Aside from the family and friends of players and coaches, the closest James Madison fans to the action were seated just beyond the vicinity of Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday.

A few groups of students made the hill below D-Hall home, so they could get a glimpse of their Dukes in the opener of the pandemic-impacted campaign, which has capacity currently capped at 250 spectators in the venue.

No marching band, no mascot, no streamers.

“It was a lot different,” JMU senior defensive end Mike Greene said. “Being out there and seeing the whole away sideline empty, the student section empty, it was completely different, but we tried to keep up the tempo and keep up the energy and tried to fly around out there. We did good, but not having the fans out there was big change up.”

Though the atmosphere wasn’t what it is on a typical fall Saturday, the result was the same of an early season game. JMU handled the weaker non-conference foe Morehead State with ease, 52-0.

“I can’t really speak for the players, but for myself, there was no difference,” Dukes coach Curt Cignetti said, “because I’m just focused on what’s going on between the white lines. A lot of times I don’t even notice the fans to be honest with you, so our players I’m sure noticed the difference maybe a little bit more.”

Greene compared the crowd to that of a normal spring game since only parents and close family were in attendance on Saturday. But he also said, because the team hadn’t played a game in more than year, that itself was enough to enjoy the season-opening contest.

“The game was enough,” he said. “We wanted to see people make plays and then when people made plays, we brought more energy. So, we just tried to keep the energy up on the sideline and that was a big thing.”

Running back Solomon Vanhorse agreed.

“We were still ready to go out there and play, to do what we love,” Vanhorse said. “We’ve been waiting for so long.”

*****

- In his first game since transitioning from defensive tackle to defensive end, Greene made the move look easy. He had five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

- The shutout gave James Madison at least one shutout victory for the fourth straight season.

The Dukes’ most recent blanking came on Dec. 13, 2019 when they shutout Northern Iowa, 17-0, in the FCS national quarterfinals. But that was with a veteran, seasoned defensive unit.

This JMU defense is breaking in eight new starters.

“I thought we started strong,” Cignetti said of the Dukes’ defense, which limited Morehead State to 98 total yards and 9.7 yards per play.

JMU also sacked Morehead State quarterbacks four times and forced a pair of turnovers with safeties Wayne Davis and Que Reid recording interceptions.

- Davis’ interception was the fifth of his career.

- Dukes linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey set a career-high mark for tackles with eight on Saturday.

Cignetti said Tucker-Dorsey has shown he’s capable of filling the leadership void left behind when former linebacker Dimitri Holloway graduated.

“People listen to him,” Cignetti said.

- Morehead State coach Rob Tenyer said the Dukes’ offensive and defensive lines were dominant.

“We were just over matched a little bit,” he said. “I thought we showed some good spurts and played well as a team in the second quarter, but they’ve got some pretty good players. They’ve got a stable of [running] backs and their O-Line is really good.”

JMU rushed for 369 yards, and four different running backs scored rushing touchdowns in the win.

- Dukes kicker Ethan Ratke moved up to second in Colonial Athletic Association history and 16th in FCS history for career field goals, with his 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Ratke now has 59 field goals for his career.

- In his second career start, JMU quarterback Cole Johnson was 10-of-14 for 147 yards and a touchdown. He connected with VMI transfer receiver Kris Thornton for a 52-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

About Johnson, Cignetti said: “I’m sure we’re going to need more in terms of what we ask of him as we get going. He’s been very impressive in practice and did good things out there today, and so I’m feeling really good about Cole.”