Wildcats use second-half momentum to defeat Eastern Kentucky 22-17 and advance to the FCS playoffs

VILLANOVA, Pa. –The magic struck again in the second half and Villanova (10-3) edged Eastern Kentucky (8-5) for a 22-17 victory in the first round of the Division I Football Championship on Saturday afternoon. Two field goals from fifth-year kicker Ethan Gettman (Daytona Beach, Florida) The fourth quarter was the difference in the game, as the Wildcats outscored the visiting Colonels 13-0 after halftime. The win set a new program record for longest home winning streak – 16 straight – and advanced Villanova to a second-round playoff game at No. 6 seed UIW (10-2) next weekend in San Antonio, Texas.

A toss-up game between two evenly matched opponents featured a little bit of everything, including a safety for the Wildcats’ first points of the game and a total of 190 penalty yards, with each team drawing 10 flags on the day. Villanova overcame three turnovers and a 17-9 halftime deficit with the first career reception and touchdown by a senior tight end James Welde (Havertown, Pennsylvania) in the third quarter along with Gettman’s field goals in the final period.

Gettman has made seven straight field goal attempts in his last five games. He made a 42-yarder in the opening seconds of the final period, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 19-17 with 14:37 left. Gettman has made 10 career field goals of 40 yards or more, including three this season. He added a 31-yard field goal with exactly one minute to play to secure the final points of the game.

True freshman running back David Avit (Potomac, Maryland) ran for 94 yards on 17 carries and collected 75 receiving yards on just two catches, including one for 56 yards in the first quarter on a drive that ended with Villanova stopping at the two-yard line on fourth down. Sixth-year quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pennsylvania) was 14 of 24 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 42 yards on 13 carries and finishing the day with 219 total yards of offense.

Eastern Kentucky scored first on the second play from scrimmage in the first period when Joshua Carter broke free for a 77-yard touchdown run. That one play accounted for more than a quarter of the Colonels’ total offense that day.

Quarterback Matt Morrissey threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Calwise Jr. after the Wildcats intercepted him later in the first quarter, and Patrick Nations kicked a 48-yard field goal at 8:28 of the second period to make it 17 :9 lead. From that point on, Eastern Kentucky only had 158 yards rushing and averaged 3.6 yards per play on eight drives the rest of the game.

The score was 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats scored on their first safety of the year 10 seconds into the second period. A bad snap on fourth down from the six-yard line as the Colonels attempted to punt ended up going through the back of the end zone. Villanova then ran 59 yards in seven plays on its ensuing possession, which ended with Watkins throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to the fifth-year receiver Devin Smith (Durham, NC) The score was 14:9 and there were still 10:41 minutes to play.

The Wildcats have held a minus-19 point lead (133-152) in the first half of games this season, but have been able to make up for it in the second half. Villanova outscored its opponents 184-96 (+88) in the second half, including 98-37 in the fourth quarter. Thanks to Gettman’s field goals, the Wildcats have gained a 67-10 lead in the final period over their opponents in the last eight games.

Saturday’s win is the 16th^Th Right at home for Villanova, dating back to the middle of the 2022 season. It is now a longer home winning streak than two 15-game series: one that occurred from 2008 to 2010 and spanned the Wildcats’ 2009 national championship season, and another that occurred in the first 15 games ever played at Villanova Stadium Held between 1927 and 1930.

Next week’s second-round playoff match will be the first meeting between Villanova and UIW. Kickoff is scheduled for next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (1:00 p.m. CT) in San Antonio. The competition will be televised on ESPN+.