Sophomore tailback Maurice Fenner rushed for a game-high 148 yards and three touchdowns to lead the 25th-ranked Dukes of James Madison (3-1, 2-0) to a 31-21 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over the Hofstra Pride (2-2, 1-1) Saturday night at Bridgeforth Stadium.
Fenner, one of two Dukes who topped the century mark in rushing in the contest, rushed 24 times and scored on runs of 4,3, and 2 yards in the game. Sophomore tailback Alvin Banks rushed 19 times for 118 yards while sophomore quarterback Justin Rascati completed 19 of 22 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown in the winning effort. Hofstra was led by sophomore quarterback Anton Clarkson (pictured), who started in place of the injured Bobby Seck. Clarkson finished the contest 20 of 31 for 182 yards and two touchdowns. The Dukes, who own the fourth-ranked defense in I-AA allowing 219 yards per game coming into the contest, held Hofstra to just 280 yards in the victory.
The Pride had the game's first good scoring opportunity as Clarkson moved Hofstra to the JMU 25-yardline. But Pride running back Terry Crenshaw turned the ball over on a fumble and Dukes quarterback Justin Rascati engineered a nine-play, 77-yard drive with sophomore tailback Maurice Fenner carrying the ball to paydirt from four yards out with 3:07 to play in the first quarter. David Rabil's extra point gave the Dukes the 7-0 lead. Fenner had 42 yards on three carries in the drive.
But Hofstra responded with their own nine-play, 52-yard drive, prolonged by a leaping, diving catch by junior receiver Devale Ellis for a gain of 23 to the JMU 15-yardline, that took them into the second quarter. On the first play of the second quarter after a penalty, Clarkson hit Ellis with a 21-yard bullet in the front left corner of the end zone for the score. Senior Chris Onorato's extra point tied the game at 7-7.
James Madison took a 14-7 lead into the locker room at halftime following a 14-play, 88-yard drive that took 6:24 off the clock. The drive was capped by a 6-yard scoring pass from Rascati to senior Chris Iorio. Rabil's extra point gave the Dukes a 14-7 lead with 1:06 to play in the first half. Banks picked up 34 yards on four rushes in the drive and added eight more on a catch to the Hofstra 15-yardline.
Hofstra tied the game on the first possession of the second half. Devale Ellis gave the Pride great field position with a 56-yard kickoff return to the Dukes 44-yardline. Seven plays later Clarkson tied the game with a one-yard run with Onorato's extra point tying the game at 14-14 with 12:06 to play in the third.
The Dukes took the lead for good with 4:10 to play in the third as Fenner's second touchdown of the contest, this one a 3-yard scoring run, capped an 11-play, 58-yard drive and gave JMU a 21-14 lead. JMU had fourth-and-one and third-and-one plays in the drive and converted both in the drive. The Dukes fifth-ranked rushing defense in I-AA stymied the Pride ground game, holding Hofstra to just 38 rushing yards on 11 carries in the second half.
JMU added to the lead just 3:57 into the fourth quarter as the Dukes went on a 13-play, 92-yard drive with Fenner notching his third touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run for a 28-14 advantage. On the ensuing kickoff, the Dukes pooch-kicked to keep the ball away from Ellis and caught the Pride napping. JMU cornerback Clint Kent ran the kickoff down and recovered it at the Hofstra 23-yardline. The Pride defense held and the Dukes had to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Rabil with 8:38 to play in the game.
The Pride closed the gap to 31-21 with 4:25 to play in the game as Clarkson hit freshman receiver Charles Sullivan with a 3-yard scoring pass but it was too little too late as Hofstra fell to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic 10.
JMU racked up 494 yards in the contest including 306 on the ground while Hofstra gained 280 including just 98 on the ground. The Pride will return to action next Saturday, October 9 when they travel east on Long Island to face the Seawolves of Stony Brook University at 6 p.m. The Dukes will host Massachusetts next weekend.
Game Notes: Senior linebacker Bill Hambrecht suffered a second quarter injury and did not return to the contest. Junior defensive end Dan Garay was also injured in the second but did return in the third quarter. Both walked off under their own power?¦Junior Devale Ellis had two kickoff returns for 102 yards in the contest and added four catches for 48 yards?¦JMU now leads the series with Hofstra 4-2 and has won the last three meetings?¦Grad-student WR Isaac Irby moved into ninth place on the Hofstra career reception list with 129, passing Nick Johnson (126 from 1992-1995) and Ricky Bryant (127 from 2002-2003).
