PITTSBURGH (EYT) — It was like James Conner hadn’t missed a beat.
(Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics)
After sitting out all but a half last year with a knee injury and then overcoming Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Pitt star running back scored the Panthers first two touchdowns in a 28-7 win over visiting Villanova Saturday at Heinz Field.
Conner scored on 3-yard run and on a 9-yard pass from Nathan Peterman in the second quarter to help the Panthers grab a 14-0 halftime lead against a very pesky Wildcat team.
On the day, Conner finished with 53 yards rushing on 17 carries and caught three passes for 16 yards.
Pitt, in its first game under new offensive coordinator Matt Canada, struggled to get the offense going and managed just 261 yards against the Wildcats.
But the Panthers defense was even better than Villanova’s holding the Philadelphia team to just 172 yards on the day, including just 53 rushing.
And Quadree Henderson and the Panthers special teams may have been the best of the bunch.
Henderson set up the Panthers first two scores with punt returns and then scored Pitt’s third touchdown when he returned the opening second-half kickoff 96 yards to give the Panthers a 21-0 lead.
As big as the kickoff return for the score was, Henderson’s 31-yard punt return in the middle of the second quarter helped break a scoreless tie.
The return set Pitt up at the Villanova 32-yard line, and six plays later Conner broke the ice with his touchdown run at the 7:08 mark of the quarter,
Henderson then came up with another big punt return, this time a 14 yarder, late in the half setting the Panthers up again at the Villanova 32.
Another 6-play drive resulted in the Peterman to Conner touchdown pass with just 19 seconds left before halftime putting Pitt up 14-0 at the break.
Villanova got on the board four minutes after the Henderson kickoff return when Rob Rolle scooped up a Peterman fumble at the 3-yard line and went in for a touchdown cutting the Panthers’ lead to 21-7.
But Peterman, who was 19 of 32 on the day for 175 yards, made up for it with his second scoring pass of the afternoon, this time a 16-yard toss to Jester Weah with six minutes to play to set the final score.
Pitt returns to action Saturday when it hosts Penn State at noon.
