Hens capture battle of the stouthearted

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, November, 2003 | by Bill Lyon

The day was liquid gold, Indian summer in its splendor, burgeoning with promise and possibility, and in Wildcat Village at Villanova University the tailgaters lolled in the sun, basking and building to the moment.

By kickoff, the crowd was four-deep and hanging over the fences, yowling with anticipation. There is, in all of sport, few things to match a college football Saturday, especially when it includes a rivalry that seethes with a border-war passion.

And Delaware and Villanova have, over the years, built themselves a dandy little feud. It's a long, taunt-enduring year for the losers.

By nightfall yesterday they were done with each other, but only after having run off 146 plays, each one of them a thunderclap, for 709 yards. They played with grit and...