Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Robertson, Villanova pound it home for win
RADNOR » Two things were certain when Villanova got the ball with 8 minutes, 23 seconds left in a tied game Saturday evening.
First, and foremost, the fifth-ranked and sixthseeded Wildcats were not going to kick a field goal to beat Liberty and advance to the FCS quarterfinals for the first time since 2010 and the fourth time since 2008. It was touchdown or bust.
That was never an option.
Secondly, and just as importantly, Villanova was not going to throw the ball, either, even though three of the four fumbles the Wildcats lost came in the game on offense, two by quarterback John Robertson, the Walter Payton finalist.
No field goals and no passes.
If the Wildcats were going to beat the Flames, which they did, 29-22, center Ross Hall, guards Kyle Wallace and Peter Sotiriou, tackles Vince Kowalski and Brad Seaton, Robertson and running backs Kevin Monangai and Austin Medley would have to shoulder the load and did.
In a drive for the ages, Villanova marched 84 yards in 18 plays, all runs, to take its only lead of the game on a one-yard run by Robertson with 1:12 left in the game to send the Wildcats (11-2) into the quarterfinals against an old, familiar foe.
Monangai carried the ball 10 times on the final drive for 54 yards. He finished with 102 yards on 20 tries. No gain was bigger than the three yards Monangai picked up on fourthand-one from the Liberty eight-yard line with 2:42 to play in the game.
Robertson lugged it five times for 14 yards to go over the 100-yard mark for the fifth time this season and pass Chris Boden as Villanova’s leader in career total offense with 10,273 yards and counting. Medley added 16 yards on three carries; the final one gave Villanova a first down at the Liberty 27-yard line.
“It reminded me of the William & Mary game last year where we had like a seven-minute drive and ran it the whole time,” Robertson said. “It was awesome watching our offensive line throw those guys around. They really stepped up for us.
Villanova’s reward is a home date either Friday or Saturday against Sam Houston State, which is coached by former Delaware head man K.C. Keeler. The Bearkats (10-4), yes, that’s how it’s spelled, stunned thirdseeded Jacksonville State, 37-26, to keep its season alive. The date and time of that game will be finalized Sunday.
“I’m glad to see him back,” Villanov coach Andy Talley said of the matchup with Keeler. “He’s a good friend of mine.”
And Keeler is familiar with the Wildcats, even though he was not very successful against Villanova. He went 4-7 in his 11-years in Newark so Keeler will not be surprised to see that the Wildcats kept it on the ground during the go-ahead drive.
“That was all by design,” Robertson said.
The time-consuming possession chewed seven valuable minutes and 11 precious seconds off the clock and gave the Flames, who expended all three of their timeouts in an effort to stop the onslaught, little chance mount a comeback.
“Their guys beat us up front,” Liberty coach Turner Gill said. “They were better than us.”
For a while, that was not the case. Liberty led 13-0 early in the second quarter, 19-14 at halftime and 22-14 when John Lunsford booted his third field goal of the game with 5:22 to play in the third quarter. And it could have been worse.
Had it not been for the Villanova defense, which gave up a mere three points and 112 yards in the second half, there would have been no winning drive in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats forced the Flames to settle for a pair of field goals when they had the ball inside the Villanova 10-yard line twice, once in the second quarter and again in the third quarter.
Liberty (9-5) had firstand-goal and the Villanova five-yard line in the second quarter only to settle for a 23-yard Lunsford field goal. Three possessions later, after the Flames recovered a muffed punt at the Villanova 45-yard line, Liberty had first-and-goal from the eight-yard line, only to come up short again.
Vi l la nova’s defense forced Liberty to settle for a 22-14 after Lunsford drilled a 21-yard field goal with 5:22 to play in the third period.
“Our defensive l i ne stepped up big,” Villanova linebacker Don Cherry said. “Liberty is a two-dimensional team so they can run and they can pass. They are so dynamic with those playmakers. Our secondary really stepped up as our defensive line played huge.”
While the defense came up big, the offense came to life in the second half after being held in check by the Liberty defense. First, Villanova had to tie the game, which it did on a 70-yard hookup between Robertson and Kevin Gulyas and a two-point conversion run by Robertson early in the fourth quarter.
It was the second big catch of the day for Gulyas. The senior had an 87- yard reception, the longest in program history, to set up Villanova’s first score, which was a three-yard run by Robertson, early in the second quarter.
Villanova’s work wasn’t finished. It had still had one more drive, an impressive 18-play, 84-yard march that will be remember on the Main Line for a long time. It wasn’t fancy. The Wildcats put gave in the hands of its offensive line, Robertson, Monangai and Medley and they delivered.
“It’s John Robertson or field goal,” Talley said as he moved his hands as if balancing a scale. “John Robertson, field goal? I’m going with John Robertson.”
It was a winning combination.