MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The quest to lead the Colonial Athletic Association and the country in rushing is off to a promising start.

“It’s a four-headed monster back there,” James Madison redshirt freshman running back Solomon Vanhorse said after the Dukes ran for 172 yards in their loss Saturday at FBS West Virginia.

If JMU’s offensive line can successfully move a Big 12-sized defensive line, in theory, it shouldn’t have a problem doing the same to pave the way for any running back on the roster against FCS competition the rest of this season.

Running backs Vanhorse, junior Percy Agyei-Obese, junior Jawon Hamilton and true freshman Austin Douglas all had at least five carries against the Mountaineers.

“I thought we took it to ‘em early in the game, running the football,” JMU coach Curt Cignetti said. “We were getting a lot of different guys involved in the rotation.”

When Cignetti was hired at JMU this past offseason, it was him who vowed for his team to be the best rushing squad in the conference and subdivision. The 48 runs to 20 pass attempts in the season opener showed his and offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery’s commitment to stick with the running game.

The Dukes’ lone touchdown drive of the contest began with gains on the ground of six yards and seven yards from Vanhorse. Douglas followed with a pair of 8-yard carries.

“I feel like it definitely opened [the passing game] up,” said JMU wide receiver Brandon Polk, who hauled in consecutive 21-yard passes from quarterback Ben DiNucci after Douglas’ touches. “We had the safeties coming down and they tried to defend run-heavy with the linebackers as well and then they played man on the outside.”

Polk’s second catch led to Vanhorse’s 9-yard sprint into the blue-brushed turf to cap the series.

Offensive lineman Zaire Bethea cleared a linebacker for Vanhorse to go untouched across the goal line.

The touchdown for Vanhorse was the first of his college career.

“It was awesome. It was crazy,” Vanhorse said. “It’s was way different from high school. I just heard the noise and I wanted to celebrate with my brothers. So it was amazing to score my first touchdown in this type of environment, too.”

He led JMU with 55 rushing yards. DiNucci added 36, Agyei-Obese had 29, Hamilton had 26 and Douglas had 17.

“I was glad to see everybody get involved,” Cignetti said. “Austin and Solomon gave us a little something when they came in. I wasn’t shocked. I mean they’ve been doing it all camp and then we got Jawon going a little bit and Percy was back in there.”

Agyei-Obese earned the start and six of the first seven rushing attempts, but a fumble on the sixth carry had him sidelined until the third quarter.

Cignetti said the efficiency JMU had in the opening quarter while running the ball and DiNucci’s improvisation to turn broken passing plays into gains with his feet might have led the wide-spread run-pass ratio.

“Quarterback ran the ball 14 [times], so probably at least half of those were passes,” Cignetti said. “Every game is going to be a little different depending on who you play. I think the success we had early in the game may have skewed it running the ball.”