NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half, but Villanova rallied to post a 28-27 Atlantic 10 Conference football victory Saturday afternoon at Delaware Stadium in the season finale for both teams.

Another chapter was added to this fierce local rivalry as the Wildcats (6-5, 5-3 A-10), who closed out the season on a four-game winning streak, rallied back from the early 20-0 deficit and won the game on Matt Dicken’s second touchdown of the game on a two-yard dive with 5:35 left to play.

Delaware had the chance to win the game in the closing minutes but Villanova’s Peter Caroppolo blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt by Zach Hobby with 1:39 left to play to clinch the win. Earlier in the day, Hobby had missed an extra point that hit the upright and was wide left on a 36-yard field goal attempt early in the final quarter.

Delaware (5-6, 3-5 A-10), which had defeated Villanova each of the last three meetings, finishes with a losing record for the first time since the 2001 season and for just the second time in the last 19 seasons since 1987. Seven of the last 10 meetings in the Delaware-Villanova rivalry have been decided by six points or less.

After Delaware jumped out to a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter, Villanova rallied to cut the lead to 27-14 at halftime and shutout the Blue Hens in the second half to post the win. Dicken and DeQuese May each scored two rushing touchdowns to lead the comeback.

“We are very disappointed because we put ourselves in good position to win this ballgame and we didn’t get it done,” said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, who suffered his first losing campaign in 14 seasons as a college head coach. “Losing seasons are not acceptable here at the University of Delaware. It’s going to be a long, hard off-season for us as coaches and as players. Starting tomorrow we’re going to wash this season away. I’m disappointed we couldn’t send our seniors out the right way.”

Delaware junior quarterback Joe Flacco capped an outstanding season as a first-year as a starter as he completed 30 of 41 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns and surpassed the 300-yard mark for the fourth time this season and passed for over 200 yards for the fifth straight game.

Flacco, who also ran for a touchdown, set the UD single season completion record with 264, breaking the mark of 254 by Sonny Riccio in 2004. Junior All-American running back Omar Cuff rushed for a game-high 81 yards and a touchdown and also caught seven passes for 81 yards while sophomore wide receiver Aaron Love snared seven passes for 69 yards and Ben Patrick (at right) caught six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.

May ran for a team-high 72 yards while quarterback Marvin Burroughs shook off a slow start to complete 15 of 23 passes for 206 yards and rush for 53 yards on 12 carries for Villanova. Allyn Bacchus led the defensive effort with 12 tackles while Bryan Adams chipped in with 11 stops and finished off the win when he intercepted a Flacco pass in the final moments.

“This was typical Delaware-Villanova game,” said Villanova head coach Andy Talley. “We were down 20-0 and I wasn’t sure we had enough firepower to come back or keep up with them. I went into halftime incredibly upset. I thought it would be insurmountable to come back. But our defense came out and played well in the second half and we hung in there to win the game.”

Delaware came out strong, scoring on the game’s first possession when Flacco capped an 81-yard drive with a two-yard run around left end with 8:49 left in the opening quarter and going up 13-0 when Flacco hit Patrick in the middle of the end zone from 13 yards out with 2:08 left in the first quarter. Hobby’s extra point attempt hit the left post and bounced back into the end zone. The miss was just the third conversion miss by Hobby in 65 career attempts.

The second touchdown was set up by junior defensive end Jeremy Kametz, who intercepted his first career pass with 6:59 left in the opening 15 minutes. The Hens upped the lead to 20-0 - their largest lead of the season since a 31-7 win over West Chester in the season opener - when Cuff capped a 71-yard drive with a two-yard run scoring burst with 9:18 left in the first half.

A flurry of scoring highlighted the final five minutes of the opening half. Villanova finally got on the board on a Dicken one-yard dive with 4:01 remaining to cut the lead to 20-7 and the Wildcats pulled to within one score with just 36 seconds left in the first half when VU drove 68 yards in just 48 seconds to narrow the deficit to 20-14. But the Hens also showed they could score quickly as they got the ball back at their own 43-yard line with 24 seconds to go in the half. On the first play of the drive, Flacco hit Kervin Michaud on a 57-yard pass play down the right sideline to send Delaware into halftime up 27-14.

The second half belonged to the Wildcats as held Delaware scoreless and limited the Blue Hen attack to just 143 total yards. After Villanova’s Marcoux missed on a 28-yard field goal attempt, the Wildcats held the Hens in check and got the ball back on the 42-yard line. May rambled 32 yards to the Delaware 14-yard line on the fourth play of the drive and then finished things off on the next play with a 14-yard jaunt to cut the lead to 27-21 with 4:34 left in the third stanza.

Delaware drove 61 yards on 17 plays on its next possession but came up short when Hobby’s 36-yard field goal attempt with 12:07 left to play went wide. Villanova took advantage, getting the ball at the 20-yard line and driving 80 yards in nearly seven minutes to score the game-winner on Dicken’s short run with 5:35 remaining. The Hens put together another strong drive, going 65 yards on 12 plays, but came up short again when Hobby’s field goal attempt was blocked by Caroppolo with just under two minutes remaining.

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