JMU Storms Back for 31-24 Win over No. 17 William and Mary

Saturday, November 1

Harrisonburg, Va.

3:30 P.M.

James Madison University

6-3 , 3-2

William & Mary

5-4 , 2-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

William & Mary

James Madison

JMU Storms Back for 31-24 Win over No. 17 William and Mary

11/1/2014 7:23:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison used a nine-yard passing touchdown from redshirt-junior quarterback Vad Lee (Durham, N.C./Hillside/Georgia Tech) to senior wide receiver DeAndre' Smith (District Heights, Md./Wise) to complete a 31-24 comeback football win over No. 17 William & Mary on homecoming Saturday afternoon.

The Dukes improved to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Tribe fell to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The win was JMU's fourth in a row and clinched the program's 12th straight year with a .500 record or better. The Dukes also won for the ninth time in the last 11 meetings in the series.

JMU's game-winning scoring drive lasted 12 plays for 78 yards with two key catches from redshirt-senior wide receiver Daniel Brown (Windsor, Va./Isle of Wight) to convert on third downs, two of Madison's six conversions on the day The drive started when William & Mary kicker Nicholas Dorka, Jr. missed a 38-yard field goal wide left, giving JMU the ball on its own 22-yard line with 4:39 left in the game. The drive of 3:52 was JMU's longest of the day by over a minute.

With 47 seconds on the clock, W&M was able to drive to the 22-yard line. However, a sack from senior defensive lineman Sage Harold (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes/Fork Union) ended the Tribe's comeback attempt as time expired.

Lee paced the Dukes offensively, completing 26 of his 40 throws for 324 yards and three touchdowns. It was the third 300-yard passing game for Lee this season and third straight game with at least three passing touchdowns. The 26 completions were his second-best total of the season.

Brown recorded his first career 100-yard game, catching eight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown.

JMU had 445 yards of total offense with 301 in the second half and 27 total first downs, averaging 5.7 yards per play. The defense, led by redshirt-sophomore linebacker Rhakeem Stallings' (Chesapeake, Va./Oscar Smith) 10 tackles, held William & Mary to 274 total yards. Harold added nine tackles with three sacks.

JMU trailed for most of the contest but pulled to within one point midway through the fourth quarter when Brown made a fingertip catch for a 20-yard touchdown, making the score 24-23 in favor of the visitors.

William & Mary opened the scoring on the first drive of the game with a 23-yard field goal from Dorka. Tight end Andrew Caskin's 39-yard catch from quarterback Steve Cluley got the Tribe to the JMU 6-yard line. A goal-line stand that included a redshirt-freshman defensive lineman Simeyon Robinson (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) quarterback hurry kept William & Mary out of the end zone.

On its second drive of the game, William & Mary turned the ball over when redshirt-senior cornerback Marquis Woodyard (Frederick, Md./Johnson) sacked Cluley on fourth down. Lee found Brown for 42 yards to put the Dukes in position for redshirt-junior kicker Ryan Maglio's (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) 37-yard field goal to tie the game.

The Tribe took a 10-3 lead late in the first quarter when Mikal Abdul-Saboor rushed for a four-yard touchdown. The drive started on the JMU 19 yard line after Dedmon DeVonte returned the kickoff 77 yards.

Freshman cornerback Jimmy Moreland (Royal Palm Beach, Fl./Royal Palm Beach) blocked a Dorka punt at the end of the first quarter for his fourth blocked kick of the season. The Dukes have six blocked kicks as a team this season, the most for a JMU team since 2004.

JMU cut the lead to 10-6 right before halftime. Lee scrambled for 20 yards to the William & Mary 7 with two seconds on the clock, allowing Maglio to kick a 25-yard field goal as time expired.

The game was a defensive battle in the first half, with both teams going 0-7 on third-down conversions.

After going three-and-out on their first possession of the second half, an 80-yard drive by the Dukes was capped off by Lee's 23-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Brandon Ravenel (Stafford, Va./North Stafford) for a touchdown, giving JMU a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter. JMU marched down the field in 10 plays in under three minutes.

The Tribe retook the lead with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter after a drive of 11 plays and 69 yards. Cluley found Dedmon for a 30-yard passing touchdown to put William & Mary on top 17-10.

After forcing JMU to punt on its ensuing possession, the Tribe extended their lead to 24-13 when Kendall Anderson blocked redshirt freshman punter Gunnar Kane's (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) punt, caught it off the punter's foot and returned it for a touchdown.

The Dukes responded on their next possession, marching down the field in 11 plays in two and a half minutes before Maglio hit a 35-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 24-16.

After starting with a combined 0-for-16 on third-down conversations, JMU finished 6-for-16 while W&M went 3-for-13. The Dukes overcome a field position disadvantage with the Tribe averaging its own 43-yard line while the Dukes started at their own 24 on average.

After getting just two field goals on its first eight possessions of the game, JMU responded on its last drives with a touchdown, punt, field goal and a pair of touchdowns.

Madison travels to Stony Brook next Saturday to play the Seawolves at 1 p.m.