CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The decisive touchdown pass Ben DiNucci threw to Brandon Polk shouldn’t have been one.
But DiNucci, the James Madison quarterback, and his coach, Curt Cignetti, will take it.
“Rather be lucky than good,” Cignetti said with a grin following JMU’s 37-14 win over Chattanooga on Saturday at Finley Stadium.
DiNucci said he actually read the play incorrectly.
“It was the complete wrong read,” DiNucci said. “They brought sonic blitz to the field and Cover 2 to that side, so that’s the one play I’m not supposed to throw a hitch into, but I guess it kind of worked out. It’s fun when you can throw a 6-yard hitch and [Polk] takes it.”
Polk had little space between him and a pair of defenders when he caught the throw from DiNucci, but turned what would've been a short gain into a long one when he separated and accelerated away from the defense for the 48-yard touchdown that gave JMU a 30-14 lead in the third quarter.
It came on the series following the interception safety D’Angelo Amos notched to halt the Mocs’ drive.
“[Polk] dropped a big one early in the first half,” Cignetti said. “He dropped a couple that we should’ve had and then we got away with one because they’re in a blitz there where that field corner should’ve had a pick-six. We shouldn’t be throwing that ball out there, but it wasn’t very well played by the corner and it turned into a touchdown.”
DiNucci, who finished 19-of-25 for 264 yards and the touchdown, said it was thrilling to watch Polk’s breakaway speed.
“That play right there was like, ‘whoa,’” DiNucci said. “Because he split a few safeties and took that thing. We were kind of lacking that last year and didn’t really have a guy that could stretch the field vertically like that, so he’s been a huge help through the first quarter of this season.”
Polk had a team-best 84 receiving yards in Saturday’s win. Through four games the Penn State transfer leads JMU with 20 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
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- Polk’s 48-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter tied the career-long score he had last week in the Dukes’ win over Morgan State.
- JMU wide receiver Riley Stapleton, who returned from a three-game suspension on Saturday, notched five catches for 73 yards against the Mocs in his 2019 debut. About Stapleton, Cignetti said, “Riley had some big catches. He sure did and he didn’t drop any.”
- Amos’ interception was the first of his career.
- Dukes kicker Ethan Ratke climbed into a tie with John Coursey (1993-1996) for first for the most career field goals in JMU school history. His three field goals Saturday gives him 39 for his career. Ratke also passed Cameron Starke, who was second all-time before Saturday and had 37 field goals in his career. Ratke said: “It’s all just surreal. It’s just a dream come true because I never thought I’d be in this position. When I got my first chance to kick an extra point, I thought it was the best feeling ever and I just never thought I’d be here.”
- The second of Ratke’s three field goals came after Chattanooga tried to ice him twice with two timeouts late in the first half. “When I’m out there, I’m not really thinking about anything. I’m trying keep a clear mind,” he said.
- Running back Percy Agyei-Obese’s 114 rushing yards marked the first 100-yard rushing performance for a JMU rusher this season and the first since DiNucci and former running backs Trai Sharp and Cardon Johnson each went for more than 100 yards against Towson last November.
- JMU improved to 25-22 in its history against the Southern Conference with its win over the Mocs on Saturday. Though it was the Dukes’ first win in their first meeting with Chattanooga, is was their second win at Finley Stadium. JMU captured the 2004 NCAA I-AA national championship at Finley Stadium with a 31-21 win over Montana.
