Dukes Power Past North Dakota, 34-21, for FCS Quarterfinal Triumph

Sunday, May 2

Harrisonburg, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

7-0

North Dakota

5-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

North Dakota

James Madison

Dukes Power Past North Dakota, 34-21, for FCS Quarterfinal Triumph

5/2/2021 11:54:00 PM | Football

Box Score Press Conference

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Behind a strong day both in the passing game and rushing attack, #1 James Madison pulled away in the second half for a 34-21 victory against #7 North Dakota on Saturday night in the FCS quarterfinals at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The third-seeded Dukes improved to 7-0 on the year and advance to next week's national semifinal against No. 2 seed Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas. The Fighting Hawks saw their season end with a 5-2 overall mark.

The Dukes piled up 468 yards of total offense, with 251 through the air and another 217 on the ground.

Cole Johnson was 14-of-17 for a season-best 251 yards and two touchdowns, as he connected twice with receiver Antwane Wells Jr., who had yet another career outing in the postseason.

Wells Jr. finished with career highs of seven receptions for 143 yards to register his first career two-score game. His receiving yards was the fourth-most by a JMU player in postseason history. Kris Thornton also made four catches for 78 yards.

JMU had plenty of contributions in the run game, led by Percy Agyei-Obese, who ran for 128 yards and two scores for his fourth 100-yard game of the season. Latrele Palmer had 40 yards and Jawon Hamilton added 32.

Defensively, MJ Hampton had a career-high 10 tackles, 1.5 for loss and a forced fumble, and Kelvin Azanama tallied nine stops with a half sack and his first career interception. Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey made eight tackles, Que Reid had six tackles while Mike Greene had 1.5 tackles for a loss and a half sack. Wesley McCormick also registered his third interception of the year.

KEY MOMENTS
An opening-drive interception by Azanama set up Ethan Ratke's first of two field goals, as he drilled a season-long 43-yard kick to give JMU an early 3-0 lead. After another stop, JMU marched 80 yards on 13 plays, capped off by an Agyei-Obese three-yard touchdown to make it 10-0 after the first.

UND got on the board with a Quincy Vaughan touchdown run, but JMU quickly answered with Agyei-Obese's second score just three minutes later to make it 17-7. The Fighting Hawks drew within 17-14 with 1:40 left in the half on an Otis Weah touchdown, before Johnson connected on a 46-yard pass play to Thornton, setting up Ratke's 32-yard field goal to give JMU a 20-14 halftime lead.

Late third quarter and early into the fourth was the Johnson and Wells Jr. show, as the two hooked up on a 19-yard touchdown with 2:21 left in the third to make it 27-14. On their ensuing offensive drive, the duo connected again for a touchdown, this time on a 63-yard pass with 10:06 to play to put the game out of reach.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

JMU out-gained North Dakota by a 468-334 margin, including a 217-121 lead in rushing.
The Dukes won the turnover battle for the second straight playoff game, with two interceptions as opposed to a fumble lost.
JMU was 8-for-16 on third down, while limiting UND to just 4-for-10. The Dukes also went 3-for-3 on fourth down.
The Dukes dominated time of possession, 356:52 to 21:38.
JMU was 5 of 6 in the red zone with the lone non-score coming on a kneel down in the closing seconds.
JMU had just three penalties, while UND had four.
Johnson averaged a solid 17.9 yards per completion and 13.2 yards per attempt.
JMU had two passes over 40 yards and a pair of 20+ yard rushes.
UND was led by Weah, who ran for 96 yards and a touchdown. Tommy Schuster threw for 213 yards with a pair of picks, and Garett Maag had six grabs for 87 yards.
Ratke became the sixth player in FCS history to reach 70 career field goals, as he currently ranks tied for fourth and is five shy of tying the all-time record. He's also sixth with 383 career points by a kicker and 25th in career scoring by any player.

UP NEXT
JMU hits the road for the national semifinals to face Sam Houston on Saturday, May 8 in Huntsville, Texas. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. CT) on ABC.