Villanova 34, Penn 14
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SHAREFINAL: Villanova 34, Penn 14
Irvin throws pick number five. The seventh total Penn interception of the night is also in the Wildcats' end zone. I'm speechless, it's beyond pun level.
1:22 4th Q: Penn 14, Villanova 34
Not much happening now, Villanova drive is stopped, but Penn does nothing either. It's just about over.
Just as I say this the Wildcats muff a punt of their own, but Ambrogi muffs the recovery as well, and Villanova keeps the ball.
6:55 4th Q: Penn 14, Villanova 34
Irvin throws another pick his fourth, team's sixth. It sounds like I'm talking about Mark Zoller's fouls. This one is even more costly, throwing the pick in the back of the Villanova end zone.
11:15 4th Q: Penn 14, Villanova 34
Irvin, who knows he's only up one on Walker in the INTs category, throws one into the hands of a DB, but he drops it.
11:15 4th Q: Penn 14, Villanova 34
Goniprow makes a nice stop on a Ball run, but just like that, Atkinson takes a screen pass for a 47-yard touchdown.
11:31 4th Q: Penn 14, Villanova 20
Tom Stone makes up for a previous personal foul call by sacking Young on third down.
Chris Wynn is now in as the punt returner. As an Eagles fan I felt some Deja Vu as Wynn rushed up to field a punt while falling forward, but unlike J.R. Reed, he actually caught the ball.
Still, Bryan Walker felt like he had to help out, throwing a ball that gets cut off for his second and the team's fifth interception. This is getting ugly.
13:15 4th Q: Penn 14, Villanova 27
A game that looked slightly in Penn's favor has turned into what is heading in the direction of a blowout. The Wildcats slowly drive down the field and Young hits tight end Matthew Sherry. Manning gets beat on the play, but his coverage wasn't bad.
With Irvin back in at quarterback, the Quakers hold onto the ball, but gain two yards in three plays.
2:10 3rd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 20
The Quakers' defense, for once not backed up in their own territory, stops the Wildcats at their own 23. Still, turnovers find a way to ruin a nice defensive effort.
Ambrogi feels the footsteps and muffs his second punt of the year. He's done this for two seasons now (three if you count kick returns) but you have to think Bagnoli is considering replacing him after his 2007 showing thus far.
Young goes deep to Anton Ridley for what seemed like an easy touchdown, but he flat out drops it, and the Antwon-to-Anton combo is foiled.
4:30 3rd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 20
Bagnoli is a smart guy, he knows you can't throw an interception if you just run the ball. And since Joe Sandberg isn't playing, and the backups are struggling, they might as well give the ball to Walker. He scrambles for a couple first downs, but a fumbled snap uses up one down, and the other two can't quite get there. The drive was a good one for the team's confidence, though, and pins the Wildcats back deep in their own territory.
7:05 3rd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 20
Irvin's day just went from alright to not-so-good to terrible. He throws his second interception of the half, in fact, on consecutive throws.
This time he's looking for Lepisto, but the zone looks kills him once again.
On the plus side for Penn, the defense is looking fantastic. Overlooking the two plays on the last two drives, it has really stood strong, especially near the goal line. Allowing 20 points looks bad early in the third quarter, but not when your offense allows four turnovers.
9:58 3rd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 17
The Wildcats' offense immediately has woken up. After a pass down the left sideline, backup running back Aaron Ball breaks a few tackles up the middle for 33 yards down to the Penn 9.
Young throws one way behind the wide-open Atkinson, but he makes a fantastic catch, and Villanova takes the lead.
12:33 3rd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 10
A couple of useless runs from Villanova and an errant pass and the Quakers get the ball back already. Punter Zach Ugarte keeps giving Ambrogi line drives, and finally the senior gets a solid run back.
Irvin gets good help from his line as well as Lepisto, who easily goes for 31 yards thanks to a nice block from Lawrence.
He gives it all away, though, with a terrible pass over the head of Cisler into the hands of a diving Salim Koroma.
HALFTIME
Penn has certainly looked the better team this half, and with a little better grip on quarterback Antwon Young, the lead would be a bit bigger. But this half didn't matter at all, it'll come down to the final play at the end like it always does.
Here are a few key stats so far:
00:00 2nd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 10
Wide receiver Matt Szczur and safety Manning make Young's job easy, as the QB gets his team all the way down to the Penn one-yard line.
But a sure-score went sour real quick. NG Naheem Harris stuffs Dicken, who for some reason decides to break it outside. Thw Quakers' line is all over that plan, though, as he loses a whopping nine yards. A pass to the three and a nice deflection from Colabella later and Penn takes a 14-10 into the half.
3:27 2nd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 7
Young hasn't looked too comfortable, unless he's got Atkinson open. He calmly steps up in the pocket as the defensive ends flow behind him and floats one for a first down.
6:20 2nd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 7
Sticky glue on your hands is illegal for a wide receiver, but someone needs to check to see what kind of grease is on Young's jersey. He hasn't broke any big runs, but has broken double-digit tackles and has evaded at least three sacks.
Bryan Walker has looked fantastic so far, but thanks to a drop from Lawrence, his second drive ends with an interception.
12:20 2nd Q: Penn 14, Villanova 7
The Quakers' secondary continues to create turnovers. Young has all the time in the world as he tries to hit wideout Brandyn Harvey downfield, but safety Jordan Manning closes in real quick, falling forward for the interception deep in Penn territory.
Penn running back Michael DiMaggio is getting almost all the carries so far, but still he's only averaging some three yards per carry. Irvin hits Dan Coleman and
0:55 1st Q: Penn 14, Villanova 7
The Red and Blue's next possession goes awry as well. Running back Kelms Amoo-Achampong goes nowhere, and on a busted play Irvin gets sacked.
Penn's defense is finally getting settled, and the front seven is looking solid. DT Joe Goniprow throws down OT Izzy Bauta, but gets to the quarterback just too late. Britton Ertman bursts through, but misses Young, who then scrambles, avoiding tackles from DE Josh Neubert and LB Jay Colabella in the process. Ertman eventually gets to him, though, and 'Nova is forced to punt.
3:12 1st Q: Penn 14, Villanova 7
Just when it seemed like the Quakers' run defense was dominating, running back Matt Dicken goes untouched for 43 yards up the middle and then down the right sideline. Villanova gets nothing of it.
4:49 1st Q: Penn 14, Villanova 7
To gain a bit of a spark, coach Al Bagnoli brings in mobile quarterback Bryan Walker, but to the naked eye it might seem like he is the pocket passer.
Walker throws a bullet to Lepisto on 3rd and 14 (thanks to some brilliant running) who slides for 15 yards and the first. After fullback Nick Cisler bulldozes a few defensive backs, Walker throws a ball even better than Young's pass. The senior floats one over two defenders to Lepisto on a fade route, and Penn's number-one wideout drags his feet inbounds with inches to spare for the six points.
7:43 1st Q: Penn 7, Villanova 7
The Red and Blue defensive linemen keep getting their mitts on Young, but he keeps slipping away. A play later Young makes Penn pay. Wide receiver Phil Atkinson burns safety Pat Kimener and Greg Ambrogi down the heart of the secondary for a 33-yard touchdown. It was a beautiful pass, but Ambrogi can't give up that kind of space, Atkinson was wide open.
8:40 1st Q: Penn 7, Villanova 0
Irvin's spark apparently doesn't last too long. On the first pass of the drive he tries to connect deep down the middle to tight end Chris Chatterton, but doesn't see linebacker Darrel Young coming across, and Irvin has his third interception of the season. Young returns it past midfield and the 'Cats are in business.
On the Wildcats' opening drive Antwon Young gets a quick first down with his feet, but gets contained on the remainder of the drive, forcing a punt.
11:50 1st Q: Penn 7, Villanova 0
After an opening weekend that saw 99 passing yards from quarterback Robert Irvin, the junior makes quick work of the Wildcats' defense. Following a run, Irvin hits wide receiver Braden Lepisto on a screen, then Marcus Lawrence in the middle of the field deep into Villanova territory.
Only a couple plays later Irvin finds sophomore wideout Kyle Derham on a button hook. He breaks the tackle from the cornerback and walks into the end zone. Penn made that look pretty easy.
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VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Welcome, the Buzz coming to you from a hot, humid Villanova Stadium. I've been sweating since before kickoff, so I can't imagine how the players feel right now.