By Brian Bohl and Doug Bonjour
Through the first six games of the season, Dave Cohen and the Hofstra Pride football team were no stranger to turnovers. They had 13 to be exact, but were able to escape their mistakes through clutch stops from a top-ranked defense and game-breaking plays from the legs of senior running back Kareem Huggins. However, on Saturday, the defense that had been so dominant during Hofstra’s win streak could not even get on the field to stop the opponent from reaching the end-zone.
For the second consecutive week, 15th-ranked Hofstra found themselves at the wrong end of the scoreboard, losing 35-31 to host Villanova in a Colonial Athletic Conference contest. However, this time, the loss did not result from Villanova freshman quarterback Chris Whitney displaying his Walter Payton Award winning skills. Instead, four turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns, doomed the Pride.
“We’re not going to beat top-echelon teams by turning the ball over four to five times a game,” said Cohen.
“Two of those [turnovers]; it’s not like the defense had a chance to go on the field and compete,” explained Cohen referring to an interception and fumble returned for touchdowns by Villanova.
Villanova jumped out to the lead early against Hofstra, as a 2-yard run by Villanova senior running back Matt Dicken and a 10-yard rush by junior wide receiver Phil Atkinson put the Pride down 14-0 just 4 minutes into the contest.
The deficit did not faze the Pride, as junior quarterback Bryan Savage drove his team down the field following the score, putting up points of his own. He connected with freshman wide receiver Anthony Nelson on a 24-yard pass, bringing the team closer at 14-7
On Hofstra’s next offensive possession another touchdown was scored, but this time, it was by the team on the other side of the ball. Villanova freshman defensive back Martel Moody intercepted a Savage pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown.
Trailing 21-7 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the second half, the Pride once again drew closer, this time turning to Huggins to lift the offense. After receiving a hand-off, Huggins sifted his way through would-be tacklers and dashed 55 yards into the end zone. Huggins finished the day with 95 yards on 12 carries and the one touchdown. However, the day turned for the worse when he left the game in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury. No word has been released on the severity of the injury.
The loss of Huggins, who was leading the CAA in all-purpose yards at the time of his injury, proved to be a major blow to the Hofstra offense.
Shortly after Villanova sophomore running back Angelo Babbaro pulled his best Devin Hester impersonation by returning the second-half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, Hofstra bit themselves again. Sophomore defensive end Tim Kukucka returned a Savage fumble 17 yards for another Villanova touchdown, extending the lead to 35-21.
Although Hofstra outgained Villanova in total yards 357-201 and stopped both their passing and running attack, the turnovers gave Villanova another way to win.
“We really had trouble getting our running game going because they defended our option attack pretty well and we couldn’t loosen them up with our passing game. It was going to be one of those days where we’d be ugly on offense and needed some other ways to win,” said Villanova Head Coach Andy Talley following his team’s victory.
Villanova preserved the win with just under two minutes left, when Savage’s forth-down pass intended for junior wide receiver Ottis Lewis landed incomplete at the Villanova 13.
Savage finished with another subpar outing; completing 16 of 36 passes for 206 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions. The three interceptions brings his season total to 15.
Despite entering the game with the high interception total, Talley said, “Savage really worried me. He’s pretty savvy and I knew we’d be tested in the passing game. I was worried. A quarterback who runs around like that tires your front four badly.”
Following the loss, Cohen discussed his disappointment with the passing game, saying, “It’s tough to feel confident because we weren’t able to throw the ball with any consistency. We threw for about a 42 percent completion percentage and interceptions.”
Even with such poor numbers in the passing department, Cohen also noted that “you certainly have to admire Bryan’s courage the entire second half.”
Cohen will have to hope that Savage can deliver a better performance when the Pride plays host to William and Mary on Saturday.
Is it possible that National Player of the Year contender Kareem Huggins, pictured here last week against New Hampshire, has played his final game for the Pride? (Sean M. Gates)