Quarterback Connor Watkins dazzles in his debut as a starter; No. 6 Villanova dominates Lehigh in season opener

The last time Villanova opened its season in front of its home crowd, it was 2004, and the Wildcats beat Bucknell, 20-14. It’s safe to say the 18-year absence between home openers was well worth the wait as the Wildcats didn’t miss a beat with their new starting quarterback, giving the hometown crowd plenty to cheer Friday night.

Junior quarterback Connor Watkins, who had waited his turn behind graduate player Daniel Smith, wasted no time airing it out in his first career start, completing passes of 42, 66, 38 and 68 yards in the first half as the Wildcats burst for 28 points in the second quarter in a 45-17 win over Lehigh. All Watkins could talk about post game was how “comfortable” he was in the system, after watching Smith operating it his first three seasons with the program.

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“Obviously there’s always pressure, but [those guys] around me make it much easier, and I trust everyone on the team, so it doesn’t make it that difficult for that type of stuff,” Watkins said.

After putting up 235 yards in the first half on just eight completions and three touchdowns through the air, Watkins led a methodical nine-play, 80-yard third-quarter drive following a Lehigh field goal, finishing the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. After that drive, the Wildcats defense, which gave up a touchdown to close the half in addition to the field goal, shut the door on the Mountain Hawks, pitching a shutout over the final 24 minutes in the game.

Watkins, who sat most of the fourth quarter, finished with 11 completions on 15 attempts for 298 yards and three touchdowns, the most passing yards by a Wildcats quarterback making this first career start. The Williamsport native said the offense was scoring so quickly in the first half that the defense asked the high-octane offense to “slow it down.”

“I would say in the first half, those guys were asking us to stay on the field a little bit longer,” Watkins said with a laugh.

“I was happy in the second half that we could kind of sustain some drives and keep our defense on the sidelines a little.”

Jaaron Hayek led the way in receiving, snagging a career-high 141 yards on six catches with two touchdown, his sixth 100-yard game of his career.

Mark Ferrante remains undefeated in season openers as the Wildcats’ head coach, 6-0, and the Wildcats improved to 11-1 all-time against the Mountain Hawks. The sixth-season head coach was happy with the win and had nothing but positive things to say about his quarterback and the offense after the game.

“Him and Hayek have been roommates for three years, so that probably doesn’t hurt,” Ferrante said about the quarterback-receiver combo.

“One of the things I said [pregame] is that he has a big arm, and I think he showed that again today, especially that kind of scramble to your left, throw it across your body to the right to a guy who broke free. ... I don’t know how far the ball traveled in the air, but he can get it down field.”

Lehigh, which lost its 10th consecutive game to Villanova, collected over 400 yards of total offense, led by quarterback Dante Perri, who threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The Mountain Hawks failed, however, to score touchdowns on three of their four red-zone trips.

Coming into the game, there were questions on how Watkins would operate this offense in his first start, but it was big plays galore all night long. However, the effectiveness of the running game early on opened up the air attack for Watkins and the offense. Led by offensive tackle Temi Ajirotutu, the left side of the line created huge holes that led to 83 first-half rushing yards, displacing the Lehigh front seven early and often. The offensive line cleared the way for 153 total yards rushing.

Despite their dominance last season, the Villanova defense is still figuring out its linebacker rotation with six players receiving snaps throughout the game, but redshirt freshman Shane Hartzell and transfer linebackers Antonio Montero and Danny Abraham, who snagged an interception in the second quarter, emerged as playmakers throughout the game. The secondary was inconsistent in coverage at times, but defensive backs Christian Sapp and Ty Trinh laid some big hits on Mountain Hawks receivers and assisted in run defense against a much-improved Lehigh offense.

» READ MORE: College football 2022: Villanova is the class of CAA football. Can the Wildcats do it again?

Montero added a forced fumble that led to a DeeWil Barlee 2-yard touchdown. The Wildcats offense cashed in both turnovers, turning them into touchdowns. Abraham, the Harvard transfer, said the defense has a “bend don’t break mentality” that was the key to its success tonight.

“We have a great unit that strives to continue getting better day-in and day-out, so whenever we can create electric plays, we call them ‘EGB’s, it’s great from our team,” he said.

After the Mountain Hawks scored on back-to-back possessions that cut the Wildcats’ lead to 14 early in the third quarter, Watkins connected with Rayjoun Pringle on a 47-yard gain on their first offensive play of the second half to reignite Villanova’s momentum. The Wildcats scored eight plays later.

Watkins said starting fast coming out of halftime was crucial to their game plan and putting distance between the Wildcats and Mountain Hawks.

“We knew in the third quarter, in the beginning, was going to be key, and we were locked in, focused, and ready to go,” Watkins, who also had 23 rushing yards, said.

It’s safe to say the Wildcats offense, led by Watkins, was dominant all game long, but the love should go to the Villanova defensive line.

Led by Bryce Ganious, the defensive line chased Perri around all night long, constantly providing pressure on third-and-long situations. While the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story, Ganious’ ability to live in the backfield on passing downs, along with backup Jake Green and fellow starter Jared Nelson, helped the Wildcats defense stymie the Mountain Hawk offense on fourth down in its first two possessions.

No. 6 Villanova will face off against Long Island University, who lost its season opener against Toledo, 37-0, on Thursday night. These teams last met in 2019, their lone matchup in their histories, with the Wildcats winning that matchup at Villanova Stadium, 35-7.

This time, the Wildcats will hit the road and travel to Brookville, N.Y. to face off against Long Island University of the Northeast Conference. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. Sept. 10 and will stream on NEC Front Row.