No. 12 Villanova gets another ‘confidence boost’ in home rout of North Carolina A&T

It was quite the productive day for the Villanova football team, which steamrolled North Carolina A&T, 31-3, on Saturday at home.

The No. 12 Wildcats (8-2, 5-1 Coastal Athletic Conference) accumulated 390 yards of total offense, in contrast to just 169 from North Carolina A&T (1-9, 0-6). It was fueled by graduate quarterback Connor Watkins, who passed for 167 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 31 yards and two touchdowns.

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“We were hoping to come out and execute the offense the way we did today,” Watkins said. “I think this was a huge confidence boost for us, so hopefully we can continue to get better.”

The Wildcats kept the visitors out of the end zone and only allowed a second-quarter field goal. Junior linebacker Shane Hartzell led the way with eight tackles and two sacks.

The Wildcats dominated possession in the first half — Villanova was on offense for 17 minutes, 45 seconds in contrast to the Aggies’ 12:15, and had 12 first downs next to just four from A&T. However, Villanova managed to get into the end zone just once in the half when graduate wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez caught an 18-yard pass from Watkins at the 9:23 mark of the first quarter.

Although the Wildcats followed that score with several promising drives, only kicker Ethan Gettman added to the lead with a 33-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

“That felt like the story of the first half for us; we moved the ball, moved the ball, then we’d shoot ourselves in the foot and go backward,” Watkins said. “That’s what we talked about at halftime: We need to come out and execute.”

North Carolina A&T tacked on its field goal late in the first half, which ended with Villanova ahead 10-3.

Although Villanova created plenty of chances to score in the first half, it found more ways to finish drives in the second half.

“The difference [in the second half] was that we limited some of the negative-yardage plays and some of the penalties that put us backward,” coach Mark Ferrante said.

On the first drive of the third quarter, Villanova decided to go for it on fourth-and-9. While Watkins was hurried by the Aggies, running back David Avit came to the rescue and corralled a 21-yard pass.

“David did an excellent job of making himself available when I got out of the pocket,” Watkins said. “It was big for the momentum for us on offense.”

Two plays later, Watkins ran 13 yards up the middle to the end zone. It was his first rushing touchdown since the Sept. 7 game against Colgate. On Villanova‘s next possession, running back Isaiah Ragland’s 55-yard breakout set up Watkins’ other touchdown run, a 12-yard dash.

Although the Wildcats scored three of their touchdowns on the ground, they also showed some improvement in the passing game.

Watkins tied his career high for most completions in a game, finishing 18 of 27. He passed for 118 yards in the first half alone, exceeding his 112 passing yards in Villanova’s previous home game, a 14-3 win over New Hampshire.

Wide receiver Devin Smith led the receivers with 68 yards on seven catches, including a 34-yard reception in the second quarter.

Villanova’s final road game of the season is next Saturday against Monmouth (noon, FloFootball). The Wildcats then return home to face their biggest conference rival, Delaware, on Nov. 23 (1 p.m., FloFootball).

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