There was no time Aaron Ball enjoyed more than being in victory formation on the football field, and 16 years ago Thursday was particularly special.
The former Villanova running back, now living just outside of Virginia Beach, Va., still has fond memories of the program’s only FCS championship victory, a 23-21 win over Montana on Dec. 18, 2009.
“When [it was] the fourth quarter and the time was running out, and we’re in victory formation‚” Ball told The Inquirer, “it was just an incredible feeling. Just thinking about the moments we had, like after the game in the locker room and going crazy, the trophy and everything. That whole experience was incredible.”
The Wildcats, now led by Mark Ferrante, who was assistant head coach under Andy Talley on that 2009 team, are one game away from being back in the national championship game.
After a comeback victory in the FCS quarterfinals against Tarleton State, Villanova will host Illinois State in the semifinal (7:30 p.m., ESPN2) on Saturday, the team’s first home game this late in the playoffs since the 2009 team narrowly defeated William & Mary, 14-13.
Like that 2009 team, this year’s squad suffered an early CAA loss and went on a lengthy winning streak. Former quarterback Chris Whitney, a St. Joseph’s Prep graduate who was the team’s leading rusher in 2009, believes there is an uncanny resemblance between his team and this year’s group.
“I feel like there’s a lot of similarities. The defense is really good, and they’ve shown that in the last three games in the playoffs, playing against three top teams in the country,” Whitney said. “And then you flip to the offensive side, they have a great three-headed running game. … Even down to the running backs, very similar to our running backs, Angelo Babbaro and Aaron Ball.
“Then, from a quarterback perspective, [current starter Pat McQuaide] is taking care of the ball.”
‘We never felt like anybody could beat us’
Former wide receiver Brandyn Harvey knew something special was afoot when Villanova went to Lincoln Financial Field and beat Temple by three points to open the 2009 season.
Harvey, the team’s leading receiver that year who is now living in Los Angeles, said that “beating Temple was more fun than beating Montana,” because of the back-and-forth the two schools had that summer leading up to that August matchup.
“It put us on the right trajectory to just finish and be successful throughout the rest of the season,” Harvey said.
Former tight end Chris Farmer, a West Catholic graduate, added: “I know we all thought that we could beat Temple, which would have been a [FBS] school at that point. So once we did that, I think our confidence got rolling a little bit more. And we just took it from there.”
Ball, though, had a different perspective on when he knew Villanova could be a championship team.
After Villanova lost to New Hampshire on Oct. 10, the former running back, who finished with 794 rushing yards in 2009, third-most on the team, thought the team was “overlooking our opponents.”
“After that game, it was a big turnaround for us,” Ball said. “[We were] just doing a little bit too much, and needed to settle in. And then the next game, we bounced back [beating James Madison, 27-0]. And I was like, ‘OK, we’re actually a pretty good team.’ When I’m comparing ourselves to other teams and where they’re at and where we’re at. And I was like, ‘Man, you really can kind of do something special with this team.’”
For Farmer, who started his career at defensive line and switched to tight end as a junior, what stood out most to him was the talent and the “great camaraderie” that 2009 team had. Everyone hung out with each other, Farmer said, and outside of having class, the “locker room was always filled.”
And the one common trait that Whitney, Harvey, Ball, and Farmer agreed that the team had back then? Perseverance.
“We always felt like we were supposed to win, especially at that point in the season,” Farmer said. “So in those playoff games when we were down, just leaning back into the camaraderie, everyone kept their energy going. [The] sidelines never got disappointed or [had their] heads down. I think that camaraderie probably carried us through, to be honest.”
Added Harvey: “We may have been out of a possession, but we never felt like we were out of the game. We never felt like anybody could beat us at the end of the day, like we were just very confident. I wouldn’t say we were cocky, but we were just very confident, just in ourselves, just based off the work that we put in, because we know how hard we work, especially in the summer, and all that just carried over and translated to the season.”
‘Coach Ferrante was the president’
The offensive line and assistant head coach on that 2009 team is the same coach who leads Villanova now: Ferrante, now in his 38th year with the program.
While Talley led the program during the first 29 years that Ferrante was with the program, it was the latter whom players say was key in getting them to play on the Main Line. Ferrante was the local recruiter for both Whitney and Farmer, as both played in the Catholic League.
Both worked closely with the offensive line — Farmer at tight end, Whitney at quarterback — and each agreed that Ferrante’s impact on the team was apparent.
“He served, as I would say, a father figure to a lot of guys on the team,” Farmer said. “Honestly, he was — if coach [Talley] was the chairman or CEO, then coach Ferrante was the president, making sure everything was up to speed and running the way Coach T wanted it.
“He put a lot of time, a lot of sweat into the program, you know, to be honest, man, so to see him finally have the opportunity to take the reins … and quickly getting the program to be successful, it’s really cool.”
Added Whitney: “I have a special place in my heart for Coach Ferrante, frankly. … To talk about a guy who is deserving, putting in his time [for 29] years as an assistant, with the same program putting in that time to then get his chance as a head coach and get a chance to to reach the top of the mountain. I would love nothing more than that for him.”
College football has changed plenty in the 16 years since Villanova’s last football title, including the transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness to name a few, though the latter doesn’t affect the FCS level as much. But Harvey says his 2009 team only had a handful of transfers, none of whom started on their team, compared to this year’s Villanova team, which starts a transfer quarterback, wide receiver, and has a few other rotational defensive players who transferred in.
While the culture in college football is different now, Harvey points to the transfer portal as a positive development to the competitiveness of the FCS level.
“I feel like the portal has really impacted the FCS level. I was thinking about this last week, watching a couple of games and just seeing where some of the players came from. I think when I was playing, I don’t know if it was our culture, but we didn’t really accept transfers,” Harvey recalls. “Players literally come from everywhere, no matter the level. … I know people tend to knock [the] FCS, but it’s also competitive level as well.”
Added Whitney: “For Pat [McQuaide, a Nicholls State transfer] to come in the spring, and a lot of those guys coming in the spring and meshing as well as they have, it’s a credit to them. It’s also a credit to coach Ferrante. I mean to get these kids to bond so quickly and play together is pretty tough, but it is obviously the new norm in college football.”
The years in between have looked different for each former player, but the love for their alma mater remains the same. Spread from coast to coast, they still keep in touch with former teammates, tune in to watch Villanova’s football games, and share various memories from that title team with their children.
They will all be watching this weekend. Harvey and Ball plan on making the trip to the title game if Villanova beats Illinois State.
And speaking of common threads, here’s one more: the 2009 team won the FCS title game in its final year in Chattanooga, Tenn., and this year’s championship game will played in Nashville, Tenn., after a 16-year stint in Frisco, Texas.
How about that?
