Temple Pounds Villanova In Mayor?s Cup

By Joseph Santoliquito

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ? This is the final game of the four-year contract between Temple and Villanova playing for the Mayor?s Cup. After Friday night, one school may be highly interested in extending the pact, while the other may not be able run away fast enough.

Temple opened its 2012 entry back into the Big East Conference for football by stomping local rival Villanova, a Big East school in every sport other than football, 41-10, before a Mayor?s Cup-series record crowd of 32,709 at Lincoln Financial Field. Villanova still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 16-15-2, but Temple has proven its dominance. The Owls have won the last three Mayor?s Cup games?the last two by a combined 83-17. The Owls confirmed they?re way beyond Villanova?s level, too big, too strong and too fast for the smaller, slower Wildcats.

Temple?s diminutive dynamo Matt Brown was the game?s top rusher, splintering the Wildcats? defense for a game-high 141 yards on 18 carries, averaging an impressive 7.8 yards a carry, bolstered by his 56-yard second-quarter TD run. Sophomore Kenny Harper chipped in with two touchdowns, scoring the first TD of the game on an 8-yard shuttle pass in the opening quarter and his second on a 38-yard TD run with 12:19 left in the third quarter.

Villanova knew it couldn?t make any mistakes against the physically superior Owls, yet two second-quarter turnovers swayed the direction of the game.

A 57-yard interception return for a TD by Temple free safety Vaughn Carraway opened a 14-3 Temple lead with 11:24 left in the half. Three minutes later, Carraway recovered a fumble that led to quarterback Chris Coyer?s swerving 19-yard run and a 21-3 Temple advantage.

That was pretty much it.

Villanova switched quarterbacks, going with John Robertson, whose four-yard run with 1:04 remaining in the second quarter was Villanova?s first and only touchdown.

Coyer finished with 80 yards on 13 carries, and topped it with a crunching, blindside block on a Villanova linebacker, who went flying. Coyer was an efficient 5 for 11, for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Clinton Granger relieved Coyer with about eight minutes left in the game. Montel Harris, the transfer from Boston College, had a mere seven touches, picking up 15 yards rushing on six carries and catching one pass for eight.

Temple senior kicker Brandon McManus, who certainly gained the attention of the numerous NFL scouts who filled the Lincoln Financial Field pressbox, booted field goals of 24 and 31 yards, becoming Temple?s all-time leader in field goals with 48, surpassing the previous all-time leader, Billy Wright, who kicked 46 field goals for Temple from 1985-88.

Robertson was a bright spot on what was otherwise a very dismal night for the Wildcats. He rushed for a team-high 71 yards on 15 carries, and he threw for 133 yards on 9 for 17 passing.

A year ago, Villanova campaigned hard to gain entrance into the Big East Conference for football. It seems the Wildcats, who plays in the Football Conference Subdivision (FCS), formerly Division I-AA, may be content to stay just where they are.

Temple?s Big East season begins October 6 against South Florida at Lincoln Financial Field.

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/08/31/temple-pounds-villanova-in-mayors-cup/

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