JMU Trounces Towson 62-7 at Home on Family Weekend

Saturday, October 11

Harrisonburg, Va.

12:30 p.m.

James Madison University

4-3 , 2-2

Towson

2-5 , 0-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Towson

James Madison

10/11/2014 3:51:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison played its most complete game of the season and posted its highest scoring output since 65 against Delaware State in 2005 to defeat the Towson Tigers 62-7 in front of a Family Weekend crowd of 24,113 at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field on Saturday.

Redshirt-junior quarterback Vad Lee (Durham, N.C./Hillside (Georgia Tech) paced the Dukes offense with 255 yards passing on 24 completions in 33 attempts. He also matched his season high in passing touchdowns with three. Sophomore Brandon Ravenel (Stafford, Va./North Stafford) led the receiving corps with career highs of 107 yards and eight receptions (13.4 yards/catch) with a touchdown. Senior DeAndre' Smith (District Heights, Md./Wise) added four catches for 55 yards and connected with Lee for two scores.

JMU (4-3, 2-2 CAA) dominated in nearly every category, leading Towson (2-5, 0-3 CAA) 554-234 in total yards and 31-17 in first downs while also winning the turnover battle with four takeaways compared to none of its own.

The 62 points by the Dukes represented the fourth-best scoring total in the program's Division I history. It was also James Madison's most points ever in a conference game.

Freshman tailback John Miller (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley) led the ground attack for the Dukes, rushing for 74 yards on 11 carries (6.7 yards/rush) and three touchdowns. Sophomore Khalid Abdullah (Newport News, Va./Heritage) and redshirt-senior Jauan Latney (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) added 41 and 38 yards respectively, including a 16-yard touchdown scamper from Abdullah in the third quarter.

Towson quarterback Connor Frazier finished with 108 yards through the air on 17-of-24 passing and 22 yards rushing after carrying the ball a team-high 18 times. Coming into the game, Towson running back Darius Victor ranked second in the CAA in rushing with 647 yards but was limited to 37 yards on 12 carries. He did score Towson's only touchdown of the game, punching it in from the 1-yard line to cap an 11-play, 70-yard drive.

As halftime inched closer, the Dukes defense tightened up and changed the landscape of the game in the span of three plays to grab the momentum heading into halftime. With 3:01 remaining in the first half, senior Brandon Lee (Sterling, Va./Park View) came free and forced a fumble, which was recovered and returned 27 yards for a touchdown by redshirt-sophomore Rhakeem Stallings (Chesapeake, Va./Oscar Smith). The first play following the ensuing kickoff resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown by freshman defensive back Jimmy Moreland (Royal Palm Springs, Fla./Royal Palm Springs), his third interception and second pick-six of the season.

The Dukes' offense played in rhythm all game, scoring on seven drives with all seven in 2:36 or less. A balance in play-calling was found as well, resulting in 37 pass plays for 285 yards and 43 rushes for 268 yards.

The defense found just as much success, led by senior Dean Marlowe (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) with 12 total tackles, including eight solo, and a sack. Overall, the defense amassed six sacks, 11 tackles for loss, one interception and five forced fumbles. A total of 26 players tallied at least one tallied at least one tackle on defense for the Dukes.

In addition to the overall scoring marks, the game represented the most points scored by JMU in the series against Towson, topping the 58-point scoring effort by the Dukes on November 22, 2008 when top-ranked Madison took down the Tigers in the regular-season finale before going into the playoffs as the top seed.

JMU will enjoy a bye week next weekend and will return to the field on Saturday, October 25 on the road at Charlotte. The game is slated for a noon kickoff and can be heard on the JMU/nTelos Wireless Broadcast Network.