VILLANOVA, Pa. ? Despite another eye-popping performance by senior quarterback Sean Schaefer of Towson, sixth-ranked Villanova University (8-2, 6-1) rallied from a first half deficit and held on to edge the upset-minded Tigers (3-8, 1-6)  in a wild Colonial Athletic Association contest at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

      The Tigers, who owned a 17-7 lead in the second quarter and a 24-20 edge in the third quarter, pulled to within 34-31 with 5:12 left in the game. But, Villanova used a time-consuming drive to run out the clock and secure its third consecutive win.

      On the final drive, the Wildcats converted a third-down-and-two at the Towson 41-yard line on an 11-yard run by Matthew Szczur. With 1:10 remaining, the Wildcats faced a fourth-and-five at the Tiger 25-yard line. Quarterback Chris Whitney then completed an 11-yard pass to senior Phil Atkinson to clinch the victory.

      “I liked our effort and I liked the way we played,” said Coach Gordy Combs. “But the bottom line is that you don't get anything for losing by three points.

      “I am proud of the way we came in here and competed so well against a Villanova team that is going to the national playoffs. We just made too many mistakes and we didn't play smart. To beat a team like Villanova, we have to play smart.”

      Hoping to lead the Tigers to an upset win, Schaefer turned in another heroic performance. He completed 35 of 47 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He also ran for 26 yards on five carries. His 326-yard effort marked the fifth time this season he passed for 300 yards in a game. It was the 14th time in his career that he passed for more than 300 yards.

      Early in the third quarter, Schaefer became the third NCAA FCS quarterback with 1,000 career completions when he completed a 13-yard pass to junior tight end John Godlasky. Schaefer, who has now completed 1,017 of 1,562 passes in his career, joins Ricky Santos of New Hampshire (1,182) and Marcus Brady of Cal State Northridge (1,039) as the only NCAA FCS quarterbacks to complete 1,000 passes in their career.

      He also moved into the top ten of the NCAA FCS career passing leaders. Entering the final game of his career, Schaefer has thrown for 11,329 yards.

      It was also a monumental game for senior wide receiver Marcus Lee of Towson. While catching a pass in the 44th consecutive game, Lee had eight receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns. His eight catches enabled him to tie the school record for career catches set by Jamal White, '02. Lee now has 219 receptions for 2,331 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career. He is also tied with former Villanova standout Brian Westbrook for ninth place on the CAA's career receiving list.

      In their bid to upset Villanova, the Tigers got off to a great start.

      The Wildcats got an early opportunity to take a lead when junior Brandyn Harvey took a punt by Bill Shears and returned it 59 yards to the Towson 24-yard line. After Aaron Bull ran for a first down to the 13-yard line, the Tiger defense held and senior Joe Marcoux came in to try a 24-yard field goal against a strong wind. His kick was wide left and the game remained scoreless.

      Responding to their good fortune, the Tigers staged one of their longest drives of the season. They marched 70 yards in 15 plays and 7:34. On the drive, Schaefer completed 5 of 6 passes for 42 yards while leading Towson to the 10-yard line. When the drive stalled, senior Mark Bencivengo gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead when he kicked a 27-yard field goal with 2:16 remaining in the first quarter.

      On the Wildcats' next possession, a sack by Donte Blakey forced a punt into the wind by Zach Ugarte. When his punt went out-of-bounds at the Villanova 43-yard line, the Tigers had terrific field position. On first down, Schaefer connected with junior Casey Cegles on a 29-yard pass down the middle. Three plays later, he hooked up with Lee for a nine-yard touchdown pass. When Bencivengo added the extra point, the Tigers owned a 10-0 lead with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.

      With the help of a personal foul penalty against Blakey for hitting Whitney out of bounds, the Wildcats mounted their best scoring drive early in the second quarter. With Whitney completing a 23-yard pass to Szczur and a 24-yard pass to Harvey, Villanova moved to the Towson 15-yard line. After Whitney scrambled to the Towson 6-yard line, he completed the TD drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Harvey, cutting the Wildcats' deficit to 10-7 with 11:15 remaining in the first half.

      The Tigers received a break when Shears' punt was mishandled and linebacker Alex Butt recovered the loose ball at the Towson 43-yard line, With Schaefer scrambling for a pair of first downs on a 10-yard run and a 9-yard dash, the Tigers moved to the Villanova 10-yard line.

      On first down, Schaefer scrambled to his right and threw a 10-yard TD pass to senior Tommy Breaux, giving the Tigers a 17-7 advantage with 4:09 left in the half.

      Once again, the Wildcats responded with a long drive. They marched 66 yards in 11 plays before Ball scored on a three-yard run to make it a 17-14 game with 1:04 left in the half.

      Starting at their own 20-yard line, the Tigers moved into Villanova territory on a 15-yard run by Damien Kinchen and an 18-yard pass to Hakeem Moore.

      Under extreme pressure, Schaefer threw an ill-advised pass towards Lee on the sideline. Freshman defensive back James Pitts intercepted at the Villanova 35-yard line and raced 65 yards for a touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 20-17 lead with 12 seconds left.

      After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Pitts, Marcoux was forced to try the conversion kick from 33 yards away. Defensive lineman Rob Osborne blocked the attempt and the Tigers went to halftime with a 20-17 deficit.

      The Tigers found themselves trailing at halftime despite dominating the first half. Towson had 208 total yards and controlled the ball for 18:18. The Tiger defense held the highly-regarded Villanova rushing game to 81 yards in the half.

      Undaunted, the Tigers marched 80 yards on their opening drive of the second half to regain the lead. Schaefer capped off the 80-yard, 9-play drive with his third touchdown pass of the game, a nine-yard toss to Lee. Lee's second TD reception gave Towson a 24-20 lead with 10:01 left in the third quarter.

      But, the Tigers' lead lasted just 1:29. With a 13-yard run by Szczur starting the drive, the Wildcats moved downfield quickly. A sideline pass from Whitney to Atkinson for 18 yards gave Villanova a first down at the Towson three-yard line. On the next play, Ball scored his second touchdown of the game on a three-yard run, putting Villanova ahead, 27-24 with 8:32 left in the third quarter.

      After holding the Tigers on back-to-back drives, the Wildcats extended their lead behind the passing of Whitney. A 35-yard pass play to Norman White in the final minute of the third quarter moved the ball into Towson territory. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Whitney completed a 31-yard pass to Szczur, who was tackled at the Towson one-yard line. Three plays later, sophomore Louis Adeyemi scored the first touchdown of his career on a one-yard run, giving the Wildcats a 34-24 lead with 13:05 remaining in the game.

      On their next possession, the Tigers drove to the Villanova 12-yard line where Bencivengo came on to try a 29-yard field goal. However, Tim Kukucka broke through the line and blocked the kick to preserve the Wildcats' 34-24 lead.

      After holding the Wildcats on downs, Ugarte launched a 66-yard punt that rolled dead at the Towson 9-yard line where the Tigers took over with 8:39 left in the game.

      With Schaefer completing seven of nine passes for 83 yards on the drive, the Tigers went 91 yards in 10 plays to pull within 34-31. A two-yard TD pass from Schaefer to Godlasky completed the drive.

      But, the Tiger defense couldn't come up with a stop in the final minutes to give the Tiger offense a chance to tie the game.

      The Wildcats, who piled up 386 yards in the win, were led by Whitney, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 212 yards and one TD. Atkinson caught seven passes for 78 yards to lead their receivers.

      “We tried to take away their running game,” said Combs. “We expected them to try and run the ball to control the clock against our young defense. I think we did a pretty good job against the running game but they were able to throw the ball against us. Atkinson made some big plays for them.”

      Cegles led the Tigers with nine catches for 95 yards while Lee had eight catches for 52 yards and two TD's. Breaux caught six passes for 58 yards and one TD.

      Defensively, freshman free safety Danny Collins had nine tackles and one pass breakup. Senior Drew Mack had eight tackles while Blakey made six tackles and a sack.

      The Tigers will close out the season next Saturday afternoon when they host James Madison University, the top-ranked team in NCAA FCS.