A two-TD day from Luke Colella highlights Villanova’s win against Albany on homecoming weekend

A second-half surge propelled Villanova to a 29-16 homecoming weekend defeat against Albany.

The Wildcats’ win against Albany marked their 20th consecutive victory at Villanova Stadium and the fifth straight win this season. Villanova (6-2, 5-1 Coastal Athletic Association) had a slow first half offensively, settling for two field goals in the red zone. Villanova’s defense held Albany (1-7, 0-4) at bay despite allowing a touchdown on the first Great Dane drive.

“If I had the answer to that one, I would bottle it up and take it on the road with us,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said when asked about the home win streak. “It’s great. These guys love playing at home. The environment today was great. The Wildcat Walk was probably the best one we’ve had so far this year, with everyone in the back there. Whatever the record is or the streak is, it is what it is.”

David Avit had five consecutive rushes on a second-quarter drive, with the final run for Villanova’s running back resulting in a touchdown. Avit finished the game with 89 rushing yards on 20 attempts.

The passing game found its rhythm in the second half. Pat McQuaide finished the game with 203 passing yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats’ quarterback completed 15 of his 22 passing attempts (68%).

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Villanova totaled 256 yards of total offense. Graduate Luke Colella led all receivers with 107 receiving yards, hauling in six passes and two touchdowns.

Villanova’s defense has been rolling through the last four games, and on Saturday held Albany to a season-low 154 yards of total offense.

Despite allowing Albany to score on its opening drive, the Great Danes did not find the end zone again. It was one of Albany’s two trips to the red zone.

“I think that after that first drive, you know, a lot of times it takes a little bit of settling in,” graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell said. “Some of these offenses have scripted drives and stuff and whatnot. So I think it just takes a little bit to get a feel of what we’re going up against. And after that, we were able to settle in there.”

Hartzell totaled a team-high eight tackles, two sacks, and two pass breakups. He currently leads Villanova this season with 49 total tackles (30 solo) and 4.5 sacks.

In the first half, the Wildcats limited the Great Danes to three first downs and 55 yards of total offense.

Over Villanova’s last four games, the defense has allowed just 976 yards of total offense and 58 total points.

The connection between Villanova quarterback and receiver Luke Colella continued against Albany.

Colella hauled in two touchdown passes from McQuaide. One was off a 37-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to stretch Villanova’s lead to double digits. Like clockwork, Colella was wide open as he neared the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown pass from McQuaide in the fourth quarter.

McQuaide has connected with Colella on 35% of his total completions.

“We all live right in the same hallway,” Colella said. “So spending time with them every day is awesome. And making this connection has been super fun so far.”

Colella now has five games with 100-plus receiving yards. He has totalled 737 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the season, averaging 91 yards per game.

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In the first half, Villanova was 1-for-7 on third downs and 1-of-3 on fourth down conversions.

The Wildcats managed to get on the board with a touchdown, but settled for field goals on two red zone trips. Villanova entered the half with 111 total offensive yards.

“It looked like [Albany’s] D-line was pinning their ears back and kind of beating us off the ball a little bit,” Ferrante said. “And they were bringing a lot of pressure. They were bringing linebackers and safeties. They were loading the box to stop the run, which they did a pretty good job at. We’ve just got to play more consistently.”

Villanova scored touchdowns on two second-half drives that lasted a total of four plays.

Villanova heads into a bye week before a return to action on the road against Towson (3-5, 1-3) on Nov. 8 (1 p.m., FloSports). Last season, the Wildcats defeated the Tigers, 14-13, at home and currently hold a 12-7 all-time series lead.