JMU Storms Back to Win Thriller in Sun Belt Debut at App State

Saturday, September 24

Boone, N.C.

3:30 P.M.

James Madison University

3-0 , 1-0

App State

2-2 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

James Madison

App State

JMU Storms Back to Win Thriller in Sun Belt Debut at App State

9/24/2022 9:02:00 PM | Football

Box Score

BOONE, N.C. – James Madison found itself down 28-3 before mounting a historic comeback, scoring 29 unanswered points to rally past App State, 32-28, in its Sun Belt Conference football opener on Saturday afternoon in front of 33,248 spectators at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

The Dukes improved to 3-0 and 1-0 in Sun Belt play, while the Mountaineers fell to 2-2 and 1-1. It was JMU's first win in Boone since Sept. 21, 1991, as the Dukes won for the third time in 10 tries at App.

App State put together four consecutive touchdown drives in the second quarter to capture a 25-point lead. After making it a 28-10 score at the half and 28-17 after three, the Dukes owned the fourth.

Todd Centeio put together a five-play, 92-yard drive that was capped off by a 36-yard strike to Terrance Greene Jr. for the touchdown. A Centeio to Kris Thornton two-point conversion made it 28-25 with 11:28 to play.

On the ensuing play Chase Brice was picked off by Jailin Walker, who returned his first career pick down to the nine yard line. Two plays later, Kaelon Black punched it in from two yards out to put JMU back in front, 32-28, with 10:36 to go. JMU forced App into a three-and-out and proceeded to run 13 plays and 7:07 off the clock, giving the Mountaineers just 2:06 to work with for their final possession.

App's last-ditch effort was thwarted by a fourth-down stop after Que Reid made a huge hit on Christian Horn for the incompletion. JMU ran out the final 49 seconds to earn its first Sun Belt win in program history.

Centeio finished 16-of-28 for 204 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 61 yards and a score. Black led the ground game with 85 rushing yards and a touchdown and added a 23-yard touchdown catch for his first multi-score game.

Eight Dukes had at least one catch, led by Reggie Brown, who caught four passes for a career-high 81 yards. Greene Jr. also had 46 receiving yards and the fourth-quarter score.

App State was led by Chase Brice, who was 17-of-28 for 235 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Kaedin Robinson made five catches for 57 yards, while Dashaun Davis had three grabs also for 57 yards. Dalton Stroman and Miller Gibbs each caught touchdowns. Ahmani Marshal finished the game with 40 rushing yards, as App was limited to just 63 as a team and 1.9 per carry.

HOW IT HAPPENED

JMU opened the game with nearly a seven-minute drive, as Camden Wise booted home a 27-yard field goal for his first career make to give the Dukes the 3-0 lead in the first.
App State punched it in the end zone on four straight drives during the second quarter, with two coming off JMU turnovers deep in its own territory.
Touchdowns by Cameron Peoples, Gibbs, Stroman and Nate Noel put the Mountaineers up 28-3 with 6:10 to play before the break.
After converting a fourth down, Black took a swing pass from Centeio 23 yards to the house for JMU's first touchdown in a Sun Belt game to make it 28-10 at the break.
JMU held App State off the board in the third and cut into the lead, as Centeio converted a fourth-down conversion and punched it in from two yards on the ensuing play to make it 28-17 heading to the fourth.
Centeio needed just five plays to go 92 yards, as he connected with Greene Jr. on a 36-yard touchdown and Thornton's two-pointer trimmed the deficit to 28-25.
Walker picked off Brice on App's next play and Black flew into the end zone two plays later, giving JMU the 32-28 lead with 10:36 to go.
App State got a stop on defense late but was stalled on fourth down with 49 seconds left.

GAME NOTES

JMU outgained App State, 376-298, which included an impressive 172-63 lead in the run game. The Mountaineers held a 186-183 yards advantage at halftime.
The Dukes held App State to just 4-of-12 on third down, as the hosts went 2-of-8 in the second half. JMU struggled as well at 2-for-14.
JMU was also 3-for-6 on fourth down, as opposed to App's 0-for-2.
Each team turned the ball over twice, as JMU had a pair of fumbles and App had a fumble and interception.
JMU held a time of possession lead, at 33:28 to 26:32. That included having possession for 10:29 in the fourth alone.
Defensively, Jamare Edwards had a career-high eight tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Three Dukes also put in seven tackles in Sam Kidd, Taurus Jones and James Carpenter, who finished with 1.5 TFL and a sack.
Walker added four stops with his interception, and Mikail Kamara had a strip sack, allowing for Isaac Ukwu's fumble recovery.
JMU's 28-3 deficit matched the largest since Nov. 3, 2018, when New Hampshire opened the game up 28-3 in Durham, N.H.
JMU's first-quarter field goal marked the first made kick not by NCAA all-time scoring and field goals leader Ethan Ratke since Nov. 17, 2018, spanning 41 games.
The 33,248 attendance was sixth-largest in Kidd Brewer Stadium history and highest attended JMU-App State game.

UP NEXT
JMU returns home on Saturday, Oct. 1 to host Texas State on Family Weekend. Kickoff is set for a 1:30 p.m. start at Bridgeforth Stadium and will be streamed on ESPN+.