No. 4 Dukes Fall to No. 11 Richmond in 59-49 Shootout

Saturday, October 24

Harrisonburg, Va.

3:30 p.m.

James Madison University

7-1 , 4-1

Richmond

6-1 , 4-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Richmond	7	21	14	17	59
James Madison	14	14	7	14	49

Photo Gallery Highlights Players Postgame Withers Postgame

10/24/2015 8:33:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - No. 11 Richmond tallied three consecutive touchdowns spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a two-score lead and withstood No. 4 James Madison's late push as the visitors claimed a 59-49 Colonial Athletic Association football shootout on Saturday evening at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.

Richmond, now 6-1 (4-0 CAA) after the win, scored 31 points after halftime to pull ahead of the Dukes, who fell to 7-1 (4-1 CAA) with the loss. A Homecoming crowd of 26,069 fans established a new Bridgeforth Stadium record attendance.

It was the most points in the UR-JMU series and also a record for combined points (108), breaking the previous record of 101 set back in 1992 in a JMU at Youngstown State matchup (W, 52-49).

The two teams combined for 1,305 yards of total offense, including 782 yards through the air. After a wide-open first half that saw the teams go into the break tied at 28-28, Richmond scored on all five of its second-half drives to keep the potent JMU offense at bay.

Redshirt senior quarterback Vad Lee racked up 418 yards of total offense, passing for 294 yard and two scores and running for 124 yards and a career-high three rushing touchdowns, in another stellar performance before being forced out of the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. Lee's second touchdown pass of the evening was the 51st of his career, tying him with Justin Rascati for the most in program history.

Sophomore quarterback Bryan Schor stepped in admirably, completing 4-of-6 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 18 yards and a score, including a powerful 12-yard run on 4th-and-2 that allowed the Dukes to cut Richmond's lead to 49-42. It was the first two touchdowns of his career.

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ishmael Hyman notched his first career 100-yard performance, catching six balls for 101 yards. Junior wide receiver Rashard Davis grabbed four catches of his own, racking up 91 yards and a pair of scores, including a 71-yard strike late in the second quarter that put the Dukes on top, 28-25.

Defensively, redshirt junior linebacker Gage Steele led the way, tallying 12 tackles and four solo stops. Junior safety Raven Greene posted his second 10-tackle game in three weeks on the evening, racking up 11 tackles (five solo) and a pass breakup.

Richmond's Jacobi Green carried the ball 27 times for 236 yards and five scores, both career highs. Quarterback Kyle Lauletta passes for 415 yards and two touchdowns, including 204 yards to receiver Brian Brown.

QUOTING COACH WITHERS:
"That is a very talented football team and they just beat us on the line of scrimmage tonight. We've always been able to come back at halftime and kind of adjust and play well; we just didn't do that tonight."

PLAY OF THE GAME:

Senior quarterback Vad Lee found junior wide receiver Rashard Davis with this perfect 71-yard touchdown pass to give JMU a 28-25 lead just before halftime.

COMPLETE HIGHLIGHTS

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK:
Senior quarterback Vad Lee continued his march up the JMU record books as he tied the career passing touchdown record. After Saturday's performance, he ranks in the top four in five career categories at JMU:
Passing Touchdowns: t-1st, 51 (t-1st: Justin Rascati, 51)
Total Offense: 2nd, 7,292 (1st: Eriq Williams, 7,678)
Passing Yards: 3rd, 5,652 (2nd: Justin Rascati, 5,912)
Passing Completions: 3rd, 446 (2nd: Mike Cawley, 479)
Passing Attempts: 4th, 705 (3rd: Justin Rascati, 728)

TWEET OF THE GAME:

@JMUFootball the best @CollegeGameDay crowd EVER! Thank you!
— Desmond Howard (@DesmondHoward) October 24, 2015

CAA STATUS:
With the loss, JMU drops to second in the conference standings, behind Richmond. The Spiders are the only undefeated team in CAA play, though three other teams--William & Mary, Maine and Villanova--have just one loss.

NEXT UP:
The Dukes will hit the road next week, traveling east to Williamsburg, Va., to face William & Mary at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Tribe is 5-2 (3-1 CAA) after beating Hampton in Williamsburg this Saturday, 40-7.