Sept. 24, 2016

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EASTON, Pa. -- In the first meeting with Villanova in 96 years, the No. 15 Wildcats topped Lafayette, 31-14, on Saturday night at Fisher Stadium.

After the opening kickoff, Lafayette (1-3) started with the ball on its own 25. On the first play of the drive, Villanova's Tanoh Kpassgnon jarred the ball loose from DeSean Brown after the handoff. Kpassgnon scooped it up and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Wildcats regained possession and drove 88 yards to the Leopards' eight-yard line. The Lafayette defense stood its ground though and did not allow a single yard while forcing Villanova to send out the special teams unit.

Villanova opted for a fake and John Hinchen completed a five-yard pass to Simon Bingelis. Bingelis made a move towards the end zone with only one man to beat. Draeland James was that man and lowered by body and came up with a clutch tackle to prevent the score and force a turnover on downs.

Lafayette was held to one first down the remainder of the quarter. Villanova got the ball back late in the first and added a 39-yard field goal by Gerard Smith to lead 10-0 one minute into the second quarter.

The Wildcats extended their lead to 17-0, running the ball on six straight plays. The final carry was a one-yard score by Javon White with eight minutes left to go in the half.

With less than four minutes remaining, Lafayette took over at the Villanova 22-yard line. The Leopards turned to senior quarterback Drew Reed and he drove the Maroon and White down the field. Reed connected on all five of his passes for 64 yards, including a 13-yard dish to Dylan Wadsworth. The junior tight end led the team with career-highs in receptions (6) and yardage (97) and a touchdown.

The Leopards capped the drive off with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Reed to freshman Yasir Thomas in the end zone for the score. Reed finished the game 19-of-27 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Phillip Parham's interception in the end zone prevented another Villanova score just before the half. Lafayette trailed 17-7.

In the third quarter, Lafayette stayed committed to the run and DeSean Brown took off for 24 yards to help the Leopards get into scoring position. On 2nd-and-10, Reed scrambled to his right and found a cutting Tim Vangelas in the end zone for the score. Lafayette closed the gap to 17-14.

The teams exchanged punts, but Lafayette's effort was blocked, setting up Villanova at the Leopard 25-yard line with five minutes left in the third. Five straight running plays, the final a three-yard scamper by Aaron Forbes, gave Villanova a 24-14 lead. Forbes ended the night with 11 carries for 111 yards and a score. The Wildcats added another score on a 45-yard interception return for touchdown to run the final to 31-14.

Defensively, Brandon Bryant made 12 stops to go along with seven tackles by Jerry Powe (three of which were for loss).

The Leopards will be back on the field next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as they host to Holy Cross in the Patriot League opener on Homecoming weekend.