VILLANOVA, Pa. — James Madison’s quarterback, and frontrunner for the Colonial Athletic Association’s Player of the Year, Bryan Schor suffered an injury on the first play of the second quarter Saturday in the Dukes’ win over Villanova.
He was hit hard on an 11-yard run. The junior signal-caller stayed in for one more play, but did not return afterward.
Later in the game, Schor was spotted with his left arm in a sling while standing on the Madison sideline.
JMU coach Mike Houston said doctors would evaluate Schor in Harrisonburg.
With Schor out, Houston turned to true freshman Cole Johnson to run the offense. Since August, JMU coaches maintained Johnson would redshirt this season, but with backup Connor Mitch out after suffering a non-football injury during the mid-October bye week, Houston had no choice but to pull Johnson’s redshirt.
“That’s the determination we made,” Houston said. “If something were to happen and we had to go win the football game that we wouldn’t hesitate to put Cole in.
“He spent a lot of time with the scout-team offense going against our defense, so he had really good work and really matured a lot during that time because he was getting live reps.”
Johnson threw two interceptions and finished his debut 5-of-12 for 43 yards.
“I was ready for it,” Johnson said. “I didn’t think it would happen today, but you’re always ready for it. I just went in there and it was really fast. It was my first college experience, but I think I settled in later and played like I usually do.”
Abdullah Gets Hard-Earned 100
With Schor sidelined, JMU turned to its other CAA Player of the Year candidate, senior running back Khalid Abdullah, to carry the offense.
Abdullah ran 33 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 3.1 yards per carry, which is well below his average of 7 yards per carry he entered Saturday with.
“Games like that humble you as a running back,” Abdullah said. “A lot of running backs expect to hit the big plays all the time. I’ve never had that mindset even though that’s what I want to do — score touchdowns and hit big plays for my team. But sometimes you go into a game and there’s a defense that has schemed up, too, and has practiced like we do.
“Villanova has an amazing defense. It’s one of the most physical defenses we’ve played all year.”
Abdullah’s first carry set him back from the start. Villanova’s defense pushed past JMU’s offensive front and tackled the standout running back for a loss of 7 yards.
His 101 yards gave him his seventh 100-yard performance of the season. He also surpassed the 3,000-yard total for his career on Saturday.
Credit Coaching Staff
By winning Saturday, JMU clinched a CAA title in Houston’s first season at the helm.
For the group of fourth- and fifth-year seniors in the program, Houston is the third head coach in their careers. Most were recruited by, and played at least one season for, Mickey Matthews. Most played the past two seasons for Everett Withers.
Fifth-year senior linebacker Gage Steele said Houston and his staff deserve credit for getting the team to win the conference.
“They’ve obviously changed us as young men,” Steele said. “The coaches came in and showed that they cared about us. It allowed us to buy into this program even easier than before. I give hats off to the coaches with what they’ve done here.”
