Villanova Downs Tribe, 63-24, in CAA Football Action

Wildcats' Big First Quarter Dooms Tribe

10/06/07 10:00PM

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Villanova quarterback Antwon Young passed for four touchdowns and rushed for another in a 63-24 victory over William and Mary Saturday night at Villanova Stadium.

Young completed 20 of 26 attempts for 216 yards and rushed for 38 yards on five attempts, and Villanova (4-2, 2-1 CAA) won its third straight in the series. The Wildcats’ 63-point total was the highest against the Tribe in a league game.

Matthew Sherry was Young’s top target with seven receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Brandyn Harvey, Angelo Babbaro, Phil Atkinson and Luca Ragone also had touchdown receptions for the Wildcats, who had three different players throw for a score. Matt Dicken rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown, as Villanova piled up 505 yards of total offense.

W&M (3-3, 1-2 CAA) put itself in a big hole early, losing two fumbles on kickoff returns, both of which led to short Villanova touchdown drives. The Wildcats, which scored on its first five possessions, led 28-7 with 4:06 remaining in the opening quarter, before the Tribe offense took the field for the second time.

Jake Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.) passed for 291 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a score. Cameron Dohse (Clifton, Va.) recorded career-highs with six receptions and 117 yards and scored on a 24-yard pass from Phillips. Elliott Mack (Irvington, Va.) also went over the 100-yard receiving mark with 105 yards on three catches.

Courtland Marriner (Chesapeake, Va.) rushed for 81 yards on 16 attempts.

After Dicken’s 10-yard touchdown run on the opening series of the game, Phillips’ 7-yard scoring run evened the score 7-7. But, a 39-yard touchdown pass by Young to Sherry on a busted play gave the Wildcats a 14-7 advantage and the lead for good.

After the first Tribe fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Young connected with Atkinson on a 16-yard touchdown pass to extend the advantage to 21-7 with 6:18 remaining in the quarter. The second fumble followed, and this time Young capped a five-play, 21-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Villanova a 21-point lead.

At that point, Young was 10-for-11 through the air for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

W&M kept the first-quarter offensive show rolling though, answering on its next series with a 10-play, 80-yard drive. Phillips capped the march with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dohse with seven seconds remaining in the period, but the Tribe still trailed, 28-14.

The teams combined for 42 points and 322 total yards in the quarter.

Villanova used a trick play to extend the lead to 35-14 early in the second, as Atkinson took a pitch on a reverse before throwing a 31-yard touchdown pass to Ragone.

A 41-yard field goal by Brian Pate (Fredericksburg, Va.) cut the deficit to 35-17 and gave the Tribe points on its first three possessions, before the teams finally exchanged punts to close the half.

Young threw a 24-yard pass to Harvey to open the scoring in the second half, and then found Sherry on a 4-yard strike to blow it open, 49-17, in the third. Babbaro scored the Wildcats’ last two touchdowns, finding the end zone on a 33-yard run, before bringing in a 25-yard pass from Chris Whitney in the fourth.

The Tribe’s only points of the second half came on a 73-yard touchdown pass by Phillips to Mack. It was a career-long pass for Phillips and a career-long reception for Mack.

W&M is on the road again next Saturday, visiting Maine at 3 p.m.

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