James Madison won its fifth straight contest and it is now in sole-possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association after dominating visiting Rhode Island, 84-7 on Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium.
*****
- The 84 points scored by JMU set a school record for points in a game, topping the 80 points the Dukes tallied in their season opener against Morehead State. The 84-point mark also set a new conference record for most points ever scored in a CAA game. The 12 touchdowns by the Dukes were a single-game school record too.
- Quarterback Bryan Schor established a new school record for single-game completion percentage with a 95 percent rate. He was 21-of-22 for 309 passing yards and five touchdowns. The 309 passing yards and five passing throws both were career-bests for Schor.
- Three of Schor’s five touchdown throws went to tight end Dan Schiele. Schiele, a senior, never scored a touchdown until Saturday. His three touchdown receptions now stand as the most touchdowns ever recorded by a JMU tight end in a single game.
- Rhode Island did set one record: Rams punter Oliver Graybar set a personal best for punting yards in a game. He punted eight times for 350 yards.
- JMU coach Mike Houston said his team had a great two week of practice leading into Saturday. Houston said he actually was concerned his team might be “too jacked up” when all his players arrived 15 minutes early for their team meeting this morning at the hotel before arriving at Bridgeforth Stadium. Players were “bouncing off the walls,” he said.
- Houston said the coaching staff told the players to play a complete game for the first time since beating Morehead State. The first-year Dukes coach added that there was motivation from the team to finish better than it did in its last outing when it nearly blew a 30-point lead at New Hampshire. Houston said he thought the players ultimately did a great job of playing a full game.
- With nine minutes to go in the game, Houston had his offense take knees in order to give the ball back to Rhode Island without scoring. Houston said he had never experienced anything like it in his career and just felt for URI coach Jim Fleming.
- Madison started the game with three scores on its first three possessions. Houston said he could tell early his offense was firing on all cylinders. He added the defense helped by forcing three-and-outs to get the ball back for the offense.
- Houston turned to most of his backups in the second half. One noticeably absent backup was quarterback Connor Mitch. The South Carolina transfer suffered a non-football injury during the bye week, Houston said. Mitch is expected back at some point this season, but Houston doesn’t know when that will be. Until then, Hunter Etheridge is Schor’s backup.
- Schor said his strong start, completing all of his first 12 throws helped him get some confidence early. He added he thought offense was able to catch gain momentum since the ball never hit the ground due to an incompletion.
- The junior quarterback said he couldn’t take all the credit for his 95 percent completion percentage – he said his receivers Brandon Ravenel, Domo Taylor, Terrence Alls and Rashard Davis deserved some too since he threw a few 50/50 balls. Ravenel and Taylor each had long receptions down the field on deep balls.
- Schiele said he’s earned most the first-team reps during JMU practices with tight end Jonathan Kloosterman out with injury. He said he’s been expecting to eventually make some plays to help the team win.
- Safety Raven Greene said defensive coordinator Bob Trott had emphasized running to the football throughout the week of practice. JMU forced URI freshman quarterback Jordan Vazzano into five interceptions. The Dukes had a few interceptions off of tipped passes. Greene had two interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.
