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Wildcats to Host Parents' Weekend Game against Massachusetts
Sept. 12, 2006
VILLANOVA, Pa.-- Villanova will host Massachusetts on Saturday at 1 p.m. during Parents' Weekend on campus. Click on the PDF link at the top of this release to access complete game notes. Villanova news and notes appear below.
TALLEY'S TENURE: Currently in his 22nd 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 career at Villanova, Talley has recorded a 142-91-1 mark, making him the all-time winningest coach in Villanova history. Talley's 26-year overall coaching record currently stands at 170-109-2. During his career as the Wildcat mentor, Talley has guided Villanova to six NCAA playoff appearances (1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2002), four conference titles and two Lambert Meadowlands Trophies. In 1997, Talley garnered the Eddie Robinson Award and the AFCA/GTE National Coach of the Year Award.
TELEVISION EXPOSURE: For the second consecutive week, Villanova can be seen on television. The game can be seen live at 1 p.m. on CN8. Other games this year that can also be seen on CN8 include next Saturday's game at Penn and the Nov. 18 Delaware contest.
CONFERENCE OPENER: Saturday's game with Massachusetts will be the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams. Since Villanova began conference play at the I-AA level in 1988, the Wildcats are 13-5 in conference openers. The Wildcats have won eight of their last 10 conference openers have scored 30 or more points in eight of the 10 contests.
HOME SWEET HOME: To say that the home team has had the upper hand in the all-time series between Villanova and Massachusetts would be an understatement. In the 21 meetings between the schools, the home team has won 17 of the 21 contests, including 15 of the last 16 games in the series. The last time the away squad has won a game in the series happened to be the last game between the teams. In 2003, then No. 5 Massachusetts defeated then No. 2 Villanova by a score of 19-14 in a game played at Villanova Stadium.
GETTING REACQUAINTED: Saturday's game between Villanova and Massachusetts will be the first time the two teams have played one another since October of 2003. In the last meeting, the Minutemen registered a 19-14 win over the Wildcats at Villanova Stadium. Even though they are both members of the Atlantic 10, Villanova and Massachusetts are in opposite divisions. The conference schedule calls for each school to play all the teams in its division and three of the six from the opposite division.
SEPTEMBER SUCCESS: Dating back to the 1997 season, Villanova is 22-3 in the month of September versus Division I-AA competition. All total, the Wildcats are 24-8 in the month of September since 1997 with five of the eight losses coming against Division I-A opponents.
SLOW START: The Wildcats enter play versus Massachusetts with an 0-2 record. The last time Villanova started 0-3 was in 1995 when the `Cats lost to Boston University, Delaware and James Madison during the first three weeks of the season.
LONG LAYOFF: After hosting Massachusetts on Saturday, Villanova will not return home until Oct. 21 when the Wildcats host Towson in a Home coming game. After a game at Penn next Saturday followed by a bye week, the Wildcats play back-to-back road contests at Hofstra and at Maine.
IN A RUSH: Villanova registered four rushing touchdowns in last week's 31-28 loss to Lehigh. The four rushing scores were recorded by Matt Dicken who had two, Marvin Burroughs and Aaron Jones. This was the first time the Wildcats had four rushing scores in a game since Nov. 20, 2004 in a loss at Delaware.
GAINING GROUND: The Wildcats rushed for an impressive 208 yards in last Saturday's loss to Lehigh. En route to the 208 yards, the `Cats averaged 5.0 yards per carry. Leading the way on the ground was senior DeQuese May who had 85 yards on 15 carries for a 5.7 yards per rush average.
STRONG EFFORT: In just his second career game, freshman punter Zach Ugarte had an impressive game versus Lehigh last Saturday. Ugarte had four punts for 172 yards for an average of 43.0 yards per punt. He also placed three of his four punts inside the 20-yard line.
LEADING THE WAY: Three senior members of the 2006 Wildcats will serve as team captains this season. Quarterback Marvin Burroughs, center Christian Gaddis and safety Allyn Bacchus earned their captain status by a vote of Wildcat players.
STREAKING ALONG: Senior safety Allyn Bacchus will be making his 36th straight start this Saturday versus Massachusetts. The Hampton, Virginia native started the first game of his career as a true freshman and has not missed a start since. After two games this season, Bacchus leads the Wildcats with 18 total tackles. As a junior last season, he tallied 118 tackles (second on team) to go with six tackles for loss, five pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and a sack. For his efforts a year ago, he was named second team All-Atlantic 10. With 111 tackles this year, Bacchus will become just the fourth Villanova defender in school history to record 400 career tackles.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: It will be a family affair along the Villanova offensive line this season. The brother trio of Lav Bauta, Izzy Bauta and Imer Bauta are all offensive lineman for the Wildcats. Fifth-year Lav and sophomore Izzy are the starting tackles, while Imer is a freshman reserve. Lav played four years at Duke before transferring to Villanova this season. Izzy spent one year at Duke before transferring to Villanova before th 2005 season. As a redshirt freshman last season, Izzy saw significant playing time at tackle.
PRE-SEASON HONORS: Two Wildcats were named pre-season first team All-Atlantic 10 by a vote of league head coaches. Senior safety Allyn Bacchus and junior tight end Matt Sherry were both named to the All-Conference pre-season first team. Last season, Bacchus finished second on the team in tackles with 118 to go with six tackles for loss, five pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and a sack. Sherry made 25 receptions for 275 yards and three touchdowns in an injury-plagued campaign in 2005.
ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNERS: Head coach Andy Talley returns three players in 2006 who earned All-Atlantic 10 distinction in 2005. Senior safety Allyn Bacchus was a second team All-Conference selection last season, while senior center Christina Gaddis and senior cornerback Rodney Badger were both third team honorees.
VILLANOVA PICKED FIFTH: In the pre-season Atlantic 10 Conference poll, Villanova was picked to finish fifth in the South Division according to a poll of the league's head coaches and selected media members.
NORTH DIVISION 1. New Hampshire (22) 2. Massachusetts (5) 3. Maine 4. Hofstra 5. Rhode Island 6. Northeastern BIG SHOES TO FILL: The Wildcat defense faces the unenviable task of replacing two players who were both first team All-Atlantic 10 Conference selections the last three seasons. Linebacker Brian Hulea and defensive end Darrell Adams were both named first tea m All-Atlantic 10 in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Hulea finished his career with a school record 431 tackles.
CATCHING UP: The position on the Villanova roster that was hit the hardest by graduation was the wide receiver spot. Villanova must replace its top two receivers from a year who combined to account for 138 receptions for 1,683 yards and 13 touchdowns. As seniors last year, J.J. Outlaw registered 83 catches for 878 yards and seven touchdowns, while John Dieser had 55 catches for 805 yards and six scores. Outlaw, who was just recently cut by the Philadelphia Eagles, finished his Villanova career fourth all-time in receptions with 199 and Dieser ended his Wildcat playing days eighth all-time in receptions with 166. After two games in 2006, junior Anton Ridley leads the Wildcat receivers with seven catches for 97 yards and one touchdown.
STAFF CHANGES: Wildcat head coach Andy Talley will have two new assistant coaches in 2006. On defense, Clint Wiley returns to Villanova as the team's linebacker coach. Wiley coached at Villanova from 1998-2004 before becoming the head coach at Oakcrest High School in Mays Landing, New Jersey last season. Sean Spencer, who coached the Wildcat linebackers, is now an assistant coach at Hofstra University. Talley also hired Chris Mosley to coach the Villanova cornerbacks. Mosley comes to Villanova from Akron University where he worked with the offensive tackles, tight ends and special teams as a graduate assistant in 2005. Last year's cornerbacks coach, Billy Crocker, has been promoted to defensive line coach. He replaces Brendan Daly who is now an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings.
ALL-AMERICAN HISTORY: The Villanova football program has had a first team All-American in eight of the last 12 years. In the program's history, 22 different players have earned All-American distinction.
1994 LB Tyrone Frazier 1996 WR Brian Finneran 1997 WR Brian Finneran QB Chris Boden 1998 RB Brian Westbrook 2000 KR Brian Westbrook 2001 RB Brian Westbrook 2002 QB Brett Gordon 2005 LB Brian Hulea NOTE: In 1999, wide receiver Murle Sango was a second team All-American, while in 2004 defensive end Jamil Butler was a second team All-American selection.
RADIO INFORMATION: Beginning in 2006, SportsTalk 950-AM WPEN will be the flagship station of the Villanova Football Radio Network. Play-by-play announcer Joe Eichhorn, who has been broadcasting Villanova football since 1988, returns to anchor the broadcasts. Joining Eichhorn for a 14th consecutive year is Ryan Fannon. All 11 Wildcat gridiron contests will be broadcast live, beginning with with a 15 minute pre-game show.
OVERTIME HISTORY: During head coach Andy Talley's tenure at Villanova, the Wildcats have played in 10 overtime games and in those 10 games the Wildcats are 7-3. With the double overtime win at Temple on Sept. 6, 2003, Villanova has won five of its last six overtime contests. Of the 10 overtime games, seven have been played at Villanova Stadium. Before the 2003 overtime game with Temple, the Wildcats last overtime contest came in 2001 against James Madison in week four when the `Cats outlasted the Dukes, 45-44, in double overtime. The last overtime game before the James Madison contest came in 2000 when the Wildcats suffered a 48-41 loss to William & Mary. In 1999, Villanova played two overtime games. On Oct. 16, 1999 Villanova defeated UConn, 48-45, in triple overtime in a game played in Storrs, Conn. In the 1999 season finale at Villanova Stadium, the `Cats rallied from a 45-24 deficit with 8:37 remaining against Delaware to win a 51-45 thriller in one overtime.
ACTING PROFESSIONAL: Five former Villanova products are currently on NFL rosters. Wide receiver Brian Finneran (Villanova 1994-97), who is currently in his seventh season with the Atlanta Falcons, injured his knee during training camp and will be on injured reserve for the 2006 season. Running back Brian Westbrook (Villanova 1997-2001) i s in his fifth season with the Philadelphia Eagles as the franchise's starting running back. Westbrook became the first Wildcat player to be drafted since Howie Long in 1981 when he was selected in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft. Safety Raymond Ventrone (Villanova 2001-04) is a on the injured reserve list for the New England Patriot. Last season, Ventrone was on the Patriots practice squad. Westbrook and Finneran both won the Walter Payton Award, given to the top player in NCAA I-AA football, during their senior seasons at Villanova.
ATLANTIC 10 FOOTBALL TELECONFERENCE: Every Monday from August 28-Nov. 20, th Atlantic 10 will conduct a teleconference from 10 a.m.-12:10 p.m. with each of its head coaches. Each coach will have a 10-minute slot to discuss his team and answer questions from the media. Members of the media are strongly encouraged to participate in the questioning. For the access number, contact the Atlantic 10 communications office at 215-545-6678. The teleconference schedule is listed below.
10:00 a.m. Atlantic 10 update 10:10 a.m. Dave Clawson, Richmond 10:20 a.m. Jimmye Laycock, William & Mary 10:30 a.m. Andy Talley, Villanova 10:40 a.m. Rocky Hager, Northeastern 10:50 a.m. Mickey Matthews, JMU 11:00 a.m. Jack Cosgrove, Maine 11:10 a.m. Don Brown, Northeastern 11:20 a.m. Tim Stowers, Rhode Island 11:30 a.m. K.C. Keeler, Delaware 11:40 a.m. Sean McDonnell, New Hampshire 11:50 a.m. Dave Cohen, Hofstra Noon Gordy Combs, Towson THE Andy Talley RADIO SHOW: In 2006, WPEN 950-AM, the flagship station of Villanova Athletics, will broadcast "Talking Football With Andy Talley." 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 is held on Tuesday evenings at Kelly's Restaurant and Tap Room in Bryn Mawr, Pa from 7-8 p.m..
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Villanova Wildcat Athletics Football
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