No Moral Victories For JMU In Season-Opening Loss

He didn’t care that his FCS Dukes were smaller in stature, had less players on scholarship or were considered the underdogs against host FBS West Virginia.

Those on his roster wouldn’t use it as an excuse either.

The Mountaineers needed to take advantage of three turnovers and a blocked kick to beat JMU 20-13 in both sides’ season-opening contest at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday.

“I told our kids after the game, ‘Losing will never be accepted at James Madison,’” Cignetti said.

Dukes senior defensive end Ron’Dell Carter said: “We just got to finish, man, because that’s a tough one to lose.”

West Virginia (1-0) separated with less than nine minutes left when quarterback Austin Kendall connected with wide receiver Tevin Bush for a 22-yard touchdown. The pass extended the Mountaineers’ lead to 20-10, the only double-digit lead they held during the contest.

But Kendall’s touchdown throw came three plays following defensive back Keith Washington’s interception of JMU quarterback Ben DiNucci. Forced to scramble behind the line of scrimmage because of pressure, DiNucci threw on the run and Washington was there to take it away.

The turnover was the only play of the Dukes’ (0-1) offensive series immediately after falling behind 13-10.

“Those are the plays we’ve been trying to eliminate,” Cignetti said.

Up until that throw DiNucci had played mistake free. He completed 13 throws for 156 yards and rushed for 36 yards in the loss.

JMU scored its lone touchdown in the opening quarter to take a 7-0 lead on a 9-yard run from running back Solomon Vanhorse, who tallied a game-high 55 rushing yards. The Dukes had 172 rushing yards to West Virginia’s 34 rushing yards.

“It’s not very often you see a team rush for 172 and hold the opponent to 34 and lose,” Cignetti said, “but also by same token, flip side of the coin, it’s not often you see one team win the turnover ratio 4-0 including the blocked kick, and only win by seven. That was the story of the game.”

Before Vanhorse’s touchdown, JMU overcame two first-quarter setbacks. All-American punt returner D’Angelo Amos muffed a punt and running back Percy Agyei-Obese’s fumble halted a drive with the Dukes inside Mountaineers’ territory. A 27-yard field-goal attempt from kicker Ethan Ratke was blocked in the second quarter as JMU tried to extend its initial edge.

“It came down to special teams and turnovers,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “You can say what you want. The offense wasn’t pretty and we struggled to run the ball … but at the end of the day, we didn’t turn it over. On special teams, we had a blocked field goal, which was huge.”

What kept JMU from giving away a lead early was its defense. The muffed punt led to a missed field goal for West Virginia, and after the fumble, the Dukes got the Mountaineers off the field thanks to a blitz from defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman. The call led to a quarterback hurry for cornerback Rashad Robinson, who rushed Kendall into an incompletion.

“We’re just resilient,” Carter said after finishing with four tackles, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. “… It doesn’t matter to us. When it’s time for us to go, it’s time for us to go and that’s the biggest thing for us. When it’s time for us to go out there, the defense has got to do their job. We were put in some tough spots, but that’s part of the game and you’ve got to be ready to fight adversity.”

Carter’s hurry on Kendall was one of a few tough hits Kendall took in the contest, and Carter said his only regret was that JMU didn’t get more hits on him. Despite getting to Kendall a few times on hurries, the Dukes only had one sack.

Kendall, in his debut game with WVU after transferring from Oklahoma this past offseason, finished with 260 yards passing and two touchdowns.

“We didn’t put enough pressure on him, to me,” Carter said. “I wish we did.”

BOX SCORE

James Madison 7 0 3 3—13

West Virginia 0 3 7 10—20

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

JMU—Vanhorse 9 run (Ratke kick), 1:47

Second Quarter

WVU—Staley 38 field goal, 12:33

Third Quarter

WVU—Campbell 28 pass from Kendall (Staley kick), 12:32

JMU—Ratke 29 field goal, 6:34

Fourth Quarter

WVU—Staley 43 field goal, 10:26

WVU—Bush 22 pass from Kendall (Staley kick), 8:43

JMU—Ratke 31 field goal, 4:33

RUSHING—JMU: Vanhorse 12-55, DiNucci 14-36, Agyei-Obese 8-29, Hamilton 8-26, Douglas 5-17, Polk 1-9. WVU: Pettaway 9-20, McKoy 11-11, Sinkfield 1-3, Kendall 3-0.

PASSING—JMU: DiNucci 13-20-1-156. WVU: Kendall 27-42-0-260.

RECEIVING—JMU: Polk 4-66, Dean 4-63, Douglas 2-7, Ravenel 1-14, Vanhorse 1-4, Hamilton 1-2. WVU: James 6-32, McKoy 6-18, Simmons 5-58, Bush 4-74, Ryan 2-31, Campbell 1-28, Wheaton 1-7, Fields 1-6, Sinkfield 1-6.