From Fumble-Rooskie to "No Flags" - The JMU-Delaware Rivalry

JMU's Arthur Moats sacks Delaware's Joe Flacco - both now in the NFL

From Fumble-Rooskie to "No Flags" - The JMU-Delaware Rivalry

9/23/2014 9:24:00 AM | Football

JMU hosts CAA rival Delaware at home Saturday for the first time since 2010

By: by Gary Michael, JMU SID Emeritus

*Note: Be sure to visit Facebook.com/JMUSports all week for video highlights of key plays in the rivalry series. Tickets for Saturday's 4 p.m. game are available at JMUSports.com/tickets. Pictured above: Rivals in college and now in the NFL, Steelers LB Arthur Moats sacks current Ravens QB Joe Flacco in a 2006 conference matchup at Delaware.

JMU Vs. Delaware Football Series

More often than not when the James Madison and Delaware football programs have met, there have been national implications at the Division I-AA/Football Championship Subdivision level. Expect intense and good football and large crowds. Rarely are the matchups lacking in excitement.

The teams have played 21 times – 18 as conference foes beginning in 1993 – and typically at least one has been among the national elite. Frequently both have been among the nation's top 25 teams, and often at least one has gone on to assume a major role in postseason play.

Delaware won the 2003 NCAA then-Division I-AA national championship, and JMU followed the next season with a national title of its own. Delaware has made 13 playoff appearances and JMU 10 since the teams began meeting, and the Blue Hens and Dukes annually perform before the best crowds in what is now the Colonial Athletic Association Football Conference.
Put simply, in CAA Football, it doesn't get much better than JMU and Delaware. And when the two have banged heads on the gridiron, numerous memorable moments have been produced.

Series Overview

Delaware has a 13-8 lead in a series that started in 1983 and has been contested regularly since JMU began competing in the then-Yankee Football Conference. Since starting to meet as league foes in 1993, the teams have played every season except for 2003, 2011 and 2012 when conference rotating scheduling formats did not call for them to meet.

Delaware has an 8-3 lead in games at home, including beating JMU 29-22 last season in Newark. JMU's wins at Delaware were 42-35 in double overtime in the first round of the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, 30-10 during an NCAA playoff season in 1994, and 20-8 during the 2009 season.

JMU's win at Delaware during the 1991 NCAA playoffs was the Dukes' first postseason victory. JMU was an at-large playoff entry, and Delaware represented the Yankee Conference (which later became Atlantic 10 Football and CAA Football). JMU had been accepted for Yankee membership but did not begin playing a conference schedule until 1993.

JMU won (42-38) at home in 1993 when Delaware was undefeated and ranked second nationally and during playoff seasons in 1999 (21-7), 2004 (20-13), 2006 (44-24) and 2008 (41-7).

Early Meetings

JMU and Delaware first played in 1983 at JMU with Challace McMillin coaching the Dukes during their fourth NCAA Division I-AA season. Delaware won 26-23 that season and 32-3 in 1984 in the first meeting on its home field. JMU was a football independent during both seasons.

Delaware in 1983 was coming off a 1982 season during which it reached the NCAA championship game. Like JMU, the Blue Hens recently had begun competing in Division I-AA after being a NCAA Division II national power throughout the 1970s under long-time coach Harold "Tubby" Raymond (1966-2001).

Playoff Success

In 1991, JMU was the East Region's No. 4 seed after going 8-3 under first-year coach Rip Scherer and was sent to Delaware, the region's top seed, for the playoffs' first round. In today's terms, what followed was an "instant classic" with the Dukes winning the first overtime game in their history.

Kenny Sims scored three JMU touchdowns, including the ultimate game-winner from 25 yards on the opening play of the second extra period, and he ran for 153 yards and quarterback Eriq Williams for 118 for the Dukes. JMU's J.C. Hall recovered a second-quarter on-sides kick and blocked a 33-yard Delaware field goal attempt during the first overtime. JMU also got a nine-yard "Fumble-rooskie" touchdown run from 300-pound offensive lineman Chris Thurman during the last season the deceptive play was allowed by the NCAA.

Delaware rallied from deficits of 21-7 at halftime and 28-14 and 35-21 to tie the score at 35 with 5:14 to play. The Blue Hens fumbled at the JMU 35 with 2:01 remaining and missed on a 55-yard field try at the end of regulation, and JMU squandered a chance to end the game during the second series of the initial overtime when Sims fumbled inside the five.

Samford edged JMU 24-21 in the playoffs' second round when a late game-tying field goal try by the Dukes was ruled wide.

Yankee Conference Seasons

The teams met each season they competed together as Yankee Conference members (1993-96) with JMU winning the first two games and Delaware the next two.

In 1993, Delaware was 4-0 and ranked second nationally when it came to Harrisonburg for the Dukes' homecoming contest. What the Blue Hens ran into was the emergence of Mike Cawley as one of the top performers in JMU history.

After transferring from Syracuse and being hampered by a preseason injury, Cawley started slowly for the 1993 Dukes, and Scherer considered a change at the starting quarterback position for the game. He didn't make the move, and Cawley's effort solidified him in the position for the remainder of a career that saw him throw for 6,482 yards and 42 touchdowns, run for 22 scores and lead JMU to playoff bids the next two seasons.

During the 1993 game, Cawley had touchdown runs of 37, 10 and three yards and a scoring pass of 53 yards while rushing for 107 yards and throwing for 201 overall. JMU led 13-0 after one quarter and 28-14 at halftime but fell behind 38-35 with 9:53 remaining. Cawley's three-yard touchdown run with 0:12 left capped a 39-yard drive and gave JMU the win.

In 1994, JMU lost its league opener at New Hampshire but ended a 16-game Boston University regular-season winning streak the next week on the road and won at Delaware 30-10 in its third Yankee game. Cawley completed 16 of 22 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score, and JMU led 24-7 at halftime. The 1994 Dukes reached the second round of NCAA play and were eliminated 28-21 in overtime at Marshall. They finished 10-3.

In 1995, seventh-ranked Delaware had three 100-yard rushers and nearly a fourth and compiled 520 rushing yards in winning 48-19 at JMU. Delaware finished the season 11-2 and played two NCAA games. JMU, which was 6-1 before the Delaware game, finished 8-4 and received a postseason bid.

In 1996, JMU was 6-1 again before falling 27-13 at Delaware, which was again ranked seventh nationally when facing the Dukes. Leo Hamlett threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Delaware while JMU placekicker John Coursey (1993-96) during the game became the Dukes' all-time scoring leader. He finished his JMU career with 220 points.

Early Atlantic 10 Years

The Atlantic 10 Conference for the 1997 season assumed operations of the Yankee Football Conference, which had been formed before the 1947 season. The relationship with the Atlantic 10 continued through the 2006 season, and the conference won three national titles and had another title game appearance before the CAA took over league operations in 2007.

In 1997, Delaware had its second straight big game at JMU, winning 49-27. The Blue Hens trailed 24-21 before scoring on drives of 83, 84, 51 and 65 yards the first four times they had the ball during the second half. Delvin Joyce, a 2014 JMU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, had 265 combined rushing-receiving-return yards and a 59-yard pass completion before leaving the game with an ankle injury.

In 1998, the Dukes and Blue Hens closed the season at Delaware with the hosts winning 28-14. A blocked punt set up a short Delaware scoring drive that put the Hens in front to stay 14-7, and they overcame a 38-carry, 155-yard rushing effort by JMU tailback Curtis Keaton. Keaton finished the year with 1,064 rushing yards, the then-fifth-best season mark for a JMU player.

In 1999, Mickey Matthews' first season in Harrisonburg saw JMU return to the winning side of the series. The Dukes' 21-7 home victory was their third straight win after a season-opening loss to eventual NCAA Division I-A runner-up and Michael Vick-led Virginia Tech, and they went on to finish the regular season with an 8-3 record, tying for the Atlantic 10 title and receiving the league's automatic playoff bid. Seventh-ranked Delaware ran 96 plays, had 352 yards of total offense and had 28 first downs to JMU's eight, but JMU forced four turnovers and allowed the Blue Hens to start only four of their 14 drives beyond their 23-yard line. Mark Coates had JMU's key defensive play late in the first quarter with Delaware facing fourth and goal at the JMU one after having first and goal at the three. Coates tipped an option pitch from Delaware quarterback Matt Nagy, picked the ball up and scored on a 94-yard return. JMU also scored on a 46-yard Charles Berry-to-Earnest Payton pass and on a 23-yard Curtis Keaton run.

In 2000, Delaware won 33-14 at home behind a 232-yard, three-touchdown passing effort by Nagy. After trailing 17-0, JMU got an apparent game-tying touchdown (20-20) on an 88-yard Joyce punt return, but the play was nullified by a holding call. Nagy became Delaware's all-time passing yards leader, and Chris Morant (1998-2000) broke Woody Bergeria's (1974-77) JMU career quarterback sacks record of 28 during the game.

In 2001, Delaware spoiled JMU's homecoming, beating the Dukes 28-3. The Blue Hens scored on two of their first three possessions and used interceptions to set up two short second-half scoring marches. JMU threw six interceptions and had the ball for only 23:30 of the game's 60 minutes.

In 2002, Delaware expanded a two-point halftime lead to 23-7 with two touchdowns during a 34-span of the third period and beat JMU 23-10 in Newark. JMU led 7-6 on a six-yard Matt LeZotte-to-Alan Harrison touchdown pass early during the second quarter and failed to score after recovering a bad Delaware punt snap at the Blue Hens' 10 with 1:12 left in the first half.

National Contenders Battle In 2004

After the teams didn't meet during Delaware's national championship season of 2003, they renewed acquaintances at JMU in 2004 in possibly the series' most-meaningful game. JMU won 20-13, creating a three-way tie in the Atlantic 10 South with JMU, Delaware and William & Mary finishing the regular season 7-1 in the league. JMU, William & Mary and Atlantic 10 North winner New Hampshire were 9-2 and Delaware 8-3 overall, all with losses to Division I-A opponents.

A Delaware win at JMU may have given the Blue Hens a top-four national seed with what would have been an unblemished league record and would have pushed JMU to no better than fourth among conference teams and very possibly out of the 16-team playoff picture. As things turned out, the Atlantic 10's top four teams received NCAA bids (an unlikely event in Division I-AA at the time), all four won first-round playoff games, and JMU and William & Mary played in the national semifinals before JMU won the NCAA crown.

Delaware won the statistical battle and JMU the battle of big plays and the scoreboard in the teams' Nov. 6 meeting at Bridgeforth Stadium. Cortez Thompson returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown with "no flags" with 3:04 to play, and JMU's defense stopped a drive at its three during the final minute as the seventh-ranked Dukes defeated sixth-ranked Delaware.

Thompson's return, which matched the second-longest punt return in team history and is known in JMU national championship lore simply as "The Return," gave JMU its final margin, but Delaware came back to move from its 27 to a first down at the Dukes' three-yard line in 11 plays. However, the defending Division I-AA national champions, after intentionally stopping the clock with 0:51 left on first down, threw three more incomplete passes as JMU held on for its sixth straight victory.

The game matched teams ranked in the top 10 for the first time at JMU since 1995, and the Dukes used several key special teams plays in addition to Thompson's return, and a bend-but-don't-break defense. JMU set up its first touchdown with a blocked punt by Akeem Jordan; Rodney McCarter blocked a field goal try that could have given Delaware the lead with 5:12 left; and JMU's defenders limited the Hens to one touchdown despite allowing 466 total yards. Delaware during the fourth quarter ran 37 plays to JMU's six but didn't score during the period. The Dukes intercepted three passes and had returns to the Delaware 10- and six-yard lines.

JMU scored first when Justin Rascati hit Ardon Bransford on an 18-yard pass three plays after getting the ball on the Delaware 19 after Jordan's punt block. JMU missed on the conversion try and failed to hit on a 20-yard field goal try early in the second quarter after Thompson returned an interception 33 yards to the Delaware 10.

Delaware followed with a seven-play, 80-yard drive to go up 7-6 with 9:40 left in the half on a six-yard pass Sonny Riccio-to-Justin Long pass. Riccio's 47-yard pass to David Boler to the JMU 10 to set up the score.

The Hens got possession on a six-yard Garron Bible interception return to the JMU four on the first series of the second half and ran their lead to 10-6 on a 20-yard Brad Shushman field goal. Bible grabbed the short pass after Rascati was hit by a Delaware defender while throwing.

Trey Townsend set up a touchdown that gave JMU a 13-10 lead with a 67-yard interception return to the Delaware six. Raymond Hines put JMU up with a two-yard run at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter.

Delaware pulled into a 13-13 tie on a 20-yard Shushman field goal on its next series. The Hens moved from their 37 to a first down at the JMU five in eight plays.

Most-Recent History

In 2005, Omar Cuff ran 39 times for 236 yards and four touchdowns to lead Delaware to a 34-28 home win. He scored twice on runs of one yard during the first half and on a one-yard carry during the third period before sprinting for a 60-yard score to give the Blue Hens a 34-21 lead with 2:45 to play. JMU pulled to within 28-21 on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Justin Rascati to L.C. Baker with 6:15 left and forced Delaware into a third-down-and-four situation from its 40 when Cuff had his 60-yard scoring burst.

JMU had allowed only one run of 20 yards previously in 2005, but Cuff also had a run of 48 yards. His 236 yards were the second-most a foe had had against JMU.

In 2006, JMU had its biggest series scoring output, beating Delaware 44-24 at home as Justin Rascati threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns, and the Dukes posted three scoring plays of 50 yards or longer. Rascati hit on 14 of 20 passes and ran for 79 yards. He had touchdown passes of 16, 70 and 14 yards.

Rascati hit D.D. Boxley on a 70-yard scoring pass on the first play of the final half to give the Dukes a 27-7 lead, and JMU got scoring runs of 50 and 80 yards from Eugene Holloman, who finished with 171 yards. Playing before the then-third-largest crowd in stadium history (16,144) and a regional television audience, JMU had 542 yards, didn't have a turnover, and held Delaware to 20 rushing yards.

In 2007, Delaware scored 17 points after JMU turnovers and won 37-34 at home. The Hens got 10 first-quarter points after fumble recoveries and a third-quarter score after an interception return to the JMU seven. Delaware also recovered a late fumble at its 31 with JMU moving for a potential game-changing score.

Antoinne Bolton ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns and Griff Yancey for 171 yards and two scores for the Dukes. JMU took its only lead on two long, third-period runs. Yancey scored from 86 yards to get the Dukes to within 16-13 at 12:01 and Bolton from 48 yards at 8:54 for a 20-16 edge. Future Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 257 yards for Delaware.

In 2008, Rodney Landers ran for 185 yards and two scores as JMU won 41-7 on its homecoming. The Dukes dominated with 22 first downs to 10 for Delaware and ran 77 plays for 385 yards to Delaware's 43 plays for 169 yards. JMU led possession time 39:58 to 21:02.

After leading 14-0 at halftime, JMU broke the game open with 20 third-quarter points, highlighted by two long drives. The Dukes opened the half with a 13-play, 72-yard drive in 6:37, capped by a four-yard run by Eugene Holloman. JMU forced Delaware three and out and went on a nine-play, 85-yard drive in 3:44 with a 35-yard scoring run by Landers. After another three and out by the Blue Hens, JMU's Scotty McGee returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown, his third 2008 punt return for a score.

In 2009, Justin Thorpe ran for one touchdown and threw for another to lead JMU to a 20-8 win in Delaware's homecoming game. Thorpe ran 12 yards for JMU's first touchdown and hit Charlie Newman on a seven-yard scoring play for the Dukes' second touchdown. He threw for 262 yards, and JMU compiled 386 yards of total offense in winning at Delaware for the first time since 1994.

JMU trailed 3-0 at halftime but scored on three of its first four possessions of the final half. The Dukes drove 75 yards on their first series of the third quarter to lead 7-3, went 66 yards on their third series of the half to lead 13-6 and drove 83 yards for a third score. JMU during the second half compiled 287 yards, including 229 passing. The Dukes limited Delaware to 107 yards after halftime and to 224 yards overall after the Blue Hens entered the game averaging 30.9 points, 364.9 yards of total offense and 125.4 rushing yards per game.

In 2010, fifth-ranked Delaware won at third-ranked JMU for the first time since 2001, posting a 13-10 decision as Mike Perry kicked a 28-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. The Blue Hens drove 80 yards in 14 plays after getting possession for the final time with 6:45 remaining to hand Madison a loss just two weeks after defeating Virginia Tech 21-16.

Trevor Sasek completed 13 of 21 passes for 124 yards while playing in place of starter Pat Devlin, who was knocked out of the game on the Blue Hens second play from scrimmage. The Dukes outgained the Blue Hens 283-206 but were hampered by 10 penalties for 81 yards, including several that negated lengthy returns in the kicking game. JMU led 10-7 at halftime but gained only 69 yards on 19 second-half plays.

In 2013, after a two-season scheduling break, Delaware rallied from a 19-7 third-quarter deficit to beat JMU 29-22 in Newark. The Blue Hens scored twice on drives that started inside JMU's 15-yard line, once after a long kick return and another after a blocked punt. JMU tied the game at 22-22 on a field goal in its next possession, but Delaware followed with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive for the game's final points.

A four-yard Trent Hurley-to-Nick Broyles touchdown pass provided Delaware's decisive points with 6:40 to play while JMU got field goals of 42, 31, and 28 yards from Connor Arnone and a 37-yard Michael Birdsong-to-Deane Cheatham touchdown pass.

Series Results

Year	Location	JMU W/L	Score
1983	Harrisonburg	L	23-26
1984	Newark	L	3-32
1991	Newark	W	42-35, 2 ot
1993	Harrisonburg	W	42-38
1994	Newark	W	30-10
1995	Harrisonburg	L	19-48
1996	Newark	L	13-17
1997	Harrisonburg	L	27-49
1998	Newark	L	14-28
1999	Harrisonburg	W	21-7
2000	Newark	L	14-33
2001	Harrisonburg	L	3-28
2002	Newark	L	10-23
2004	Harrisonburg	W	20-13
2005	Newark	L	28-34
2006	Harrisonburg	W	44-24
2007	Newark	L	34-37
2008	Harrisonburg	W	41-7
2009	Newark	W	20-8
2010	Harrisonburg	L	10-13
2013	Newark	L	22-29