Delaware won their first ever Battle of the Blue trophy today, taking Villanova down 26-16 in the inaugural game at PPL Park in Chester, PA. Home of the MLS side Philadelphia Union, the park has been a proposed future home for Villanova football for more than a year.
Villanova hung with the Hens for much of the game behind stellar play from freshman RB Jamal Abdur-Rahman, who scored on touchdowns runs of 42 and 33 yards in the game. He led the team in rushing with 119 yards on just 7 carries.
But Delaware surged ahead late behind Sean Baner's 3rd FG of the game to take a late 19-16 lead with just over 2 minutes left. Chris Polony had one final chance to take the team down the field for a score but threw an interception that was returned 54 yards for a touchdown.
Reports are that the turnout was good, but not great for Villanova in the first game at PPL Park. The paid attendance was announced as 14,107, but it looked a little less than that at the game. A bit of that can be contributed to the fact that it is the beginning of a holiday week and the 'Nova football team has now finished the 2011 season with a 2-9 record.
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