Befuddled Crusaders
VU still searching for first win of season after losing at home to Davidson
Valparaiso University coach Dave Cecchini knows there’s a massive challenge ahead.
“Our team is going to need one giant gut check to right this ship,” he said.
VU fell 45-40 to Davidson at home Saturday, dropping the Crusaders to 0-4 and giving the Wildcats their first win in Pioneer Football League play since 2015.
VU (0-4, 0-1) was awash in optimism after 2017 ended with the program’s first winning season since 2003. But Saturday’s loss had coaches and players alike searching for answers.
That included senior wide receiver Jean Rene, whose up-and-down day epitomized the Crusaders’ rough start. Rene caught four passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns, but also fumbled the exchange on a reverse that appeared destined for big yardage and perhaps a third TD.
“We know we should be playing better as a team,” Rene said. “We know we should at least have one win under our belt by now. It’s hard, knowing that we’re so close. But whatever it is, we have to figure it out and fix it fast.”
VU trailed 34-21 at the halftime, largely because of its inability to contain Davidson’s ground game.
The Wildcats scored on all five possessions in the first half, churning out 263 yards. Running an option offense, they finished with 379 yards.
“The only way to describe our defense was an embarrassment in the first half,” Cecchini said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a football game where we’ve failed to stop our opponent for an entire half.”
But VU’s defense — playing without linebacker Nick Turner, a preseason all-conference pick — stiffened in the second half by forcing a turnover and making a fourth-down stop that helped the Crusaders stay in the game.
“Our defense did an incredible job of digging deep,” Cecchini said. “Our coaches changed things up at halftime and our players did not quit after such a frustrating first half.”
VU took the lead with 4:19 remaining on a 3-yard TD run by quarterback Chris Duncan, who again split time with Jimmy Seewald.
Seewald did make his first start of the season while still recovering from offseason surgery on his right, throwing shoulder.
But as Cecchini described, mistakes on each side of the ball in the final four minutes cost VU another chance at a win.
Davidson scored with 56 seconds left to take the lead for good, and VU’s final possession on offense ended on downs, 44 yards away from a game-winning TD.
“Our defense had an opportunity, with the lead, to stop them,” Cecchini said. “After doing a great job for almost all of the second half, we failed to do so.
“Then our offense had an opportunity to win the game and we failed to do that as well. In the fourth quarter of a hard-fought game, that’s what it all comes down to.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.