Wildcats spoil Homecoming for Rams

10/21/08 - On a breezy autumn afternoon at Meade Stadium, the University of Rhode Island football team lost its 80th annual homecoming game to Villanova University, 44-7. The Rams jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after senior quarterback Derek Cassidy led the offense on an 80-yard drive. But that was all the offense the Rams could muster as the Wildcats shut them down the rest of the way, scoring 44 unanswered points.

"We played a very good football team today," head coach Darren Rizzi said. "You got to play mistake-free football to give yourself a chance to win and we didn't do that."

The Rams offense turned the ball over three times and the defense gave up a total of 516 yards, most of those yards coming off long touchdowns for Villanova.

"We're just giving up way too many big plays and that's a sign of a young team," Rizzi said. "We got to prevent less and create more and we are not doing that right now. We didn't create enough big plays."

Junior wide receiver Shawn Leonard led the offense with six catches for 72 yards. Defensively the Rams had trouble stopping the well-balanced attack from Villanova that compiled 255 yards on the ground and 261 yards threw the air. Sophomore linebacker Matt Hansen had a game-high 11 tackles and forced a fumble.

"When a team has balance like that, you never know what they are going to do," Hansen said. "Are they going to run? Are they going to pass? Villanova is a great team. They showed it today."

Cassidy was under pressure throughout the game throwing two interceptions and completing 22 of his 34 passes for 171 yards.

URI struck first in the game after sophomore linebacker Matt Hansen forced a fumble on the one-yard line recovered in the end zone. The Rams drove down the field on a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Cassidy's 21-yard touchdown run. Cassidy completed seven consecutive passes on the drive and the Rams took a 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats responded on the ensuing possession on a busted coverage as quarterback Christopher Whitney hit wide receiver Phil Atkinson wide open down the field for an 84-yard touchdown.

Late in the second quarter, Villanova quarterback Antwon Young, who relieved the injured Whitney, threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to running back Angelo Babbaro on third and long.

On the next possession, Cassidy threw a pass that went through the hands of freshman wide receiver Brandon-Johnson Farrell into the arms of Villanova, giving them the ball inside the red zone.

The Wildcats capitalized four plays later on a one-yard run by Babbaro, making it 21-7 at the half.

The Wildcats set the tone in the second half, taking the kickoff out past the 50-yard line. On the second lay of the drive, running back Aaron Ball scored on a 34-yard run, making it 28-7. Villanova added two more scores and a safety late in the game for the 44-7 victory.

"When we've played consistent football in the three phases, we are a pretty decent team," Rizzi said. "We lacked consistency today."

The Rams drop to 2-6 for the season (overall 0-4 in CAA football) heading into next Saturday's game at the College of William and Mary.

"I'm going to stay extremely positive," Rizzi said. "I really like the direction we are going with the program. We're not building a season, we are in a program building stage. I really love our kids. I love coming in here everyday working with these guys. We are going to battle through this.