Matt Szczur

When Matt Szczur got the word last fall - he was a match, his bone marrow might save the life of a sick little girl - "The first thing I said to my mom: 'There's no doubt in my mind. This girl is going to live.' " Whatever he had inside, Szczur wholeheartedly believed it could be of use to this little girl. Szczur's friends had the same exact thought. "We said if it worked for anyone on the team, it would be him," said John Dempsey, Szczur's Villanova football teammate and four-year roommate.

Joe Sarnese, a senior wide receiver at Holy Spirit, has continued the South Jersey pipeline to Villanova. The 6-foot, 190-pound Sarnese is the third South Jersey player to commit this summer to Villanova, the defending Football Championship Subdivision champion. Sarnese joins Pemberton defensive end Reggie Paris and Williamstown offensive lineman Vince Kowalski. "I saw it was a good fit for me," Sarnese said. "It was close, the program fits me, and I liked the campus and everything about the school.

Do-it-all wide Villanova receiver Matt Szczur will don another hat when the Wildcats host Towson in their home opener on Saturday. With backup freshman quarterback Dustin Thomas out due to a throat infection, Szczur will slide into that spot behind starter Chris Whitney. Szczur, who also returns kicks and leads Villanova in all-purpose yards, is second on the team in both rushing and receiving. "I'm hoping Whitney can last through the game," said Villanova coach Andy Talley, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Villanova wideout Matt Szczur is leaning toward playing in Saturday's regular-season finale at Delaware. But the injured all-American said he may not make up his mind until Friday or Saturday morning. Szczur has been sidelined for the last six games with a left high-ankle sprain. "It's still not 100 percent," he said of his ankle. "It's the coaching staff and myself who want to make sure that I'm 100 percent to go out there. " The 5-foot-10, 205-pounder sprained his ankle on his first touch of the Sept.

BALTIMORE - Andy Talley paraded around M&T Bank Stadium on Wednesday, getting props for winning the national championship last year. Shaking numerous hands and constantly pursued by interview seekers, the Villanova coach was the main attraction at the Colonial Athletic Association Media Day event. And with just cause. Villanova wideout Matt Szczur (on offense) and linebacker Terence Thomas (on defense) swept the conference's preseason player-of-the-year honors. Wildcats quarterback Chris Whitney, who beat out Delaware's Pat Devlin for league honors, is among Villanova's other five preseason all-conference picks.

TV/Radio: MYPHL17; ESPN 950-AM. Records: Villanova 3-1, 1-0 Colonial Athletic Association; William and Mary 3-1, 1-1. Coaches: Villanova, Andy Talley (26th season, 182-103-1). William and Mary, Jimmye Laycock (31st season, 203-142). Series: William and Mary leads, 14-13-1. Villanova outlook: Top-ranked Villanova visits William and Mary in a rematch of last year's Football Championship Subdivision semifinal, with the Wildcats riding a six-game winning streak against the Tribe.

Baseball or football? For Matt Szczur, Villanova's two-sport standout, the short-term answer is both. Szczur, who will be a senior, has signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs that will allow him to play for the Wildcats' football team this fall, the university announced Thursday. As a junior, Szczur helped Villanova win the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title by rushing for a career-best 159 yards in a 23-21 victory over Montana in the final. The all-purpose player was named the Division I-AA title game's most outstanding player.

Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed a Baseball America report that Villanova's two-sport standout, Matt Szczur, most likely will forgo the NFL to continue pursuing a baseball career with the Chicago Cubs. Szczur, who is in Florida training for what was supposed to be his appearance in the Jan. 29 Senior Bowl, was not available for comment. He will not be playing in that game now. Last June, he was taken in the fifth round of the major league draft and signed for $100,000, with another $500,000 due on Feb. 10 if he did not opt to play football.

Villanova coach Andy Talley has become an extraordinarily popular guy along the Main Line lately. Taking your football team to a national championship game will do that for a football coach. Villanova (13-1) will face Montana (14-0) for the Football Championship Subdivision crown at 8 p.m. Friday at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn. Montana, which will make its second consecutive NCAA final appearance, advanced by defeating visiting Appalachian State, 24-17, yesterday in snowy Missoula.

Talk about a great start to the Steve Addazio era at Temple. It was earsplitting. It was jaw-dropping. It was big footprints of fresh cherry and white pounding a path over an inexperienced and overmatched opponent. It was Temple 42, Villanova 7 in the third annual Mayor's Cup game before a crowd of 32,638 at Lincoln Financial Field. "It was a thrill to come out here," Addazio said. "I'm awful proud of the football team. I'm awful proud of our football staff. These first games are all about coming out and playing physical and playing hard and I thought that happened.

HERE IS the problem with Temple-Villanova: No poisoned trees. No quarterbacks for sale. No Ponzi-scheming boosters tossing parties on yachts. No sanctimonious, vest-wearing coaches. No academic fraud. Really, the third Mayor's Cup could not be college football 2011. Even the mayor hasn't been indicted or even implicated. This was simply a football game at the Linc between schools playing for the 32nd time, teams in different divisions, players there mostly for the love of the game, coaches in it for the right reasons.

By now, the Philadelphia area knows Steve Addazio is a master motivator and solid recruiter. Thursday night, fans will get a glimpse of Addazio, the in-game coach. That's when Temple officially begins the Addazio era against Villanova in the third annual Mayor's Cup game at Lincoln Financial Field. As of now, the rivalry game is not scheduled past next season. "I'm pretty fired up about it," said Addazio, a longtime college assistant making his head coaching debut.

YOU COULD make the argument that no team in Division I-AA, or FCS, has been more successful over the last three seasons than Villanova. The Wildcats made it to the national quarterfinals in 2008, won the title in 2009 and got back to the semifinals last year despite dealing with injuries to two of their most important parts, Matt Szczur and Chris Whitney. So, what now? Well, they've been picked to finish seventh in the always-rugged Colonial Athletic Association. Yet one poll also has them ranked No. 15. In the country.

After making it to the semifinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the second straight year, Villanova will enter the 2011 season looking to overcome the absence of a senior class that last fall finished with a four-year record of 40-13. The Wildcats opener is Thursday against host Temple in the Mayor's Cup at Lincoln Financial Field. Villanova coach Andy Talley, whose squad is coming off a 9-5 finish, will start six freshmen. The Wildcats, picked by league coaches to finish seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association, were nevertheless slotted at No. 18 in the FCS coaches preseason national poll, and No. 14 in the Sports Network ratings.

Even for a coach who's been as successful as Villanova's Andy Talley, uncertainty is no easy sell when it comes to recruiting. Yet that's what Talley is up against as he awaits the decision on whether or not the Wildcats will move up to Division I-A as a member of the Big East Conference. "It's the first question every recruit asks," Talley said Monday as his team readied for practice with his 27th season as Nova's head coach approaching. "I simply tell them that we as a university have studied it very well.

Around this time last year, the Villanova football team went into preseason camp as the defending national champion in the Football Championship Subdivision, and with a senior class poised to add to its accomplishments. But when the Wildcats began preparations for the 2011 season Thursday, all-American offensive tackle Ben Ijalana was not in the room. Neither was do-it-all star Matt Szczur. And three other all-Colonial Athletic Association first-teamers in linebackers Terence Thomas and Marquis Kirkland, and offensive guard Brant Clouser also have moved on. In addition, quarterback Chris Whitney and safety Fred Maldonado, who were second-team all-league, will have to be replaced, as will third-team selections Thomas Weaver (defensive lineman)

Around this time last year, the Villanova football team went into preseason camp as the defending national champion in the Football Championship Subdivision, and with a senior class poised to add to its accomplishments. But when the Wildcats began preparations for the 2011 season Thursday, all-American offensive tackle Ben Ijalana was not in the room. Neither was do-it-all star Matt Szczur. And three other all-Colonial Athletic Association first-teamers in linebackers Terence Thomas and Marquis Kirkland, and offensive guard Brant Clouser also have moved on. In addition, quarterback Chris Whitney and safety Fred Maldonado, who were second-team all-league, will have to be replaced, as will third-team selections Thomas Weaver (defensive lineman)