered on the day as Lehigh quarterback Brad Mayes seemingly had all day in the pocket on a large amount of his drop backs. This allowed for Mayes to throw for over 400 yards on 49 attempts. The run defense in comparison remained very solid. The Cats only gave up 86 yards on the ground, led by a fantastic performance from senior linebacker Ed Shockley(14 tackles, 1.5 for a loss).
 |
| Villanova |
Final ruling: The Mark Ferrante era is off to a flying start, but the defense gave some reasons for concern.
Fun Facts from @NovaFootball:
-The 38 points are the most points scored by a Wildcat head coach in his debut.
-Today was the first season opener versus a FCS opponent since 2004.
-The Wildcats improve to 30-4 versus Patriot League opponents since 1985.
- Villanova improves to 31-3 since 2011 when scoring 30 or more points.
Comments
Post a Comment