Temple gains revenge with victory over Villanova in Mayor's Cup

TEMPLE FOOTBALL had waited a year for this.

It almost got even longer.

Before 32,000-plus last night, the largest non-Penn State crowd to watch the Owls at Lincoln Financial Field, they did indeed exact their revenge. Barely.

A year ago, a Villanova team that went on to win the Football Championship Series national title beat Temple in the opener, by three, on a last-play field goal by freshman Nick Yako that capped a 13-point fourth-quarter rally.

This time, the Owls got their hands on the Mayor's Cup when sophomore Brandon McManus, who'd made two long field goals before missing another from medium-range, drilled a 43-yarder with 3 seconds to go for a victory that officially became 31-24 on the ensuing kickoff after Villanova desperately tried to throw the ball around and Justin Gildea returned an illegal forward pass 26 yards for a touchdown.

Less than 2 minutes earlier, Yako, who'd missed twice himself, put his side ahead by converting from 41 yards out, a career best.

But Villanova, which didn't punt until the fourth quarter but failed to make a first down the last three times it touched the ball, left a little too much time on the clock. One minute, 51 seconds, to be precise, thanks to incompletions on second and third down. That drive had been set up by a John Dempsey fumble recovery of a Chester Stewart bobbled snap, Temple's only turnover, four fewer than it committed last season. Twelve months ago, it had been Dempsey's interception that led to Yako's game-winner.

Stewart took the Owls 46 yards in nine plays, completing four passes, including his last two, to get them to the 'Nova 26. He also scrambled for a first down along the way. McManus came on and became the hero, after former starting quarterback Vaughn Charleton did a great job of getting a high snap down.

"We had the poise and confidence to stay with it, and we finished," said Temple coach Al Golden, whose team will host defending league champ Central Michigan in Thursday night's Mid-American Conference opener. "I thought Brandon would hit it. I was really surprised he missed the other one [from 36].

"You've got to believe in the guys, to let them win the game. We put ourselves in position to do that."

The Owls, who trailed, 14-10, at halftime, were down by eight very early in the fourth period, following a 21-yard scoring pass from Chris Whitney to Norman White. But Temple got to within five with 6:28 left, when McManus hit from 40. And they went in front at 4:07 on a 62-yard toss from Stewart to Michael Campbell.

Villanova, which visits Lehigh on Saturday, played much of the second half without two starting defensive linemen. It already had lost one in preseason camp. But the Wildcats got one more chance, when Eric Loper stripped the ball from Stewart (16-for-27, 200 yards) on the botched third-and-1, starting at the Temple 22. But Whitney lost 2 yards on first down, then missed on two throws, his sixth consecutive miss after hitting 17 of his first 19 (with a pick). Yako made sure it didn't matter, but the seconds the Wildcats didn't use up made all the difference.

Still . . .

"I think Philly can be proud," said Villanova coach Andy Talley, who also beat the Owls here in 2003 in overtime. "It just slipped away from us. We had our chances to win. We played about as well as we could at this point. There's no excuses.

"For two teams to put on a game like this is tremendous for both programs. I can't say enough. That's just the way it went today. We didn't lose the game. Temple did what it had to do. You could tell the difference between them and us. They played a lot of guys, we got a little tired. I think that's what you always have when you have a I-A playing a I-AA."

Bernard Pierce, who didn't start, carried 20 times for 75 yards for the Owls. Matt Brown gained 54, in 10 tries. Campbell had career highs of eight receptions and 127 yards.

"It was an awesome environment to play in," said Villanova's Matt Szczur, who caught five passes, completed three passes, had five carries and ran seven kickoffs back for 165 yards, but never was able to produce a game-changer. "But losing is just a terrible feeling. I haven't lost a lot with this team, at all."

He might not lose much with this one, either. Villanova is ranked No. 1 in FCS.

It's a long season. This is one step. Last year's loss didn't stop Temple from going to a bowl for the first time in three decades. Just as this win doesn't ensure that the Owls will will the MAC. Yet for a lot of obvious reasons, some maybe even tangible, the Owls needed it. Just because.

"I'm excited this is becoming a tradition, in only its second year," Golden said. "It shows the courage of both institutions and administrations to play this game. So many people will say you shouldn't. There's a lot of irrelevant games in college football this weekend. This was not one of them. I think both teams are sore right now.

"A lot of skeptics will say, 'You beat a I-AA team.' Wrong. We beat a champion. It's hard to beat a champion . . . I could hear all the old-time Temple people shaking their head, saying 'Here we go again.' But we're starting to learn."

And it still came that close to being another painful lesson.

Temple drew first blood, on its opening possession, after Villanova had held the ball for 8 minutes before Yako missed a 38-yard field goal. The Owls went 79 yards in 11 plays, with the help of a third-down pass-interference penalty on James Pitts, and scored on a 17-yard run by Brown, who took a late option pitch from Stewart on the left flank and improvised. Catching the ball just before it hit the ground, he immediately reversed field and found a bunch of room, eventually beating the last (only?) defender to the pylon with 1:18 to go in the period.

Following an exchange of punts, Villanova put together a 72-yard drive of its own, culminating in a 3-yard pass from Whitney to Szczur on third-and-goal at 8:11 of the second quarter.

The Wildcats, who never led Temple a year ago until the final play, went ahead by seven some 5 minutes later. After Temple went three-and-out, they went 74 yards in eight plays (five of which produced first downs). Aaron Ball got the last 9, on a run up the middle.

But the Owls cut it to 14-10 just before intermission, when McManus converted a 53-yard field goal, his career long and the second longest in Temple history (behind Don Bitterlich's 56-yarder in 1975). It was also the program's longest in 16 years.

The last one, though, will be the one everyone remembers most. *