JMU Wins Big on the Road, Downs #9 Weber State, 37-24

Saturday, September 18

Ogden, Utah

8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT)

James Madison University

3-0 , 1-0

Weber State

1-2 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

James Madison

Weber State

9/18/2021 11:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 18, 2021

JMU Wins Big on the Road, Downs #9 Weber State, 37-24

OGDEN, Utah – Cole Johnson produced three total touchdowns and #3 James Madison used timely defensive plays en route to a 37-24 triumph at #9 Weber State on Saturday night in front of 11,222 fans at Stewart Stadium.

The Dukes improved to 3-0 on the year while the Wildcats fell to 1-2. JMU also improved to 3-0 all-time against Weber, capturing the program's first road win at a Big Sky Conference foe.

Johnson was 20-of-28 for 177 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for one more. Antwane Wells Jr. scored a pair of second-half touchdowns, as he corralled eight receptions for 76 yards. Kris Thornton was efficient, especially on third down, tallying eight catches for 57 yards.

JMU's rushing attack heated up in the second half, led by Latrele Palmer's 80 yards with a long of 46. Austin Douglas contributed a career-long 45-yard run and finished with 49 yards, while Lorenzo Bryant Jr. added 32.

Ethan Ratke drilled three field goals, setting the FCS all-time field goals record with his 76th-career make on a 44-yarder six minutes into the first quarter. He later added his 77th in the third and 78th in the fourth.

Defensively, Kelvin Azanama finished with 10 tackles and one for loss. Isaac Ukwu was a force up front with 2.0 TFLs and a sack. Bryce Carter and Mike Greene each had 1.5 tackles for loss, as Carter made seven total stops. Chris Chukwuneke and Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey also produced seven tackles.

Leading 10-3, Josh Sarratt made a game-changing play, as he picked up a fumble by the Weber quarterback and returned it 88 yards for his first JMU touchdown to put the Dukes up 17-3 with 6:38 left in the half.

After Douglas' 45-yard run in the first minute of the third, Johnson connected with Wells on his first of two touchdown tosses on a five-yard pass. Weber trimmed the lead to 24-10, but the Dukes answered with Ratke's second kick and another Johnson-to-Wells touchdown, making it 34-10 with 14:13 to play. Ratke tacked on his third field goal to extend the lead to 37-10, and WSU added a pair of touchdowns late to complete the scoring.

GAME FACTS

It was JMU's largest margin of victory against Weber in the three-game series.
JMU out-gained WSU 359-326 in total offense, which included a wide margin in the run game, at 182-92.
The Dukes had a +2 turnover margin, with Sarratt's scoop-and-score and Greg Ross' third career interception.
JMU was 5-of-13 on third down while limiting Weber State to 4-of-13. JMU was also 1-for-1 on fourth, and the Wildcats were 3-for-4.
Ratke set the all-time field goals record after making at least one field goal in now 24 straight games.

UP NEXT
JMU is on a bye next week and returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 2 at New Hampshire in a 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Wildcat Stadium.