FOOTBALL DUKES BEAT HOFSTRA WITH BIG SECOND HALF

Saturday, October 1

Hempstead, N.Y.

James Madison University

3-1 , 1-0

Hofstra

2-2 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

James Madison

Hofstra

10/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Long scoring plays by junior tailback Maurice Fenner (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside) and junior defensive tackle Chuck Suppon (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas) less than two minutes apart during the third quarter gave the James Madison football team control, and the Dukes went on to beat Hofstra 42-10 in Atlantic 10 Conference play Saturday.

After the teams battled to a 7-7 halftime tie, JMU scored on Fenner's 66-yard run on its second offensive play of the final half and five plays later when Suppon returned an interception 33 yards for a score for a 21-7 Dukes advantage at 12:02 of the third period.

The win came in JMU's Atlantic 10 opener and raised the Dukes' overall record to 3-1. JMU, which entered the game ranked sixth in Division I-AA, has beaten Hofstra four straight times and raised its series record with the Pride to 5-2. Hofstra fell to 2-2 overall and to 0-1 in the Atlantic 10.

Junior tailback Alvin Banks (Hampton, Va./Hampton) ran for 14 yards on JMU's initial play of the second half, and Fenner broke free around right end on the following snap to score with 13:50 left in the quarter.

Hofstra started from its 29 on the next series, and Suppon scored after junior linebacker Akeem Jordan (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) deflected Hofstra quarterback Anton Clarkson's screen pass attempt.

Hofstra ran 42 plays and gained 218 yards to JMU's 24 plays and 165 yards during the first half, but JMU finished with a 502 yards (320 rushing, 182 passing) to 300 yards advantage. The Dukes limited Hofstra to 23 second-half plays.

Hofstra cut JMU's lead to 21-10 on the possession after Suppon's return, but the Dukes sealed the victory with three touchdowns during a 3:08 span of the final period.

Junior quarterback Justin Rascati (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz) hit junior wide receiver Ardon Bransford (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) on a 64-yard scoring pass at the 14:52 mark of the quarter; Banks ran two yards for a score at 13:56; and Rascati hit senior wide receiver Tahir Hinds (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) on a 29-yard touchdown pass with 11:44 to play.

Bransford's score capped a six-play, 98-yard drive; Banks scored two plays after Jordan returned an interception 18 yards to the Hofstra 12; and Hinds scored three plays after an interception by junior safety Phil Minafield (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz).

JMU intercepted four passes overall for the first time in a game since 2001 (at Villanova) with probably the most important being senior cornerback Clint Kent's (Macon, Ga./Westside) grab of a Clarkson throw into the end zone during the final minute of the first half. Hofstra drove to the JMU 10 after the Dukes missed on a field goal try that would have broken a 7-7 tie, but Kent stopped the threat by intercepting a Clarkson pass with 16 seconds left in the half.

"I thought the biggest play of the game was the interception at the end of the half," said JMU coach Mickey Matthews. "We forced him out of the pocket.

"I thought we played well on defense; I thought we competed on defense," Matthews said. "I think that speaks how well we were playing on defense (staying in the game until the second half) when we were sputtering on offense," Matthews said.

Kent's interception was the 11th of his career, allowing him to tie for second place on the Dukes' all-time interceptions list and to match the team's best career mark at the Division I level. Bob Logan (1975-78) holds the JMU career interceptions record of 13. Mike Thurman (1978-82) and John Stein (1993-96) also had 11 career interceptions, and Stein holds the team Division I record.

Rascati hit on eight of 10 passes for 174 yards and threw for three touchdowns in a game for the third time this season.

Fenner finished with 125 yards on 14 carries, his seventh career 100-yard rushing effort. Senior tailback Raymond Hines (Hyattsville, Md./High Point) ran nine times for 82 yards and had a career-long 66-yard carry, and Banks ran 16 times for 77 yards and a touchdown.

JMU got the game's first points on its initial possession after forcing a Hofstra punt. The Dukes drove 86 yards in 10 plays and moved for four first downs before Rascati hit sophomore wide receiver L.C. Baker (Richmond, Va./Armstrong) on a 37-yard touchdown pass. The scoring catch was the first of Baker's JMU's career.

Hofstra pulled into a 7-7 tie with 3:02 left in the first half when Clarkson hit running back Terry Crenshaw on a four-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 80-yard drive.

The Pride's scoring march came after JMU failed to convert on a 30-yard field attempt with 6:36 left in the half. Hines had set up the scoring chance with his 66-yard run to the Hofstra 20.

Clarkson hit in on 24 of 40 passes for 274 yards.

JMU's victory margin was its best in an Atlantic 10 game since beating Villanova 57-23 at home in 2000. The victory margin is the Dukes' best in a league road game since winning 42-3 at Villanova 1993, its first Atlantic 10 (Yankee Conference) season.

JMU returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 8) for its Family Weekend game against Maine. Maine defeated Albany 31-7 Saturday night to improve to 2-2. The Black Bears lost 25-7 at Nebraska in their opener, beat William Penn 28-0 and lost 26-21 at home to Richmond in their only Atlantic 10 game.