DUKES POST 31-17 HOMECOMING FOOTBALL WIN OVER WILLIAM & MARY

Saturday, October 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

3:00 PM

James Madison University

6-1 , 4-0

William and Mary

2-5 , 0-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

William & Mary

James Madison

DUKES POST 31-17 HOMECOMING FOOTBALL WIN OVER WILLIAM & MARY

10/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Oct. 21, 2006 - Senior quarterback Justin Rascati (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz) threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns, and junior tailback Eugene Holloman (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside) ran for 118 yards and a score as James Madison posted a 31-17 homecoming football victory over William & Mary Saturday.

Rascati completed 15 of 21 passes and hit red-shirt freshman tight end Mike Caussin (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) with an 11-yard touchdown pass on JMU's first possession and senior wide receiver Ardon Bransford (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) on a 55-yard scoring strike to seal the JMU victory with 3:49 left in the game.

Holloman carried 22 times and scored on a one-yard run to put JMU in front to stay 14-7 with 8:46 left in the second quarter. The 100-yard effort was his fourth in the five games in which he has played this season.

Bransford caught seven of Rascati's passes, a career high for the 5-foot-10, 185pounder. His scoring grab from Rascati, his 10th career touchdown reception, gave the Dukes a 31-10 lead.

The win was JMU's fifth straight and raised the Dukes' overall record to 6-1 and their Atlantic 10 Football Conference mark to 4-0. William & Mary fell to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the conference.

The game was the fifth straight in which JMU has scored at least 30 points, the first time in their football history the Dukes have posted five consecutive 30-point outings.

JMU moved 68 yards in 17 plays and used 8:21 of clock time in driving for their first score, the initial touchdown catch of Caussin's career.

William & Mary pulled into a 7-7 tie on Elijah Brooks' two-yard touchdown run that capped a 13-play, 92-yard drive with 11:34 left in the second quarter.

Holloman's touchdown run capped a 65-yard JMU series, and JMU got a 28-yard field goal from David Rabil (Franklin, Va./Franklin) on the final play of the first half to lead 17-7. JMU moved 65 yards in 10 plays and used 1:25 of clock time to set up Rabil's kick.

A 53-yard Holloman run to the William & Mary two set up a two-yard scoring run by junior tailback Antoinne Bolton (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes) that gave JMU a 24-7 lead with 7:48 left in the third period.

William & Mary got a 29-yard field goal from Blair Pritchard on the first play of the fourth quarter to get to with 24-10, and the Tribe got inside the JMU 10 on its next possession but failed on another 29-yard field goal try.

The teams then traded punts before Rascati's scoring pass to Bransford gave JMU a comfortable advantage.

JMU finished with 396 yards of total offense (185 rushing, 211 passing) and William & Mary with 326 yards (112 rushing, 214 passing).

Senior linebacker Akeem Jordan (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) had his second-straight 18-tackle performance to lead the JMU defense. He was credited with eight unassisted tackles 4.5 stops for loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks. Jordan had 18 tackles a week ago at New Hampshire and had 15-stop games at Appalachian State and against Rhode Island.