#2 James Madison Returns to Frisco with 30-14 Victory Over #3 Weber State

Saturday, December 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

6:30 p.m.

James Madison University

14-1

Weber State

11-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Weber State

James Madison

#2 James Madison Returns to Frisco with 30-14 Victory Over #3 Weber State

12/21/2019 10:02:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison quarterback Ben DiNucci accounted for 317 yards of total offense and connected nine times with wide receiver Riley Stapleton for 162 yards and two touchdowns, leading the second-ranked Dukes to a 30-14 victory over #3 Weber State in the FCS semifinals on Saturday night at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The Dukes improved to 14-1 and are heading to their third national championship in four years and fourth title-game appearance overall. The Wildcats, making their first semifinal appearance, saw their season end at 11-4.

DiNucci was 19-of-26 for 255 yards and two scores while leading the ground game with 62 rushing yards and a score. Riley Stapleton turned in his best outing of the season, making nine catches for 162 yards, the second most of his career, while hauling in both touchdown passes for his third multi-touchdown game of the season.

Receiver Brandon Polk also made five catches for 52 yards, and tight end Dylan Stapleton added four grabs for 31 yards.

In addition to DiNucci, running back Latrele Palmer made his return, running for 53 yards. Jawon Hamilton rushed for 50 yards, and Percy Agyei-Obese added 45, as the Dukes accumulated 212 rushing yards.

JMU out-gained Weber State 467-256, which included holding the visitors to just 70 yards rushing.

The Dukes had balanced production defensively, as six players recorded four or more tackles. Cornerback Rashad Robinson had five tackles and two pass breakups, and linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey also had five. Defensive lineman Adeeb Atariwa had 1.5 tackles for loss and a blocked field goal, and both safety D'Angelo Amos and linebacker Wayne Davis made four stops with a tackle for loss.

JMU led wire-to-wire, scoring the game's first 17 points and leading by as many as 23 in the second half.

KEY MOMENTS
After a game-opening field goal by Ethan Ratke, DiNucci connected on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Riley Stapleton for a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter. After a DiNucci touchdown scamper early in the second to make it 17-0, Weber answered with a touchdown drive to make it 17-7. On the final play of the half, DiNucci fired a 34-yard pass to Riley Stapleton for the touchdown, making it 24-7.

Ratke added a pair of second-half field goals to make it 30-7 before a late Weber touchdown completed the game's scoring.

GAME FACTS
» JMU outgained Weber State by over 200 yards (467-256), accumulating more than 130 yards more than Weber's average total defense.
» JMU converted 7-of-18 third downs while Weber State was successful on 2-of-10.
» Ratke connected on three field goals to set the Colonial Athletic Association single-season field goals record, with (25).
» JMU went 4-for-4 on fourth down, improving to 14-of-16 on the year.
» JMU won the time of possession battle 38:56 to 21:04.
» DiNucci completed 73.1% of his passes on the day, marking the ninth game this season he's completed over 70% in a single game.
» For Weber State, Jake Constantine completed 16-of-31 attempts for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Ty Macpherson had five catches for 83 yards and a score. Josh Davis led the ground attack with 61 yards.

DUKES BACK IN THE TITLE GAME
» JMU is making its fourth national-title game appearance in school history (2004, 2016, 2017, 2019).
» It improved to 4-1 all-time in national semifinal games with the win over Weber State.
» The Dukes are 2-1 in championship games, winning in 2004 and 2016.
» It is the third national-title appearance in four seasons for the Dukes.
» This marks the 13th time the CAA will be represented in the title game, as the league has gone 6-6 in the championship.

FINAL GAME AT BRIDGEFORTH FOR THE SENIORS
JMU's senior class played their final game at Bridgeforth Stadium, extending the team's win streak to 14 games this year. Over the past four years, JMU has gone 31-1 in Harrisonburg, including 9-0 in the FCS postseason.

UP NEXT
JMU advances to the 2020 NCAA Division I championship game on Saturday, Jan. 11 when it faces top-seeded North Dakota State (15-0). Kickoff is set for noon (11 a.m. CT) at Toyota Stadium and the game will be broadcasted nationally on ABC.

This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.