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Late heroics from Pat McQuaide leads Villanova to non-conference victory against Long Island

The fifth-year quarterback directed an eight-play, 85-yard drive to give the Wildcats their second win of the season as they head into conference play.

Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide, seen here in action earlier this season, threw for 223 yards in the win against LIU on Saturday.
Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide, seen here in action earlier this season, threw for 223 yards in the win against LIU on Saturday. Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Pat McQuaide connected with Ja’briel Mace on a 13-yard touchdown pass with just 1 minute, 8 seconds remaining to lift Villanova to a 20-16 win over Long Island University on Saturday.

McQuaide, the team’s fifth-year quarterback, directed an eight-play, 85-yard drive after Will Johnson gave the Sharks the lead with a 29-yard field goal with 2:44 remaining. On LIU’s first play after the Wildcats’ touchdown, Ethan Greenwood was intercepted by defensive back Jamie Tyson.

Mace also scored on a 20-yard run early in the third quarter to give Villanova a 10-3 lead. LIU tied the game at 13 with 9:51 to go on Braylon Vincent’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Villanova (2-2, 1-1 Patriot League) leaned on its defense to secure the narrow win and held LIU (0-4) to just 126 passing yards and no offensive touchdowns.

McQuaide passed for 223 yards to go with his touchdown, and Mace rushed for 97 yards on 14 carries and had 35 yards receiving. Brandon Binkowski caught six passes for 113 yards.

Villanova has won 21 straight regular-season nonconference FCS games since a loss to Penn in 2015.

» READ MORE: Villanova is still searching for its identity. Mark Ferrante believes the pieces are coming together.

Kicker battle

Between Villanova’s early touchdown and the two fourth-quarter scores, the teams traded field goals.

Dominic LeBlanc was 2-for-3 on field goal attempts, with the sophomore’s longest make coming from 31 yards. It marked LeBlanc’s first missed field goal of the season. For LIU, Will Johnson was 3-for-3, and his longest was from 34 yards.

LeBlanc is now 6-for-7 on field goal attempts this season. He transferred to Villanova from Tennessee Tech this offseason, replacing Villanova’s 33-year-old kicker Luke Larsen, who ran out of eligibility after last season.

Tackling a strength

Christian Caballero led the way with 10 tackles (including three for a loss) for the Wildcats. Sophomore linebacker Omari Bursey followed with eight tackles. Bursey entered the week tied for sixth in the FCS with 34 tackles.

Head coach Mark Ferrante noted how Villanova’s tackling looked good after the loss to William & Mary in the season opener. Against LIU, Villanova had eight players with four or more tackles.

Secondary a work in progress

Through the first four games of Villanova’s season, its secondary has struggled at times with blown assignments or miscues. The mistakes led to multiple big yardage plays. Some even resulted in deep touchdowns.

The Wildcats limited big plays to just one against LIU, a 47-yard reception by Sharks receiver Jayden Simpson.

The highlight for Villanova’s secondary? Two interceptions off Greenwood, courtesy of junior defensive backs Newton Essiem and Jayvon Williams.

Up next

The Wildcats will host Patriot League opponent Colgate next Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN+). This will be the fourth consecutive season the teams will meet.

Inquirer staff writer Dylan Johnson contributed to this report.

» READ MORE: Follow the Inquirer's complete coverage of Villanova athletics right here!

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