After a few slip-ups in the regular season, Villanova had no trouble in its playoff opener.
The Wildcats continued their FCS playoffs success on Saturday afternoon by knocking off St. Francis, 31-21 (see Instant Replay), and advancing to face South Dakota State in the second round next week.
Head coach Andy Talley, who is retiring at the end of the season, led the Wildcats to their ninth win in their last 13 playoff appearances, and lives another day as Nova's leader.
“It sunk in when I walked out of the stadium for the last time,” Talley said after Villanova’s win. “There were some people shouting my name, and that was interesting. It has been a great career and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. When you walk out of the stadium for last time, you kind of look back and reflect."
Villanova is now 12-10 all time in the FCS playoffs, and the Wildcats' experience showed against a St. Francis team that was making its first appearance in the postseason.
“I thought St. Francis was a rough-and-tough team, and they showed that at the end of the second half, they are very physical,” Talley said. “It was important that we came off of a high against Delaware and we continued to play the same way.”
The Wildcats scored 31 points in the first half, but failed to score for the rest of the game. Talley was disappointed that they were not able to carry over the same offense in the second half, but knew his defense could hold the big lead.
“We had enough points at halftime, and with our defense able to keep them at bay,” Talley said. "The last touchdown at the end didn’t mean that much, and I was very pleased with how our team played defensively.”
Quarterback Zach Bednarczyk threw all three of his touchdowns before halftime, but the offense took its foot off the gas in the second half.
“You saw our offense in the first half, but the second half was a little disappointing,” Bednarczyk, who threw for 254 yards, said. “We wish we could have put up some points in the second half, but we know if we want to win next week, we have to play four full good quarters of football, so that’s our goal.”
Tight end Ryan Bell had his third multi-touchdown game on Saturday after he he caught two TDs and 110 yards receiving. One of his touchdowns was for 59 yards, but he says that he likes when they target him in the red zone.
“Yeah, I like it when they throw it to me on the goal line especially,” Bell said. “I like being a big target when we are so close.”
Bell’s other touchdown came from two yards away, and he created problems for St. Francis the entire game.
Senior linebacker Austin Calitro, who had two tackles, thinks that the team plays with pride in front of their home crowd.
“We stuck with our base calls and made some adjustments at halftime,” Calitro said. “It’s a pride thing with our team. As long as I’ve been here, the last five years we never lost at home during the playoffs.”
However, the Wildcats can’t afford to have a second half like they did Saturday next week when play South Dakota State in the second round. The Jack Rabbits average 37.4 points and 411 yards per game.
Villanova will need to translate its play from the first half on Saturday, andTalley has already begun watching film from South Dakota.
“I saw a little tape last week, and I think they are a team very much like us,” he said. “They are 8-3, and they beat North Dakota State, so that tells you what you need to know."