Hamilton, NY — Villanova quarterback Brett Gordon threw for 392 yards on 27-of-39 passing, as the nationally-ranked Wildcats (2-0) defeated the ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ Raiders, 20-0, at Andy Kerr Stadium. ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ (0-1) was shutout for the first time since the coaching debut of Raider head coach Dick Biddle in 1996.
Villanova dominated both sides of the football gaining 452 yards of total offense, while the Wildcats limited the Raiders to 134 yards, including only 11 in the first half.
The Wildcats took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Adam James with 6:03 left, capping a 79-yard drive in 12 plays. Villanova increased its advantage to 10-0 with nine seconds left in the opening period, when Terry Butler scored on a 43-yard screen pass from Gordon on a fourth-and-three play. James added the extra point.
The ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ defense managed to keep the Wildcats off the board for a third time until the final play of the first half, when Adams nailed a 19-yard field goal after Villanova’s Dan Silva recovered a fumble at the ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ 14.
Villanova’s Terry Butler, who gained 48 yards on 19 carries, put the game out of reach with a 2-yard plunge into the end zone with 9:22 left in the contest. The Wildcats’ final points followed an interception by Clarence Curry. The drive featured a 33-yard reception to tight end Matt Chila, who finished with six receptions for 95 yards.
The Raider offense improved in the second half but failed to put any points on the board. ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ quarterback Tom McCune finished the game passing for 111 yards on 12-of-23, while tailback Nate Thomas carried 13 times for 45 yards
GAME NOTES ‘ With his 111 yards passing McCune moved into seventh place on the school’s all-time passing yardage list with 3,379 yards ‘ Junior linebacker Ryan Disch led the Raiders in tackling with 14 including two TFL’s and Ainsworth Minott made 13 tackles ‘ Josh Sabo had two quarterback sacks, Robert Hannah one and Brian Lemek one ‘ The shutout was the first at home for ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ since the 1988 season when they were defeated 7-0 by Holy Cross.