VILLANOVA, PA. (11/29/08) – Sixth ranked Villanova rolled to 420 yards of total offense en route to a 55-28 win over Colgate in the first round of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs Saturday at Villanova Stadium.

 

Colgate finished the season with a 9-3 record, while Villanova improved to 10-2.  The Wildcats advance to play the winner of the James Madison-Wofford game in the quarterfinals.

 

Villanova opened the scoring when Matt Szezur returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.  After a long delay for a Villanova injury, Joe Marcoux missed the extra point.

 

On Colgate's first possession, the Raiders drove deep into Villanova territory, but wide receiver Pat Simonds (Sidney, NY) fumbled at the 16-yard line.  The Wildcats' Marquis Kirkland picked up the fumble, and returned to the Colgate 27-yard line.  Five plays later, Aaron Ball scored on a six-yard run for a 13-0 lead with 9:26 left in the first quarter.

 

Later in the first quarter, Colgate took over on the Villanova 46-yard line following a punt.  The Raiders moved to the Villanova 12-yard line, where they faced fourth-and-one.  Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) rushed for the first down to keep the drive alive.  Then on third-and-goal, the Wildcats were called for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Raiders an automatic first down at the 2-yard line.  Scott scored his record-tying 55 rushing touchdown as Colgate trailed 13-7 with 1:22 remaining in the opening quarter.

 

Villanova came right back for a 20-7 lead when Angelo Babbaro capped an eight-play, 68-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.  The Wildcats scored three more times before halftime for a 41-7 lead.  Szczur scored on a four-yard run; wide receiver Phil Atkinson tallied on a 65-yard end-around play, and Ball scored his second TD on an eight-yard run.

In the third quarter, Villanova scored on a 16-yard pass play from Chris Whitney to Szczur, before Colgate tallied its second TD of the game.  Scott scored on a one-yard run to cap a 13-play, 73-yard drive.  With the score, Scott became Colgate's all-time leading scorer with 352 points – breaking the record of 350 set by Ed Tryon (1922-25).  He also tied Kenny Gamble for the most rushing touchdowns in a career with 55.

Villanova closed out the third quarter scoring on a one-yard run by Anthony Lucidonio giving the Wildcats a 55-14 lead.

The fourth quarter saw Scott score his third touchdown of the game, to tie his own Patriot League record for rushing touchdowns in a playoff game.  He scored on a one-yard run.  Then Pat Simonds caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Greg Sullivan (Monroe, NY) with 4:31 left to make the score 55-28.

Scott, who carried 27 times for 94 yards and three touchdowns, finished his career with 5,621 yards and broke the NCAA Division I career reccord for carries with 1,244. 

Sullivan completed 15-of-22 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown, while Simonds had six catches for 82 yards and one TD.