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Patrick Zeng Villanova Athletics  Much of Villanova's season has been derailed through the injuries of key players on both sides of the ball, but that was not the case on Saturday afternoon. "We played with emotion" and "we kept the Battle of the Blue where it belongs" stated an exuberant Mark Ferrante after the Wildcats victory over the rival Blue Hens. Yesterday's victory made it 6 in a row for the Cats over Delaware and 11 wins in their last 12 games. Villanova was led by a stout defense that held strong whenever they were called upon. Junior linebacker Jeff Steeb set the tone for the Cats with a 38 yard interception return for  a touchdown just 7 minutes into the game. Steeb also added 13 total tackles to go along with some bone crushing hits to lead the Wildcat defense. Senior middle linebacker Ed Shockley played his final game on the Main Line and made sure that his impact was to be felt. Shockley pressured Blue Hen quarterback J.P. Caruso...

Patrick Zeng 247 Sports It was a sunny afternoon at Villanova Stadium for homecoming weekend as the Villanova Wildcats welcomed in the 6-1 Elon Phoenix. Last year, the Wildcats defeated Elon 42-7 in North Carolina, however led by a strong freshman class, this Phoenix team was very different. Freshman quarterback Kyle McCloskey was welcomed home for his first career start in front of the Villanova faithful. And while the team performance was not up to par in the 19-14 loss, the freshman signal caller displayed a load of promise. The Wildcats had the ball first and they were sure to establish their gameplan early. Aaron Forbes featured heavily throughout the game with 11 carries for 44 yards as well as another 5 receptions for 74 yards. One of those receptions was a beautifully thrown touch pass from McCloskey on a wheel route down the sideline for a 42 yard score. McCloskey was also able to find the endzone on a 24 yard touchdown pass to star wide receiver Taurus Phillips a...

Patrick Zeng & Luke Lynch CSN Philly Coach Ferrante preached passion, toughness and grit in his post game press conference following the Wildcats 16-13 loss to Temple. He said he was proud of his team, but is not a believer in moral victories. While he is right that in the end this game will end up in the loss column for the 2017 Villanova squad, on a different day this could have ended in victory. The Wildcats entered the game as a sixteen point underdog against FBS foe Temple. Combine that with the predominant sea of Owl supporters flocked throughout Lincoln Financial Field(though Nova Nation was also present) and it adds up to everyone knowing this was going to be a tough one for the Cats. Temple needed to try and build momentum after a 10 win season that saw the Owls grab their first ever major conference title. And they surely needed to do so after the drubbing they were handed at the hands of Notre Dame last week. But as the final whistle blew, you couldn't h...

Patrick Zeng @Roundtripper891 Philly.com 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...