Big plays through the air help Villanova cruise past Stony Brook

Coming out of a bye week, No. 19 Villanova had a welcome opponent for its annual homecoming game. The Wildcats faced a winless Stony Brook team that had lost each game by an average of three touchdowns.

Villanova won easily, beating the Seawolves, 48-13. By improving to 4-1 in Coastal Athletic Association action (6-2 overall) the Wildcats kept themselves in contention for a conference title.

Stony Brook (0-8, 0-6 CAA) had no answers for Villanova’s passing game. Starting quarterback Connor Watkins was 9 of 11 for 291 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, finishing 13 of 19 for 361 yards and four touchdowns. His backup, redshirt freshman Tanner Maddocks, played the entire fourth quarter and went 4 of 4 for 37 yards.

Graduate wide receiver Rayjuon Pringle led Villanova with five receptions for 196 yards and a touchdown. In the first quarter, he caught a screen behind the line of scrimmage and ran for 75 yards before getting tackled. It was his longest reception of the season … until later in the half, when he caught a deep pass from Watkins and ran it in for a 76 yard touchdown.

Sophomore wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez also had a big day, catching four passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. He could have had another touchdown, but he stepped out of bounds running up the sideline in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats were effective running the ball as well. Seven players had carries, combining for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

After being named to the preseason CAA first team, graduate wide receiver Jaaron Hayek has had a difficult start to the season. He missed the first two games with an injury and in Villanova’s last two games, he tallied three receptions for 11 yards.

Saturday showed he’s back to his old self. Hayek finished with five receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns, his first touchdown grabs of the season. All five catches came in the first half.

“It takes a huge toll on your mental health, and [I needed] to lean on the guys like Connor and the teammates around me,” Hayek said. “... It was just an awesome feeling to be on the field with my guys. Knowing that all three [receivers] got a touchdown is an even better feeling.”

It was the first time Villanova finished with three 100-yard receivers since November 18, 2000.

The blowout win allowed Villanova to play its reserves. Maddocks’ completions were the first of his collegiate career, while sophomore running back Isaiah Wright, a Malvern Prep graduate, scored his first touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter — to his teammates’ delight.

“I don’t think there’s a single guy on the sidelines that wasn’t basically going to run on the field if he got in the end zone,” Watkins said. “We were all just extremely excited to see him in there because he’s one of those guys that just puts his head down and works, day in and day out.”

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While it did not have any impact on the result, Villanova did have some special teams struggles. Hayek fumbled a punt midway through the second quarter, giving the Seawolves possession at the Villanova 10-yard line. Linebacker Danny Abraham picked off Casey Case to keep Stony Brook from scoring.

Later in the quarter, graduate kicker Matthew Mercurio had an extra point blocked.

“We got closer [to playing a complete game], especially on offense and defense,” head coach Mark Ferrante said. “... I’m gonna have to look at the special teams and see who got the better of that, but if you win two out of three, you have a chance to win the game.”

Villanova travels north to face New Hampshire (4-3, 2-2 CAA) next Saturday (1 p.m., FloSports). Villanova has lost six consecutive games against the Wildcats, dating back to 2009, and has not won at New Hampshire since 2003.