PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Pat McQuaide accounted for a touchdown and Villanova’s defense made a final stand, lifting the Wildcats to a 24-18 victory over Lehigh in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at Villanova Stadium. Attendance was 5,451. Villanova improved to 4-4, while Lehigh fell to 6-2.

Villanova took the early lead in the first quarter when McQuaide kept on a middle run and scored from 7 yards out. Dominic LeBlanc’s extra point made it 7-0 with 6:59 left in the period. The Wildcats added to the lead in the second quarter on Isaiah Ragland’s 14-yard run around left end, with LeBlanc again converting. Later in the quarter, Ja’briel Mace finished a drive with a 1-yard scoring run up the middle, and LeBlanc’s kick gave Villanova a 21-0 advantage with 2:45 remaining before halftime.

Lehigh began its comeback in the third quarter. Luke Yoder broke free on a 5-yard touchdown run to the right with 9:43 remaining, and Connor Poole added the extra point. Poole then converted a 34-yard field goal with 2:53 left in the quarter, trimming Villanova’s lead to 21-10. The Mountain Hawks continued to close in the fourth. Derek Morgan scored on a 6-yard run to the right with 8:28 remaining, and Anthony Feaster followed with a successful two-point rush to make it 21-18.

Villanova answered with a 27-yard field goal from LeBlanc with 3:33 remaining. The kick restored a six-point cushion and capped the scoring. Lehigh could not answer after that, as the Wildcats defense held late and finished with three sacks while pressuring Morgan throughout the second half.

McQuaide completed 15 of 25 passes for 194 yards, ran for 7 yards and scored a touchdown. Morgan completed 17 of 33 passes for 134 yards and ran 17 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. Jayvont Williams made four tackles for Villanova. Ragland completed his only pass for 7 yards, ran 10 times for 44 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 16 yards. Mace carried 17 times for 91 yards and a touchdown, caught one pass for 12 yards and returned one kickoff 19 yards. Brandon Binkowski caught five passes for 60 yards, Jake Hilton had five receptions for 54 yards, Braden Reed caught two passes for 41 yards and returned two punts for 15 yards, and Andrew Esposito caught one pass for 18 yards.

Garrett Rogan led Villanova with 13 tackles and a sack. Omari Bursey also had 13 tackles to go with 1.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry. Christian Caballero added nine tackles, Newton Essiem had seven, Jordan Taylor six and Jayvont Williams four. Ivan Murray Jr. had three tackles, while Josh Oluremi, Drake Dawson, Nigel McSween, AJ Koukou and Nate Sullivan each finished with two. Sullivan added half a sack. For Lehigh, William Parton made seven tackles, Luke Denny six, Aidan Williams five, and Jackson Dowd and DJ Brown four apiece. Ignatious Williams had four tackles, Cayden Vassa and Josh Lenart three each, Lucas Manderbach two and Mick McKee two to go with a punt return.

Yoder paced Lehigh on the ground with 20 carries for 132 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 22 yards. Bryce Werner caught five passes for 45 yards, Matt D’Avino had two for 22, Jamaire Harden had three for 22 and returned four kickoffs for 58 yards, Nick Palumbo had two for 11, Joseph Marranca had one for 7 and Anthony Feaster had one for 5. Connor Poole made a 34-yard field goal and punted four times for 185 yards. Luke Myers punted four times for 162 yards for Villanova, and LeBlanc kicked three extra points and a 27-yard field goal.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Lehigh 35, Villanova 21, while Interstat’s ELO system had projected Villanova with a 60.8 percent probability to win. The Wildcats instead relied on McQuaide, Ragland and Mace to build an early lead and on LeBlanc’s late field goal to hold off the Mountain Hawks.