Temple gains revenge with victory over Villanova in Mayor's Cup

TEMPLE FOOTBALL had waited a year for this.

It almost got even longer.

Before 32,000-plus last night, the largest non-Penn State crowd to watch the Owls at Lincoln Financial Field, they did indeed exact their revenge. Barely.

A year ago, a Villanova team that went on to win the Football Championship Series national title beat Temple in the opener, by three, on a last-play field goal by freshman Nick Yako that capped a 13-point fourth-quarter rally.

This time, the Owls got their hands on the Mayor's Cup when sophomore Brandon McManus, who'd made two long field goals before missing another from medium-range, drilled a 43-yarder with 3 seconds to go for a victory that officially became 31-24 on the ensuing kickoff after Villanova desperately tried to throw the ball around and Justin Gildea returned an illegal forward pass 26 yards for a touchdown.

Less than 2 minutes earlier, Yako, who'd missed twice himself, put his side ahead by converting from 41 yards out, a career best.

But Villanova, which didn't punt until the fourth quarter but failed to make a first down the last three times it touched the ball, left a little too much time on the clock. One minute, 51 seconds, to be precise, thanks to incompletions on second and third down. That drive had been set up by a John Dempsey fumble recovery of a Chester Stewart bobbled snap, Temple's only turnover, four fewer than it committed last season. Twelve months ago, it had been Dempsey's interception that led to Yako's game-winner.

Stewart took the Owls 46 yards in nine plays, completing four passes, including his last two, to get them to the 'Nova 26. He also scrambled for a first down along the way. McManus came on and became the hero, after former starting quarterback Vaughn Charleton did a great job of getting a high snap down.

"We had the poise and confidence to stay with it, and we finished," said Temple coach Al Golden, whose team will host defending league champ Central Michigan in Thursday night's Mid-American Conference opener. "I thought Brandon would hit it. I was really surprised he missed the other one [from 36].

"You've got to believe in the guys, to let them win the game. We put ourselves in position to do that."