Football season ends with loss to Villanova

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Pat Devlin's disgust permeated the press room as he arrived late, slouched at the table and stared down at the stat sheet with his hands covering his eyes, while K.C. Keeler tried to explain another blown game, this one the biggest of the year. Staring the playoffs in the face, the Hens failed to step up and unleash their playoff hunger on the Villanova Wildcats and ended their season in a surprisingly one-sided 30-12 rout.

"It was a disappointing loss," head coach Keeler said. "I thought offensively we got out of a rhythm a little bit."

The Hens never seemed to be completely in rhythm, especially since their run game was a total non-factor — senior running back Jerry Butler was the leading rusher for Delaware on the day with a measly 24 yards on 11 runs. With 45 total rushing yards split between four players, Devlin had to manufacture nearly every yard gained by the Hens and if not for his three interceptions on the day would have had his best game this season by far, going 42-58 for 407 yards and one touchdown. His 42 completions and 58 attempts both set new school records.

Devlin said he wasn't surprised to see 58 attempts because he and his coaches have discussed a pass-heavy offense before. While a 72 percent completion rate is nothing to scoff at, had the run game been more effective the ball would have been out of Devlin's hands after the first or second interception.

"You just can't win when you have three [interceptions] and they don't have any," he said. "It puts the defense in a tough spot."

Devlin's first interception came on the Hens' first drive of the game. The Wildcats were leading 3-0 after a 32-yard field goal by Nick Yako when the Hens started at their own 17-yard line. Devlin looked confident in his passes and hit three different receivers on the drive, including an 18 yard completion to wide receiver Mark Mackey. Two plays later, Wildcat redshirt freshman Marlon Johnson intercepted the ball at their 23 yard line. Interception aside, Devlin looked ready to play and it showed in his stats: 5-7 for 45 yards on the drive.

Following the interception, Villanova took the ball 74 yards in just over four minutes for the first touchdown of the game on a nine-yard quarterback keeper by Chris Whitney, putting the Hens in a 10-0 hole at the end of the first quarter.

It wasn't just Devlin that put the defense in a tough spot throughout the game. On four kickoff returns, the Wildcats averaged more than 20 yards each to set up great field position. Their offense was the opposite of the Hens with most of their yards (275) coming on the ground, thanks to their speedy quarterback Whitney and their everyman, wide receiver Matt Szczur.

Following a 39-yard field goal by Jon Striefsky that put the Hens on the board 10-3, the Wildcats struck quickly after a 30-yard return by Szczur to start their drive at Delaware's 45. Six plays later, Villanova had their second touchdown on the game, this one a two-yard rush by running back Angelo Babbaro, to lead 17-3.

The option the Wildcats ran for most of the game allowed Whitney to eat up 138 yards on 15 runs for a touchdown, while Szczur had ran 10 times for 75 yards and another touchdown.

"They're a very good offense," senior defensive lineman John Higginson said. "They have a big, physical offensive line. [Whitney] is pretty good and his belly-read option killed us all day."

On the next drive, Delaware moved the ball just 18 yards on the following drive before Devlin's second interception put the Wildcats back in scoring position. Although they went three-and-out, their starting field position at the Delaware 30 yard line gave Yako a 45-yard field goal attempt, which he nailed to give Villanova a 17-point lead.

With under two minutes to go in the half, the Hens got the ball back at their 20. Devlin completed five straight passes to move the ball over midfield, including a 27-yard completion to wide receiver Phillip Thaxton. Thaxton was the leading receiver on the day with 11 catches for 121 yards.

After failing to convert third down on the 33, the Hens decided to go for the conversion with 18 seconds remaining instead of giving Striefsky the 50-yard attempt. Devlin was flushed from the pocket, tackled, and with the turnover on downs a Villanova knee ended the half.

The Hens opened the second half looking rejuvenated, but it was just a facade. Their 17-play drive lasted seven minutes but once again ended in a Striefsky field goal, this one from 24 yards out, making the score 20-6.

Keeler was clearly annoyed that his team struggled again this week with scoring inside the 20 yard lines.

"Like I've said before, we would have liked to have gotten more sevens than threes in there."

The Wildcats struck back quickly, as they had all game, and destroyed any chances of the Hens mounting a comeback — this time in less than two minutes. Matt Szczur took the ball 36 yards on a rush down the left side of the field, and two plays later snuck into the end zone from two yards out giving the Wildcats their 27-6 lead.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, defensive back Tyrone Grant forced Whitney to fumble at the one yard line, and redshirt freshman Marcus Burley jumped on the ball to keep Delaware alive.

Unlike Villanova, however, Delaware was unable to capitalize on the Wildcat turnovers. Devlin threw his third interception of the game at the Delaware 27, setting up another Wildcat field goal. Nihja White finally scored the Hens' first touchdown on the next drive, but a failed 2-point conversion left the Hens down three possessions. Striefsky's on-side kick was recovered by Szczur, and the game was all but over.

Seething disappointment, Devlin addressed questions about next season.

"We're always looking forward to our next game," he said. "Now, we just have a lot of work to do."