HARRISONBURG, VA. - Fueled by a 21-point second quarter, No. 8 James Madison rolled past Coastal Carolina 45-10, here Saturday evening, under the lights at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field, Sept. 22. With the loss, the Chanticleers fall to 1-3, while the Dukes improve to 3-1 on the season. CCU was outgained 395-178 in total yards.
Redshirt junior quarterback William Richardson went 15-for-25 with a touchdown. Senior Jerome Simpson caught four passes for 39 yards, including a six-yard touchdown. Redshirt junior Jamie Fordham led the Chant rushing attack with 54 yards.
JMU quarterback Rodney Landers completed 9-of-13 passes for 163 yards, while adding 129 yards rushing. He accounted for two Duke touchdowns, one rushing and one through the air. Jamal Sullivan and Scott Noble each ran for two touchdowns, while L.C. Baker grabbed four balls for 97 yards and a touchdown. JMU racked up 232 yards on the ground to the Chants 47.
Redshirt junior Mario Norman led the CCU defense with career-best 11 tackles, while redshirt junior Chase Howe added a career-high seven with 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Aurthur Moats anchored the JMU defense with 1.5 sacks.
The Dukes jumped out to an early 7-0 advantage less than five minutes into the contest after a 35-yard pass from Landers to Baker on the second play of a 15-second drive. Baker setup the score with a 43-yard return after a CCU punt to get the ball at Coastal's 35.
JMU's second score came off a 12-play, 74-yard drive, capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by Sullivan with 13 minutes to go in the second quarter. Dave Stannard connected on the PAT to move the score to 14-0 early in the second quarter.
A one-yard touchdown run by Landers at the 7:03 mark in the second, followed by Sullivan's second touchdown of the contest, a four-yarder with 1:22 remaining and two successful PATs accounted for the Dukes' 28-0 halftime advantage.
The Chants found the end zone for the first time after taking the opening drive of the second half 69 yards on 12 plays over 5:29. Richardson found Simpson for a six-yard scoring strike, Simpson's first touchdown in three games. Redshirt freshman Justin Durham connect on the extra-point to cut the lead to 28-7 with just under 10 minutes to go in the third.
The Dukes used a 45-yard reception by Baker to setup a one-yard touchdown run by Noble with 6:35 in the third, extending the JMU advantage to 35-7. Stannard connected on a 37-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the third to push the score to 38-7.
Coastal took over the ball on the JMU 15 after a botched punt attempt, but could not find the end zone. Durham finished it by nailing a 36-yard field goal attempt, moving the score to 38-10 with 3:28 in the fourth.
JMU inherited the ball on the CCU 11 after a 24-yard loss and fumble recovery on a bad snap from center. Noble took the next play into the end zone on an 11-yard rush to account for the 45-10 final score.
Coastal is idle next weekend, but returns to the field Saturday, Oct. 6, when it travels to Greenville, S.C. to face No. 16 Furman University. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Paladin Stadium.
