University of Delaware Athletics

Delaware Falls Late at Villanova
11/19/2022 4:58:00 PM | Football
VILLANOVA, Pa. – The No. 20/19 University of Delaware football team dropped another heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon, falling 29-26 to Villanova in the 56th edition of the Battle of the Blue. With the loss, the Blue Hens end the regular season at 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the CAA.
Nolan Henderson set career highs in both completions and pass attempts, going 37-of-59 through the air for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Thyrick Pitts caught seven passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns while Brett Buckman had a career-high eight catches for 69 yards. Jourdan Townsend also has seven catches for 71 yards and a score.
Kedrick Whitehead led the defense with 11 tackles, while Noah Plack added eight. The defense allowed just 250 total yards of offense and held its 10th opponent of the season under 200 yards passing.
Villanova took advantage of an early UD turnover to take a 7-0 lead on a seven-yard run by VU's quarterback.
The Blue Hens wasted no time in responding as they drove 72 yards on just five plays. Henderson completed a 19-yard pass to Townsend before finding a wide-open Pitts down the left sideline for a 48-yard score to quickly tie the game.
Delaware started the second quarter with possession on its own 15-yard line and embarked on a 17-play, 85-yard drive that took up nearly eight minutes. Henderson completed 11 passes on the drive, including a seven-yard scoring pass to Pitts on a scramble play. A missed extra point kept UD's lead at just 13-7.
The Wildcats retook the lead on a one-yard rushing score, but the Blue Hens embarked on another long scoring drive, this time using 16 plays in less than three minutes. Henderson completed six more passes before Brandon Ratcliffe kicked a 32-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to give UD a 16-14 lead at halftime.
Delaware's first drive of the second half resulted in a punt, but the ball bounced off a Villanova defender and Shoes Brinkley jumped on it to keep possession with the Blue Hens. Two plays later, Henderson connected with Townsend for a 25-yard touchdown to extend UD's advantage to 23-14.
Villanova answered with a 66-yard drive that resulted in an 11-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 23-21 at the end of the third quarter.
With momentum on the Wildcats' side, the Blue Hens recovered another muffed punt early in the fourth quarter as Kaelin Costello jumped on the loose ball. Ratcliffe was true on a 25-yard field goal to put Delaware up 26-21 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Villanova blocked a UD punt with six minutes left to gain possession deep in UD territory, but the Delaware defense did not allow any points as the Blue Hens came up with a fourth down stop.
Delaware ran off some clock but was forced to bunt again with just over two minutes remaining. Another block set up Villanova at the 10-yard line and eventually scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-down play with 1:14 left. A 2-point conversion made it 29-26.
The Blue Hens were able to move the ball to midfield on their final drive, but ran out of time.
Notes
Henderson's first touchdown pass was the 50th of his career, becoming just the second Blue Hen to reach that mark … Pitt's two touchdown catches was his third game this season, and fourth of his career, with multiple touchdowns … Delaware's second-quarter drive was both its longest of the season in terms plays (17) and time (7:55) … Henderson's 347 yards passing was his fourth 300-yard game of the season.
For the latest on the Delaware football program, follow the Blue Hens on Twitter @Delaware_FB and Instagram @delaware_fb, and like "Delaware Football" on Facebook. Follow Ryan Carty on Twitter @RyanCarty10.