Turnovers doom Villanova in season-finale loss to Delaware

CHESTER - The growing pains for Villanova's young football team began in September and never really subsided, yet the Wildcats showed enough progress late in the season to prompt coach Andy Talley to look forward to 2012.

One reason Talley expressed optimism about the future after his worst season in 27 years as head coach on the Main Line came to an end with Saturday's 26-16 loss to Delaware is named Jamal Abdur-Rahman, a freshman flash from La Salle High who tried single-handedly to lead the Wildcats (2-9) to an upset over the Blue Hens in the first football game ever played at PPL Park.

"Jamal was fantastic," Talley said after three turnovers by freshman quarterback Chris Polony - a fumble and two interceptions - were too much to overcome against the more talented Blue Hens (7-4), who had to win to keep alive their hopes for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. "I don't remember a freshman having a game like that for us. I don't even remember Brian Westbrook having a game like that as a freshman."

Abdur-Rahman amassed 291 total yards. He ran for 119 yards on seven carries and he gave the Wildcats leads of 10-3 with a 58-yard run and 16-13 with a 43-yard run. Abdur-Rahman was one of 10 freshmen to start against Delaware, and was one of 31 on a roster that appears to have the speed and talent to return Nova to its customary position as an FCS national contender.

But freshmen frequently cause as much angst as excitement, and it was the three turnovers by Polony, playing in only his seventh game, that did in the Wildcats. His biggest gaffe came with 1 minute, 28 seconds remaining with Delaware leading, 19-16, after Sean Baner, a William Tennent grad, booted his fourth field goal with 2:11 left.

Nova had first-and-10 near midfield when Ricky Tunstall, a Blue Hens safety from Bridgeton, N.J., picked off Polony's throw and returned it 54 yards for a TD that ended any suspense.

"I had my eye on the quarterback and I just jumped it [the route]," Tunstall said. "And when I caught it I thought of my days as a wide receiver."

Said Talley, "Turnovers from the quarterback position are killers. But as Chris matures, he'll play better. This was a game we could have won, but the difference came down to those three turnovers."

Delaware, which had lost five straight to the Wildcats, used a grind-it-out approach to keep the ball away from Villanova for long stretches. Running back Andrew Pierce, from Cumberland High, will no doubt be the sorest among the Blue Hens. He carried the ball 40 times for 109 yards, eating up more of the clock than the field.

Whether or not Delaware will squeeze into the playoffs with the win will be decided Sunday by a selection committee tasked with choosing 10 at-large teams along with 10 automatic qualifiers. The most impressive part of the 15th-ranked Blue Hens resume is their wins over two teams ranked in the top 10 - No. 8 Towson and No. 10 Old Dominion.

Delaware went to the national championship game last season, losing to Eastern Washington, and that may count for something. Also, the Colonial Athletic Association, the top FCS conference in the country, has sent five teams to the postseason before.

"We did everything we could do," Delaware coach K.C. Keeler said. "We won our last three games and we're in the top 15. We beat two top 10 teams. Are you going to leave us out?"

Meantime, both sides praised PPL Park, home of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, as a football venue. There was an announced crowd of 14,107 at the stadium, which seats 18,500. It's where Villanova is expected to play its home games if it goes into the Big East for football.

"It's still a matter of discussion but I'm crazy about the idea [of playing at PPL Park]," Talley said. "I love the venue and we hope to come back."