Bednarczyk goes down, ’Nova rises to challenge
TOWSON, MD. » One of these days Villanova will go through a game without any injuries. First-year coach Mark Ferrante just wants to know when.
The injury list got a little longer when starting quarterback Zack Bednarczyk went down with a knee injury during Villanova’s first possession in Saturday’s 24-9 victory over Towson at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
The redshirt junior spent part of the half on crutches and did not return. He left the stadium in a brace and will be evaluated during the week. His status for Saturday’s home game against Maine is up in the air.
“He got rolled on,” Ferrante said. “I don’t know if it was a defender or one of our guys being tripped up and pushed back, but he felt a little pressure on the outside of his knee.”
Later in the first half cornerback Trey Johnson went down and was kept out for precautionary reasons after going through the concussion protocol.
“He was a little upset about that at halftime,” Ferrante said. “I think they got his helmet and shoulder pads away from him just to make sure he tried to sneak back into there because I wouldn’t be surprised, as competitive as Trey is, that he may have tried to do something like that.”
And starting center Matt Donoghue from Garnet Valley rolled his ankle, again.
“We seem to be a little snake-bitten there,” Ferrante said.
It’s been that kind of year for the 14th ranked Wildcats (3-2 overall, 1-1 CAA). Wide receivers Changa Hodge (lisfranc) and Alex Padovani (Achilles), and safety Rob Rolle (ACL) are out for the year. Running back Matt Gudzak and tight end Ryan Bell missed the game with knee injuries. Their status remains up in the year.
With all the injuries, especially on the offensive side of the ball, it’s a good thing the defense has been able to stay on top of its game despite the loss of Rolle and having to replace the likes of ends Tanoh Kpassagnon and Bryan Osei, and linebacker Austin Calitro.
With Bednarczyk down and the offense struggling, the defense came to the rescue to get the Wildcats back on the winning track.
The Wildcats were stout against the run, but that has come to be expected. Villanova held Towson to 44 yards on 32 carries. It’s the seventh straight game the Wildcats have held their opponent under 100 yards rushing.
The defensive dominance didn’t stop there. The Wildcats forced three turnovers, two of which led directly to touchdowns. All three turnovers came in the second half. Overall, the Wildcats held the Tigers (2-3, 0-2) to 246 total yards on 76 plays. That’s an average of 3.2 yards per play.
Leading that defensive charge, as usual, was senior linebacker Ed Shockley, who racked up 13 total tackles. That’s the third time this season and the sixth time in his career that he has recorded double-digit tackles in a game. Malik Reaves had 11 tackles, including 10 solo stops, and forced the two fumbles that led to a pair of touchdown runs by backup quarterback Jack Schetelich that sealed the victory in the fourth quarter.
“We try to be stingy against the run,” Shockley said. “If you stop the run you force them to pass. And teams are going to have a hard time passing on us because we have a very talented secondary even with the loss of Rob Rolle, who’s a tremendous player. We have guys like Malik Reaves, Trey Johnson and Rashaan Stewart. We have very talented guys back there so stopping the run is always our first goal.”
The Wildcats needed that effort from the defense because Schetelich struggled in his first serious action as a collegian. He did throw a seven-yard TD pass to Taurus Phillips six plays after Bednarczyk went out, but had trouble moving the offense after that.
Schetelich was 5-for-15 for 59 yards. However, he did throw three interceptions and did not complete a pass in the second half. Yet he never lost his confidence, to his teammates.
“My teammates were completely behind me,” Schetelich said. “That’s the reason I finished the game … They never let me get down.”
Schetelich rewarded that faith when he raced eight yards for the first rushing touchdown of his career to give the Wildcats a 17-9 lead. He added an 11-yard TD run a little more than 10 minutes later to seal it.
“I got reps this week in 7-on-7 and inside runs,” Schetelich said. “That’s why I was able to read the run really well this week.”
Schetelich will get more reps in the early part of the week because he’s the next man up at quarterback. The Wildcats, though, are used to that by now. With all the injuries, they’ve had plenty of practice.
“All we can do is continue fight on,” Ferrante said. thanks to