COMEBACK KIDS: 'Prepared' Moloney Sparks No. 1 JMU To Victory

“I thought I was well prepared,” Moloney said. “I thought I had been playing well in camp and practice. … So, I waited for my opportunity and I took advantage of it.”

Moloney, James Madison’s backup quarterback, entered late in the third quarter and propelled the No. 1 Dukes – leading two fourth-quarter scoring drives – to rally past Elon for a 20-17 win at Rhodes Stadium in North Carolina.

JMU (3-0, 1-0 Colonial Athletic Association) erased a 14-point halftime deficit to halt the Phoenix’s (1-2, 0-1 CAA) upset bid in both teams’ conference opener.

The Dukes mustered only 134 yards of total offense in the first half, and they didn’t convert a third-down attempt until midway through the third quarter, so second-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti turned to Moloney to replace starter Cole Johnson.

“We had gone two and a half quarters plus and we hadn’t scored a touchdown,” Cignetti said. “So, I just felt like we needed something. Cole had made a few plays, but left a few plays out there.”

All while the defense was dominating throughout the final 30 minutes, fueled by senior cornerback Wesley McCormick’s third-quarter interception and senior defensive lineman Mike Greene’s habit of making the Phoenix backfield his most frequented destination, Moloney stabilized the offense.

He capped his second series with an 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr., who leaped past Elon defensive back Dylan Tucker in the end zone to secure the catch. The left-handed throwing Moloney lofted a high-arcing toss as Wells Jr. sprinted toward it.

“I thought Antwane was our best matchup,” Moloney said. “And I just gave Antwane a chance, and he should come down with the ball. It wasn’t much more than that. Get it to the playmaker.”

The strike narrowed Elon’s advantage to 17-13, and the Dukes’ momentum couldn’t be stopped.

Moloney proved to be more of a threat to keep plays alive than Johnson, evading would-be tacklers and avoiding sacks to extend his desire to throw the ball. He finished 3-of-6 for 46 yards passing, with the touchdown to Wells Jr., and also rushed for seven yards.

More importantly, he pushed JMU to capitalize on Elon’s most detrimental mistake. A three-and-out for the Phoenix on the consequent series led Dukes safety MJ Hampton to blocking a punt and setting up the offense in Elon territory quickly.

JMU wide receiver Scott Bracey caught a 12-yard pass from Moloney and five snaps later, Dukes senior running back Percy Agyei-Obese was jaunting past the goal line on an eight-yard touchdown to give them the lead they would win by.

“I felt like I was back in high school,” Moloney said. “It just felt like it’s where I belonged, so I felt great. I felt good out there and to score with my guys, it was completely normal.”

Aside from a cameo in the wildcat package during the program’s loss to North Dakota State in the 2019 FCS national championship game, Moloney has seen action primarily in mop-up duty when he’s stepped between the white lines.

But Saturday was different for him, the fourth-year junior who was once the Mr. Football Award winner in South Carolina as a prep standout for Northwestern High School and at the same time a three-star recruit with offers from FBS programs like Appalachian State, Colorado State, East Carolina and Ohio University.

“What you don’t see is the energy level that I think he brought to the offense,” Cignetti said. “And we just started to make key plays, so it was definitely a shot in the arm.”

Cignetti called the win a gut-check victory for his Dukes.

JMU failed on its first seven third-down attempts and was flat to start for the second straight week.

He, Moloney, Greene and McCormick all said that must change, but that they’re proud of their comeback.

“The first half wasn’t what we expected, but we went out and did our job, got the W,” Greene, the captain with four tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack, said.

With Moloney behind center, JMU converted four times on third down and twice on fourth down as the Dukes were able to move the sticks to keep drives and their hope for an improbable comeback alive.

Cignetti did not commit in the immediate aftermath one way or the other about whether Moloney will move into the starter’s role or not, but the 6-foot-2 signal caller has given his coach something to think about.

“I’m going to savor the victory,” Cignetti said. “It was a great comeback victory. Showed a lot of character and heart by our team. But we’ll look at personnel decisions on our William & Mary prep.”

BOX SCORE

James Madison 0 3 3 14—20

Elon 3 14 0 0—17

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

ELON—Davis 30 field goal, 8:22

Second Quarter

ELON—Daughtry 31 pass from Martin (Davis kick), 12:38

JMU—Ratke 34 field goal, 6:28

ELON—Witherspoon 1 run (Davis kick), 0:06

Third Quarter

JMU—Ratke 35 field goal, 5:06

Fourth Quarter

JMU—Wells Jr. 18 pass from Moloney (Ratke kick), 12:22

JMU—Agyei-Obese 8 run (Ratke kick), 7:34

Individual Stats

RUSHING—JMU: Agyei-Obese 19-132, Hamilton 11-63, Palmer 8-28, Moloney 3-7, Johnson 2-6, Thornton 1-(-3). Elon: Thomas 15-49, Witherspoon 9-36, Martin 6-8, Weeks 2-(-7), Bizzell 2-(-9).

PASSING—JMU: Johnson 9-16-1-107, Moloney 3-6-0-46. Elon: Martin 12-26-1-129.

RECEIVING—JMU: Bracey 4-41, Thornton 3-53, Wells Jr. 2-26, Agyei-Obese 2-4, Cheatham 1-29. Elon: Daughtry 2-36, Thomas 2-31, Weeks 2-18, Bonner 2-9, Witherspoon 1-12, Williams 1-10, Parham 1-9, Brayboy 1-4.