By Andy Walter

NEWARK — As the final minutes drained out of its football season, Delaware had one last chance to write a nice ending to an otherwise lackluster campaign.

But, like so many other times this fall, the Blue Hens just couldn’t make it happen.

Eighth-ranked Villanova stopped Delaware a couple feet short of the goal line with 1:06 remaining to preserve its hard-earned 21-13 CAA victory over the rival Hens before a season-ending crowd of 11,437 in Delaware Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Even if it had scored, Delaware (3-5 CAA, 5-6 overall) would have needed to add a two-point conversion just to tie the contest, of course.

The Hens, though, never even got that chance after a pair of Wildcat defenders wrestled fullback Mateo Vandamia to the ground after he pulled in a shovel pass from quarterback Anthony Paoletti. The play started on the two and ended just inside the one.

It was the last gasp of a season in which Delaware began the fall with high hopes following a CAA championship spring campaign. Instead, the Hens could only watch the Wildcats (7-1 CAA, 9-2 overall) celebrate their own league title in the fading sunlight on Saturday evening.

Delaware has now registered five losing seasons just since 2012.

“It’s a disappointing ending to a disappointing season,” said UD coach Danny Rocco. “It’s a game of inches and that’s kind of where this thing ended up today. I feel really badly for our seniors.

“This group has done an awful lot for us and had done an awful lot for our program. To be in this moment right now and feeling the way we feel, I wish we could have come up with a better ending.”

After watching Villanova erase its 10-7 advantage with two quick fourth-quarter touchdowns less than three minutes apart, the Hens seemingly got a miraculous break when the Wildcats fumbled the ball at their own 21 with only 3:08 remaining. Safety Noah Plack finally corralled the rolling football for Delaware.

Four straight running plays got the Hens to the two on third down. After a quarterback sneak by Zach Gwynn went nowhere, Delaware put Paoletti in the contest on fourth down.

Paoletti, who almost always runs when he gets the ball, started around left end but then shoveled the ball back inside to Vandamia. The fullback was hit almost immediately and was left to try to push his way — unsuccessfully — into the end zone.

After Delaware snapped a nine-game losing streak to Villanova in the spring, the Wildcats got the ‘Battle of the Blue’ trophy right back. The rivalry clearly means a great deal to Villanova, which has now won 13 of the last 15 meetings.

“We have a Delaware wall in our locker room that we look at 365 days a year,” said Wildcat linebacker Forrest Rhyne. “And we have a permanent spot for this trophy. This is my fifth year and I have never not seen that trophy. ... We got it back.”

Villanova’s first touchdown was set up by a 64-yard pass from QB Daniel Smith to Jaaron Hayek (5 catches-117 yards), who got open on a deep crossing route. Jalen Jackson’s one-yard scoring run on the next play followed by Cole Bunce’s PAT kick gave the Wildcats a 14-13 lead with 11:43 left.

A three-and-out by the Hens followed by a 41-yard pass play led to Smith’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Hayek with 8:57 remaining.

Of the Wildcats’ 362 total yards, 131 came on just five plays in those two scoring drives.

“They’ve got a really good team,” said Rocco. “I think they have more ways that they could win this game today. They played really good football for about eight minutes and in that eight-minute time span they won the game.

“Other that, defensively, we were pretty much lights out. We categorically gave ourselves a chance to win the game.”

Delaware led 10-7 for much of the afternoon thanks to a 16-yard touchdown run by senior Dejoun Lee with 5:10 left in the second quarter. The Hens only had to drive 42 yards for the TD following one of their defense’s two fourth-down stops.

But Delaware could only add Ryan Coe’s second field goal, a 33-yarder, with 12:19 remaining in the game.

Both teams scored three times in the game. The Hens, however, had a TD and a pair of field goals while Villanova scored three TDs.

Delaware also threw two red-zone interceptions — one by Gwynn and one by Paoletti — early in the game.

“We failed to get the ball in the end zone and we had opportunities,” said Rocco. “Somewhere deep down you had to feel like we were going to have to do that to have enough points to win the game.”

In a program that has made the NCAA FCS playoffs just twice since reaching the national title game in 2010, seeing its season in disappointment at the hands of Villanova is nothing new for Delaware. Senior receiver Gene Coleman said he and his teammates gave it everything they had in their last game.

“There’s problems that we may have as far as executing and figuring out ways to win the game,” he said. “But, sat the end of the day, you’re always going to be proud of how hard this team plays.

“I think that’s probably what I’m most proud of — just playing with guys that I know, when times get tough, they’re going to stick together. That carries on into life. They’re not just going to be there for me on the field, they’re going to be there for me in real life. And I’ll be there for them.”

Extra points

Smith completed 12-for-26 passes for 208 yards with an interception. He also had a 34-yard run. ... Gwynn was 14-of-27 for 143 yards with one interception. ... Lee, who didn’t practice all week because of a leg injury, had a team-high 54 yards on 13 carries in his last game. ... Coleman had four catches for 60 yards in his last game. ... Safety Kedrick Whitehead (Middletown) posted a team-high 12 tackles while linebacker Johnny Buchanan had 11. ... Cornerback Justis Henley had an interception for Delaware. ... QB Nolan Henderson (Smyrna) did not suit up for the game despite some speculation that he might. He missed the final seven games of the season after having hernia surgery. ... Delaware went 12-7 in this calender year.