VILLANOVA, Pa.—A walk-off field goal as time expired sent visiting William & Mary (1-0, 1-0 PL) to a 35-32 victory over No. 8/7 Villanova (0-1, 0-1 PL) in the season opener and Patriot League debut for both teams at Villanova Stadium on Friday night. The back-and-forth contest between the longtime conference rivals who simultaneously entered the Patriot League this season featured five lead changes and a combined 820 yards of total offense.
Senior running back
Isaiah Ragland (Alexandria, Va.) rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats recorded three of their four scores on the ground. He and senior
Ja'briel Mace (Somers Point, N.J.) combined for 151 yards and all three of those rushing touchdowns. Ragland opened the scoring o na five-yard run midway through the first quarter and later found the end zone from 37 yards out to give Villanova a 32-22 lead with 2:43 remaining.
It is the second straight year that the Wildcats have hosted William & Mary and, after Villanova posted a 31-24 victory last season, the Tribe turned the tables this time by scoring 13 points in the final 53 seconds on two field goals which bookended a recovered onside kick and a 37-yard touchdown pass. Earlier in the game, the Wildcats led 17-10 at halftime and overcame a 22-17 deficit on a touchdown reception by sophomore wide receiver
Brandon Binkowski (Haymarket, Va.) and Ragland's second score of the night.
Junior
Jake Hilton (Prescott, Ariz.) had a career day in his Villanova debut with four catches for 132 yards. The transfer from Wisconsin-River Falls notched his second career 100-yard game and eclipsed the career high of 126 yards he had recorded against Wheaton last year. Hilton had 80 yards after the catch and hauled in a 73-yard pass in the third quarter. Binkowski caught four passes for 56 yards and his third career score.
A huge game by junior linebacker
Omari Bursey (Broomfield, Colo.) led the Wildcats defensively. Bursey nearly doubled his career high in tackles with 15 on the day, amassing eight solo tackles to match his previous high for total stops (eight against Lehigh in last year's playoffs). He had four tackles for loss, including a sack, and was credited with a quarterback hurry. Junior linebacker
Christian Caballero (Niceville, Fla.) added eight tackles and fifth year
Garrett Rogan (Mercer Island, Wash.) had seven.
Villanova quarterback
Pat McQuaide (Solon, Ohio) threw for 270 yards on 17-of-30 passing with one touchdown and three interceptions.
The loss snapped a streak of nine straight season-opening wins by the Wildcats, whose streak entering the game was the second-longest among FCS teams.
The Wildcats return to action next week with a second straight conference game when they travel to Bucknell on September 5 for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
