FIELD NOTES: A New Win For Cignetti

“I’ve been coaching a long time, 37 years, and I’ve never seen one quite like that one,” the James Madison coach said after the Dukes’ 45-38 overtime victory at Stony Brook on Saturday.

The win was JMU’s third straight on the road, fifth overall and it snapped Stony Brook’s home winning streak at 12 straight victories at LaValle Stadium on Long Island.

“At times we did everything could to make it 13,” Cignetti said before grinning.

JMU fumbled five times and lost three of them. Quarterback Ben DiNucci threw a pass that bounced off of wide receiver Brandon Polk’s hands and in into the arms of a Stony Brook defender to make it four turnovers.

But in spite of the mistakes, Madison prevailed in the extra period.

“It’s kind of like check the next box sort of thing,” Cignetti said. “We got three in a row and we wanted to deliver three knock out punches and we got three wins.

“We’ll enjoy tonight and obviously the next one will be a big challenge, but that’s how it is in this business. It’s onto the next one and we’ll let the kids enjoy tonight, but I’ll be thinking about [Villanova] as soon as I’m on the bus. But we’re gaining momentum. We’ve won five in a row and obviously it wasn’t pretty, but we won and finding ways to win is important.”

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- Before Saturday, JMU’s last overtime game was a 30-23 loss against Delaware on Sept. 27, 2014.

- Dukes senior cornerback Rashad Robinson did not play for the second time in three weeks. Cignetti said, “He didn’t practice all week long. He had a little flare up and we’re hopeful next week he’ll be available.” Of the two of Stony Brook touchdown passes, both came in one-on-one coverage against JMU corners unable to hold up in single coverage.

- Running back Jawon Hamilton’s 55-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter was the longest run of his career, longest run for JMU this season and the longest play from scrimmage for the Dukes this season. Hamilton’s previous long came when he was at Central Florida in 2016 and had a 32-yard run against Temple. Hamilton’s 105 rushing yards Saturday were a career-high.

- JMU’s second longest play of the season came right before halftime when Ben DiNucci threw 54-yard pass to wide receiver Brandon Polk. Polk finished Saturday with four catches for 105 yards. It was his first 100-yard receiving performance and he was the first Dukes receiver to go over 100 yards receiving since Riley Stapleton did it last season at New Hampshire.

- Cignetti credited Stapleton for coming up clutch with the 20-yard catch in overtime two plays ahead of Hamilton’s game-winning rushing touchdown.

- Of the four fumbles the team had on Saturday, running back Percy Agyei-Obese said he expects the coming practices to be filled with ball-security drills.

- The two teams combined for more points in the first quarter of Saturday’s game than they did in last year’s entire game. JMU beat Stony Brook 13-10 in last season’s meeting. The Dukes and the Seawolves were tied at 14 after the first quarter on Saturday.