#11 Villanova survives last-second comeback by Eastern Kentucky to advance to the Second Round of the FCS Playoffs | Villanova vs. Eastern Kentucky Recap

VILLANOVA, PA—In Round 1 of the FCS Playoffs at a cold Villanova Stadium, Villanova teetered on the brink of elimination. However, two late field goals from Ethan Gettman and a defensive stop near the goal line sent the Wildcats roaring to the second round.

The game and season for both programs came down to one final play with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. With the Colonels only ten yards away from the endzone, EKU’s QB Matt Morrissey scrambled and eventually fired a pass to the back of the endzone for Jackson House on the last play of the game. House caught the football, but his feet were on the white line in the back of the endzone and ruled out of bounds. Villanova survived a last-second attempt by Eastern Kentucky to secure the first-round victory.

#11 Villanova defeated Eastern Kentucky, 22-17. The Wildcats overcame four sloppy turnovers and won their 16th consecutive game at Villanova Stadium. The Colonels jumped out to an early 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Villanova outscored Eastern Kentucky, 22-3, in the rest of the game. The Wildcats held the Colonels scoreless in the second half.

In Round 1 of the FCS Playoffs, Villanova defeated Eastern Kentucky, 22-17, on Saturday afternoon at a cold and windy Villanova Stadium.

Villanova head coach, Mark Ferrante, discussed the final play of the game and his overall thoughts on the Wildcats’ five-point win at his postgame press conference.

“How about wow,” Ferrante said. “I mean, nail-biter. Thankfully, that guy [House] was standing on the white part of the field and not the green part of the field on that last play. Just really happy we have another opportunity to play another week. We’ll enjoy this one for 24 hours, and then we’ll clean up a lot of things ’cause we made a lot of mistakes.”

Watkins Throws for 177 yards and Two Touchdowns

Wildcats’ QB Connor Watkins converted 14 of his 24 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception in the first half after his pass was batted and intercepted by Eastern Kentucky defensive lineman, Darrian Baker. Watkins also fumbled the football in the third quarter after a 12-yard scramble. He ran for 42 yards in 13 attempts.

Avit’s Big Second Half

Villanova’s rushing attack had just 22 yards in the first half. However, David Avit and the Wildcats slashed through Eastern Kentucky’s defense for 125 yards in the final thirty minutes. Avit accumulated 94 rushing yards against the Colonels. He also finished the game with two catches for 75 yards.

Welde’s Milestone Catch

Devin Smith had just one reception for 13 yards, but his only catch of the game provided seven points for the Wildcats. James Welde, a senior tight end from Havertown, PA, also recorded a touchdown reception in the third quarter. Welde’s five-yard touchdown reception pulled the Wildcats within a point and was the first catch of his collegiate career.

After the game, Welde spoke about this important milestone in his career and what the touchdown meant to the team.

“After the play, I was excited obviously, more for the team,” Welde said. “I was excited to get in, excited I could make the play. Happy Connor [Watkins] trusted me with it, happy Bo [Coach Boden] called it. But overall, it was just one step closer to the win.”

Lucas Kopecky led Villanova in receptions with six for 51 yards. He finished his first-ever football playoff game with eight targets.

Richie Kimmel + The Wildcats’ Tremendous Offense

Despite Villanova’s slow start defensively by allowing 14 quick points, including seven after Watkins’ interception, the Wildcats’ defense responded at the end of the first half. Villanova held the Colonels to just three points from the start of the second quarter to the end of Saturday’s contest.

Richie Kimmel, a senior linebacker from Holmes, PA, led the Wildcats with eight total tackles. Brendan Bell and Ethan Potter recorded seven tackles against the Colonels.

Coach Ferrante highlighted the Wildcats’ stellar defense all season in his CAA weekly press conference on Monday morning.

“Our defense has been pretty much helping us and saving us all year,” Ferrante said. “Our defense has been playing lights out all year. We’ve been doing better offensively. We just got to hang on to the football, so we don’t give our defense short fields.”

Colonels’ QB Matt Morrissey completed just nine of his 27 passing attempts for 75 yards and one touchdown. His only touchdown pass came in the first quarter on an 11-yard dart to Marcus Calwise Jr.

Joshua Carter, Eastern Kentucky’s star running back, started the game with a 77-yard touchdown run on the first drive. He exploded for 150 rushing yards, including that 77-yard TD. Carter also led Eastern Kentucky with four receptions for 43 yards.

Calwise Jr. grabbed the Colonels’ only touchdown reception for the fifth touchdown of his freshman season.

Penalty Trouble

On this cold Saturday afternoon with temperatures around 32 degrees, Villanova and Eastern Kentucky both committed ten penalties. Villanova finished the game with 104 penalty yards. EKU’s head coach, Walt Wells, was also issued a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct when arguing a call with the referees. Tensions were high in this playoff game, and both teams struggled to play clean football.

Coach Ferrante made it clear that Villanova needs to clean up its mistakes this weekend during his press conference.

“So we got to clean things up, hang on to the football, you know, minimize some of those penalties, and just play a much cleaner game in the upcoming weekend,” Ferrante said.

Round 2 of the FCS Playoffs vs. #6 Incarnate Word

#11 Villanova will look to continue its season with a win against #6 Incarnate Word in Round 2 of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Texas.