Villanova Defeats Lehigh
- © Keystone Sports Extra
- 26 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Bethlehem, PA - December 6, 2025: In a second round Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff game Saturday afternoon, two Lehigh University fumbles and a strong defensive effort fueled Villanova University to a 14-7 win.
Lehigh entered the game as the 5th seed while Villanova came into the game as the 12th seed. It was the first time since 2004 that Goodman Stadium hosted a football playoff game. Lehigh went undefeated in the regular season and won the Patriot League Championship to have a first round bye. It was the 20th meeting of the two teams with Villanova now holding a 15-5 edge in the series, including winning the last twelve meetings. It was the first post-season meeting between the two teams. Today’s matchup was a look into a future Patriot League rivalry since Villanova will join the Patriot League in 2026.
The Wildcats opened the FCS playoffs last week, defeating Harvard 52-7 to advance to today’s game. Lehigh and Villanova both entered the game with winning streaks, setting up an interesting matchup that many thought would be a defensive battle. Villanova had won their last 9 games after a couple tough losses early in the season.
Lehigh led the FCS in rushing defense, giving up on average 73.7 yards per game. They also led as a defense in the red-zone, giving up on average only 0.655 points. Last week against Harvard, Villanova rushed for 319 yards and had 512 yards of total offense.
Villanova took the opening kickoff today and was forced to punt after Lehigh’s tough defense forced a three and out. After the punt, Lehigh went on a 14 play/85-yard drive to inside the Villanova 5-yard line. But, when it looked like Lehigh would score, they were stopped short of a touchdown on 4th and goal at the 2-yard line. The drive chewed up 9:24 of the 1st quarter.
After taking over on downs, Villanova was pinned deep in their own territory at the 3-yard line. Villanova moved the ball out to the 5-yard line. A sack by Lehigh’s Tyler Ochojski pushed the Wildcats back even further. But, an off-side penalty, followed by a personal foul penalty by Lehigh, helped Villanova move the ball out of danger to the 30-yard line where they would eventually have to punt. The 2nd quarter saw both teams stiffled on offense as both defenses forced punts on a combined six possessions.
After a scoreless first half, Lehigh took the second half kickoff and quickly drove down the field for the first score. The drive was set up when sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnson hit sophomore wide-receiver Matt D’Avino on a 36-yard reception to the Villanova 39-yard line. That was followed up by a 31-yard run by junior running back Luke Yoder to the Villanova 8-yard line. The 5-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Aaron Crossley capped a 5 play/75-yard drive to give the Mountain Hawks the lead.
In the 3rd quarter, with 5:33 remaining, Lehigh put together a good drive and it looked like they would go up by two scores but Yoder was tackled by Villanova senior linebacker Richie Kimmel who jared the ball lose. It was recovered by junior defensive back Josh Oluremi and Villanova went back on offense.
The take-away by the Villanova defense energized the Villanova offense as they put together a 6 play/49-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:28 left in the 3rd quarter. Villanova’s Ja’Briel Mace punched it in on a 1-yard run for the Wildcats but the score was set up by four straight pass completions by senior quarterback Pat McQuaide, two passes each to Luke Colella and Braden Reed.
On Lehigh’s next possession, they put together another drive, 7 plays/56-yards, but it stalled inside the 10-yard line when on 3rd and 9, a wide open D’Avino dropped a pass which would have easily gone for a touchdown. On 4th and 9, Lehigh’s Connor Poole attempted a 26-yard field goal but it went wide right and the score remained 7-7 at the start of the 4th quarter.
The 4th quarter continued with the defensive battle as the teams exchanged punts. Lehigh was stopped as well on downs when at 10:53, and faced with a 4th and 1 at the Villanova 39-yard line, Lehigh decided to go for it, but Yoder was stood up short of the first down.
Villanova then put together a drive of their own but they were stopped as well at the Lehigh 18-yard line with 6:46 left in the 4th quarter. Villanova attempted a field goal but Jack Barnum’s kick went wide right.
After Villanova’s defense stopped Lehigh again with a three and out, and a short Lehigh punt, the Villanova offense put together the game winning drive. McQuaide wasted no time in hitting Mace for 11 yards, followed by Colella for 12 yards, before hitting Reed for the 28-yard touchdown. The 3 play/51-yard drive put the Wildcats up for good 14-7.
Lehigh, however, had 2:56 left on the clock as they started a drive at their 35-yard line. After a couple runs by Johnson and a run by Yoder, followed by a pass interference call on Villanova, Lehigh had the ball on the Villanova 14-yard line. But on the very next play, Johnson took a quarterback keeper to the Villanova 11-yard line where he was tackled by Obinna Nwobodo who punched the ball loose. The ball rolled between Johnson's legs but was pulled out of the pile by Villanova’s Shane Hartzell. Villanova converted on a 3rd and 8 to run the clock out after Lehigh utilized all their time outs.
Coming into the game, the teams were relatively close in team stats. Lehigh as a team averaged 33.83 points per game while Villanova averaged 32.42. Villanova averaged 408 total yards per game while Lehigh averaged 432. One of the wider stats between the two teams was points allowed per game. Lehigh allowed, on average, 13.92 points by their opponent while Villanova’s defense allowed 21.33. Villanova did have two games early in the season where their defense allowed a lot of points, Penn State (52) and Monmouth (51). Since those two games, Villanova’s defense tightened up. Lehigh’s most points allowed was 32, two weeks ago during their last game of the season against rival Lafayette.
In today’s game, Lehigh rushed for 178 yards while Villanova only managed 27 yards against the best defense in the FCS. However, Villanova passed for 208 yards to Lehigh’s 161 yards.
Lehigh finishes the season with a 12-1 record. Villanova is currently 11-2 and will advance to the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
