’Nova bounces back in a big way against Bucknell
RADNOR » Paul Grattan, Ryan Bell, Changa Hodge and Rob Rolle IV all were in street clothes with a variety of injuries Saturday night.
In many cases, being without its starting center, tight end, wide receiver and free safety would be a major issue for Villanova, but not on this night.
Neither the absence of four starters nor four turnovers could prevent the 15th-ranked Wildcats from bouncing back from their first loss of the season.
Aaron Forbes ran for two touchdowns, and quarterback Zach Bednarczyk added one TD on the ground and another through the air as the Wildcats made Family Weekend a happy one with a 49-7 romp over Bucknell at Villanova Stadium.
As good as the offense was — and it was Villanova’s most productive game of the season even with the turnovers — the defense was even better. A week after giving up a season-high 528 yards in a 45-35 loss to Towson in its CAA opener, the defense returned to the unit that carried the Wildcats (3-1) to wins over Temple and Lehigh.
The Bison (0-4) finished with eight first downs, 41 yards rushing and 128 yards in total offense. Before its final possession, Bucknell had more yards in penalties (85) than in total offense (72). The Bison also turned the ball over four times.
“They came out probably with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said of his defensive unit. “They did a great job … Even though we gave them a few turnovers we were able to get a few ourselves.”
All four of the takeaways, three interceptions and a fumble recovery, led to touchdowns.
“We don’t like to lose,” said freshman cornerback Christian Benford, who had one of those three picks, his second of the season. “We like to bounce back and that’s what makes us a great team defensively. We like to come back from failure.”
Bucknell had little success against the Wildcats’ defense. The only times the Bison saw the Villanova side of the field was courtesy of two turnovers and a penalty.
Stopping Villanova’s offense was no easy chore even though Bell and Hodge, two of the biggest weapons in the arsenal, did not play. Villanova scored on its first four possessions and six of the first 10 times it had the ball to open up a 42-7 halftime lead.
Josh McGrigg filled in well for Hodge. The sophomore from Alexandria, Va., came into the game with five career receptions for 32 yards, none this season. McGrigg finished the game with five receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown. His score, a 90-yard catch and run in the first quarter, was the longest pass play in Villanova history.
“We had that play in all week,” McGrigg said. “The thing about me was I was just following the game plan. I was just doing what the coaches told me to do. So to me, it really wasn’t nothing big because that’s what we’ve been doing all week.”
All the Wildcats were in bounceback mode. Bednarczyk completed 11 of 17 passes for 281 yards. He also ran the ball eight times for 38 yards and a score. Matt Gudzak and quarterback Adeyemi DaSilva also had rushing touchdowns. Six of Villanova’s seven touchdowns came on the ground.
As for the turnovers, Villanova’s defense made sure those giveaways weren’t costly and the Wildcats were able to put last week’s loss to Towson behind them.
“People asked me the question during the week, ‘How are they guys going to respond?’” Ferrante said. “That’s the question I had for the our team and I would say they responded in a really nice way.”