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Wildcats Prepare for Richmond
Nov. 3, 1998 Villanova Wildcats
1998 Schedule & resultsSERIES INFORMATION First Meeting: 1955, VU 16-14 Overall: VU leads 13-5-0 Overall Under Talley: 9-2 Last VU Win: 10/18/97, 40-29 Last RU Win: 10/24/92, 13-9 Streak: VU has won four straight
TEAM COMPARISON
VILLANOVA (8 games) OFFENSE RICHMOND (8 games)
31.5 Points Per Game 22.9
182 First Downs 139
1,050 Rushing Yards 1,815
131.3 Avg. Rushing Yards Per Game 226.9
255 Rushing Attempts 390
4.1 Avg. Yards Per Rush 4.7
2,307 Passing Yards 962
288.4 Avg. Passing Yards Per Game 120.3
357 Passes Attempted 167
198 Passes Completed 86
6.5 Avg. Yards Per Pass 5.8
3,357 Total Offensive Yardage 2,777
419.6 Avg. Total Offense Per Game 347.1
24.1 Avg. Kickoff Return 21.9
11.4 Avg. Punt Return 13.3
50 for 124 (40%) Third Down Conversions 46 for 120 (38%)
5 for 14 (36%) Fourth Down Conversions 6 for 15 (40%)
DEFENSE
32.3 Avg. Points Per Game 14.3
175 First Downs Allowed 128
1,404 Rushing Yards Allowed 956
175.5 Avg. Rushing Yards Allowed 119.5
322 Rushing Attempts Allowed 263
4.4 Avg. Yards Per Rush Allowed 3.6
2,060 Passing Yards Allowed 1,559
257.5 Avg. Passing Yards Allowed 194.9
280 Pass Attempts Allowed 257
169 Pass Completions Allowed 129
7.4 Avg. Yards Per Pass 6.1
3,464 Total Offensive Yardage 2,515
433.0 Avg. Total Offense Allowed 314.4
21.5 Avg. Kickoff Return Allowed 15.5
6.0 Avg. Punt Return Allowed 4.5
50 for 125(40%) Third Down Conversions Allowed 34 for 115 (30 %)
10 for 15 (67%) Fourth Down Conversions Allowed 7 for 14 (50%)
RICHMOND REPORT: Richmond enters play this week with a 6-2 overall record and a 4-1 Atlantic 10 Conference mark. The Spiders are currently ranked No. 16 in the nation. Richmond is led by its defense that is allowing 14.3 points per game which is best in the Atlantic 10 and 9th nationally. Senior defensive tackle Marc Megna leads the Richmond defensive charge with a team-best 14 tackles for loss and a team-high nine sacks to go along with his 52 tackles, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Senior defensive back Winston October leads the Spiders in tackles with 80 and interceptions with four. Offensively, quarterback Jimmie Miles can beat you through the air and on the ground. Miles has completed 86-of-166 for 962 yards and 10 touchdowns, while he has rushed for 479 yards on 103 carries (4.7 yards per rush) and six scores. Senior running back Jasper Pendergrass has gained 527 yards and scored three touchdowns, while sophomore running back Tyrone Turner has tallied 516 yards and two scores. Wide receivers Mineer Moore and Dwaune Jones have grabbed a team-best 26 receptions. SPIDER HEAD COACH JIM REID: The Spiders are led by fourth-year head coach Jim Reid. During his tenure in Richmond, Reid has guided the Spiders to a 21-19-1. Reid came to Richmond from Boston College where he served as defensive coordinator during the 1994 season. Before his short stint at Boston College, Reid was the defensive coordinator at Richmond from 1992-93. He spent the first 19 years of his coaching career at the University of Massachusetts as both an assistant and a head coach. Reid was the head man at UMass from 1986-91 where he compiled a 36-29 record and led the Minutemen to three Yankee Conference Championships. His nine-year overall coaching mark currently stands at 57-48-3. Mid-Atlantic DIVISION
1998 honors
Brian Westbrook -- Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week (9/6)
Chris Boden -- Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week (9/13)
Chris Boden -- ESPN/USA Today Offensive Player of the Week (9/14)
Chris Boden -- ECAC Offensive Player of the Week (9/15)
Brian Westbrook -- Atlantic 10 Co- Offensive Player of the Week (9/20) Chris Boden -- Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week (9/27)
Hezekiah Lewis -- Atlantic 10 Co-Defensive Player of the Week (9/27)
Injury Report The following is the injury report for the Richmond game on Nov. 7
--Steve Neugebauer (Fr./ DB) Injured shoulder. Out for the season -- Shannon Riley (Sr./ SS) Injured Knee. Out for the season
TALLEY'S TENURE: Currently in his 14th season on the Main Line, head coach Andy Talley can feel responsible for every facet of the Villanova football program, having started it from scratch in 1985. In his 14 years at Villanova, Talley has recorded a 92-55-1 mark making him the all-time winningest coach in Villanova history. Talley's 19-year overall coaching record currently stands at 120-71-2. During his career as the Wildcat mentor, Talley has guided Villanova to five NCAA playoff appearances (1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997) three Conference titles and one Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy. Last season, Talley garnered the Eddie Robinson Award and the AFCA/GTE National Coach of the Year.
BRIAN TIES BRIAN: Last Saturday at Fordham, sophomore running back Brian Westbrook tied Brian Finneran's school record for touchdowns in a season with 19. Finneran, the 1997 Walter Payton Award winner, established the record during the 1997 campaign. Only a sophomore, Westbrook now owns 11 school records with nine of them being set this year. The following are Brian Westbrook's school records.
1.Rushing Yards by a Freshman (630 in 1997)
2.Points by a Freshman (72 in 1997)
3.Game Receptions by a Soph. (12 vs Del)
4.Game Receiving Yds by a Soph. (181 vs. JMU)
5.All-purpose Yards in a Game (428 vs. Pitt)
6.Highest Avg. Yards per Play (16.4 vs. Pitt)
7.Kickoff Return Yards in a Game (152 vs. Pitt)
8.First Player in school history to have two career
kickoff returns for touchdowns
9.Points by a sophomore (currently has 94)
10.TD's by a sophomore (currently has 19)
11.TD's in a season (currently has 19)
CLOSING IN: After tying Brian Finneran's Villanova season-best touchdown record last week at Fordham, Brian Westbrook is closing in on two more of Finneran's school marks. Entering play this Saturday versus Richmond, Westbrook has 118 points, which is six shy of Finneran's school record 124 points set in 1997 and he has 30 career touchdowns which is four touchdowns short of the school record 34 that is jointly held by Finneran and former Oakland Raider standout Mike Siani.
ALL-PURPOSE BRIAN: Brian Westbrook is putting up staggering numbers this season in the all-purpose yardage department. After eight games, Westbrook has amassed 2,182 yards of total offense for an average of 272.8 yards per contest which leads the country. In six of the eight games this season, Westbrook has accumulated at least 200 yards of all-purpose yardage, including getting 300+ yards on two occasions (325 vs. JMU/ 310 vs. Delaware) and an amazing 428 of all-purpose yards against Pittsburgh.
THIS ISN'T BASKETBALL: During his high school days at DeMatha High School in Maryland, Brian Westbrook made a name for himself in both football and basketball where he was a three-year starter at point guard for legendary coach Morgan Wooten. Westbrook's basketball prowess drew him heavy interest from many Divison I basketball schools. When you look at Westbrook's scoring numbers this season on the gridiron, the numbers look more like basketball scoring numbers than football statsitics. After eight games, Westbrook has 118 points which leads both the Atlantic 10 and the the country in scoring. In that past two weeks, Westbrook has scored 46 points (22 vs. UMass/ 24 vs. Fordham). Last Saturday at Fordham, Westbrook registered his third, four toucdhown day of the season with the other two performances coming at I-A Pittsburgh and at James Madison. WHERE WESTBROOK RANKS:
BODEN THROWS FIVE: In Villanova's 45-12 win at Fordham last Saturday, junior quarterback Chris Boden tied a career-high with five touchdown passes. This was his second five touchdown day of the season (William & Mary) and the fifth of his Wildcat career. Also, last Saturday, Boden threw for 301 yards which marks the third time this season he has thrown for 300+ yards and the ninth time in his career. Boden will be making his 21st straight start this week against Richmond.
21-STRAIGHT: Junior quarterback Chris Boden has started 21 games in his Villanova career and has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 21 games. In those 21 contests, Boden has tossed three or more scoring strikes 10 times. Only twice has Boden thrown just one touchdown pass in a game.
IN A ZONE: Freshman kicker Casey Hannon has been sensational in this his freshman season. In field goal attempts, Hannon is a perfect seven-for-seven. His longest effort of the season came at Northeastern on Oct. 10, when he converted on a 41-yarder. His biggest field goal of the year came against Delaware on Sept. 12. With the scored tied at 31-31 in overtime, Hannon made a 35-yard field goal to give the Wildcats the win over the Blue Hens. In the PAT department, Hannon is 27-of-29. After getting two PATs blocked in week one at Pittsburgh, Hannon has made 25 consecutive PATs. PRODUCTIVITY: There is no Wildcat who makes more of his opportunity than senior tight end Jay Strippoli. The Toms River, N.J. native has tallied 12 catches this season with five of the receptions resulting in touchdowns. His 12 receptions have gone for 108 yards. TWO FOR 100: Last week at Fordham, Villanova had two, 100-yard rushers as Brian Westbrook gained 112 yards on 13 carries and Roger Harriott rushed for 100 yards on 14 carries. The last time two Wildcats rushed for 100-yards in a game was on Oct. 14, 1995 when Anthony Cowsette had 108 yards on 23 carries and Art Bryant gained 116 yards on 16 rushes.
FOURTH BEST: Against Fordham last Saturday, the Villanova offense accumulated 564 yards of total offense which is the fourth highest total in school history. The top total offense mark in school history is 706 yards versus North Carolina State in 1949.
GROUND ATTACK: Villanova had its best rushing day of the season at Fordham last Saturday with 261 yards on the ground. The previous season-high was 186 yards rushing versus William & Mary.
WEST COAST FLAVOR: Villanova definitely has a west coast flavor to its team by evidence of the 18 Californians that appear on the Wildcat roster. Of the 18, eight are starters with seven others appearing on the depth chart.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Statistically speaking, the Villanova defense had its best day of the season last Saturday at Fordham. The Wildcat defensive unit held the Rams to 220 yards of total offense (110 rushing, 110 passing) and tallied a season-best seven sacks.
SACK ATTACK: The Villanova defense registered seven sacks in the win last Saturday at Fordham. Six of the seven were recorded by three players as Jason Gattuso, Joe Quartey, and Chris Machovina each were credited with two. The seventh sack was made by Jason Tenner.
BACK HOME: For the first time since Sept. 26 against William & Mary, the Villanova Wildcats will play a game on the Main Line. After eight games, the 'Cats have played just two contests at home. Entering play this week versus Richmond, Villanova has won 10-straight regular season games on the Villanova Stadium turf.
MAKING BIG PLAYS: In the past three games, sophomore linebacker Joe Quartey has emerged as a defensive force for the Wildcats. In the past two weeks, Quartey has recorded 16 tackles, including five tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. Last week at Fordham, Quartey started at outside linebacker after playing as a reserve the first seven weeks of the season. For the season, Quartey is fifth on the team in tackles with 41.
MACHOVINA CONTINUES SUCCESS: Defensive end Chris Machovina Continued his outstanding senior season last Saturday by registering two more sacks bringing his team-high total to eight. For his career, Machovina has 33 sacks. After eight games, Machovina leads the 'Cats in both sacks and tackles for loss with 11. He is currently fourth on the team in total tackles with 45.
OVERTIME HISTORY: Villanova's 34-31 overtime win against Delaware on Saturday, Sept. 12 was the Wildcats' first overtime game since Sept. 23, 1995 when James Madison edged the 'Cats 28-27 at Villanova Stadium. During Andy Talley's tenure as Villanova's head football coach, the Wildcats have participated in five overtime games and have tallied a 3-2 record. Four of the five overtime games have been played at Villanova Stadium.
WILDCATS ON THE RADIO: Every Villanova football game this season will be carried live by the Villanova Football Radio Network. The flagship station for the Wildcats this season will be WFIL-AM 560. Also carrying Wildcat games in 1998 will be WJNN-FM 106.7 out of Cape May, N.J. Returning for his 12th season as Villanova's play-by-play man is Joe Eichhorn. Assisting Eichhorn in the booth and handling color analysis duties will be Ryan Fannon who has been part of the Wildcat broadcasting team for the last five seasons.
MORE TALLEY TALK: Beginning this season, WFIL 560-AM will broadcast the Andy Talley Radio Show. The one-hour call in show is hosted by color commentator Ryan Fannon and will provide a weekly recap of Villanova football games, as well as a preview of upcoming contests. The show will be held at the Wild Onion Restaurant located just up the street from Villanova Stadium on Conestoga Road. Throughout the one-hour program, Fannon and Coach Talley will take questions about all aspects of the Wildcat football program, in addition to fielding questions concerning all the teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, as well as NCAA I-AA football on the national scene. This week's show will be held after the Richmond game on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 4-5 p.m.
POLL HISTORY: Before earning the nation's top spot on Oct. 27, 1997 Villanova's previous best ranking was during the 1992 season when the Wildcats were No. 2 for three weeks from Sept. 28-Oct. 12. At one point, beginning on Sept. 9, 1991, Villanova appeared in the national rankings for 25 consecutive weeks falling out early in the 1993 season. Villanova made its first showing in the I-AA poll on Oct. 9, 1988 when they appeared four consecutive weeks reaching as high as No. 15 on two occasions. In 1989, the 'Cats cracked the poll three times: 10/24 (No. 17), 10/30 (No. 11) and 11/20 (No. 16). After not appearing at all during both the 1994 and 1995 seasons, the 'Cats returned to the Top 25 on Sept. 16, 1996 with a No. 18 ranking. Villanova remained in the poll all season long, reaching as high as No. 9 on Oct. 14. This season, Villanova began the season unranked before cracking the Top 25 on Sept. 2 with a No. 18 ranking.
17 TO HIS CREDIT: Entering this season, Chris Boden had 14 Villanova school records, all of which were tallied in 1997, on his resume. Boden has picked-up right where he left off this year by already recording three school marks in 1998. Thus far this year, he has set school records for completions in a game (40 vs. Delaware), yards passing in a game (422 vs. Delaware) and total yards in a game (413 vs. Delaware).
COMEBACK KIDS: Dating back to the 1997 season, Villanova has trailed heading into the fourth quarter on five occasions and managed to win all five games. The following are the comeback wins:
9/13/97 Delaware 25, VU 17 end of 3rd Qtr.
VU 35, Delaware 25 Final Score
11/8/97 UNH 20, VU 16 end of 3rd Qtr.
VU 23, UNH 20 Final Score
11/22/97 N'eastern 28, VU 26 end of 3rd Qtr.
VU 49, N'eastern 35 Final Score
11/29/97 Colgate 28, VU 27 end of 3rd Qtr.
VU 49, Colgate 28 Final Score
9/12/98 Delaware 24, VU 17 end of 3rd Qtr.
VU 34, Delaware 31 final Score (OT)
Game Eight
The Villanova football team broke its three-game losing streak on Saturday, Oct. 31, traveling to the Bronx, N.Y. to defeat Fordham University 45-12. The victory evened the Wildcats record at 4-4 overall on the season. Villanova's offense opened up the flood gates against the Rams combining for 564 total yards, with 261 coming on the ground and 303 coming through the air. The 64 yards of total offense is the fourth highest total in school history. Sophomore Brian Westbrook led the Wildcats with 274 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. Westbrook rushed for 112 yards on 13 carries and caught five passes for 92 yards. Villanova had two players rush for over 100 yards on Saturday, for the first time since Anthony Cowsette and Art Bryant did it versus Northeastern on Oct. 14, 1995. Junior Roger Harriott had his first 100-yard rushing game for the Wildcats (14/107) since transferring to the Main Line from Boston University. In the air, Villanova was equally impressive, as junior quarterback Chris Boden completed 22-of-32 passes for 301 yards and five touchdowns, while being intercepted twice. The Wildcats got it started early, scoring its first touchdown on a Westbrook 11-yard run with eight minutes left in the first quarter. Villanova would put another touchdown on the board on a 56-yard pass from Boden to Westbrook, before Fordham finally scored to cut the Wildcat lead to 14-6. Villanova answered with two unanswered scores on Boden touchdown passes of seven yards to Jay Strippoli and six yards to Ed Diaz to increase its lead to 28-6. With 1:10 left in the half, the Rams scored on a Cliff Lawrence four-yard run to make it a 28-12 contest at intermission. The Wildcat offense continued its outstanding play in the second half scoring three more times on a Casey Hannon 21-yard field goal and on Westbrook touchdown catches of 10 yards and five yards. With the Villanova defense holding the Ram offense scoreless the rest of the way, Villanova took home a 45-12 victory.
DEPTH CHART
VILLANOVA
OFFENSE
TE 84 Jay Strippoli (6-2, 220, Sr)
86 Joe Kavanaugh (6-7, 240, Jr)
OT 71 Stan Bennett (6-5, 290, So)
70 Eamonn Allen (6-5, 270, Fr)
1998 INDIVIDUAL SEASON HIGHS
1998 TEAM OFFENSE SEASON HIGHS
1998 TEAM DEFENSE SEASON HIGHS
#18 Chris Boden
SEASON HIGH CAREER HIGH
Passing Attempts 61 vs. Delaware, 9/12/98 Same
Pass Completions 40 vs. Delaware, 9/12/98 Same
Passing Yards 422 vs. Delaware, 9/12/98 Same
Passing Touchdowns 5 vs. two teams 5 on five occasions
Interceptions 3 vs. Northeastern, 10/10/98 Same
Longest Completion 72 vs. JMU, 9/19/98 78 vs. Northeastern, 11/22/97
300-Yard Passing Games 3 9
400-Yard Passing Games 1 2
#20 Brian Westbrook
Rushing Attempts 18 vs. W&M, 9/26/98 Same
Rushing Yards 114 vs. Pittsburgh, 9/5/98 Same
Rushing Touchdowns 2 on two occasions 2 on three occasions
100-Yard Games 3 4
Receptions 15 vs. Northeastern. 10/10/98 Same
Receiving Yards 181 vs. JMU, 9/19/98 Same
Receiving Touchdowns 3 vs. Fordham Same
Longest Rush 48 vs. Pittsburgh, 9/5/98 Same
Longest Catch 72 vs JMU, 9/19/98 Same
Most Punt Return Yards 47 vs. JMU, 9/19/98 Same
Longest Punt Return 38 vs. JMU, 9/19/98 Same
Kickoff Return Yards 164 vs. Delaware, 9/12/98 Same
Longest Kickoff Return 89 vs. Pittsburgh, 9/5/98 89 on two occasions
All-Purpose Yards 428 vs. Pittsburgh, 9/5/98 Same
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