HARRISONBURG – When Bryan Schor was getting ready to begin his college career, he opted not to attend the school he originally committed to – Miami University (Ohio) – because the program was switching from a passing offense to an option scheme and he didn’t want to run the ball every play.
On Saturday, Schor used his legs to lead James Madison to an 80-7 record-setting, season-opening win over Morehead State at Bridgeforth Stadium that ushered in the Mike Houston era.
Schor ran 10 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw for 109 yards while completing eight of his 11 passes.
“Bryan showed tonight why he won the job,” Houston said.
Houston named Schor his starter Friday after the junior beat out South Carolina transfer Connor Mitch for the job.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback scored on a 1-yard sneak with 6:53 to go in the first quarter to put JMU ahead of Morehead State, 21-0. He also reached the end zone on a 4-yard read-option within the final minute of the first. His 17-yard scamper in the second quarter gave the Dukes a 49-0 advantage.
His best run came late in the first quarter on a 63-yard dash to set up his second rushing touchdown. Schor said the play was a designed run-pass option.
“[Schor] is a better runner than anyone gives him credit for and he understands the scheme very well,” Houston said. “He’s very comfortable with those [running] backs and running the scheme.”
Morehead State coach Rob Tenyer echoed Houston’s thoughts.
“The thing that stuck out tonight was Schor’s escapablility,” Tenyer said. “He got loose a few times on us and broke contain to make us look like an average football team.”
For a player who once didn’t want to use his legs, Schor’s rushing performance was contagious.
“I didn’t expect to run it as much as we did tonight,” Schor said. “Throughout the first-half drives, I thought we were really efficient.”
The Dukes racked up 498 rushing yards on 74 attempts and scored 10 rushing touchdowns. The 10 rushing touchdowns set a school record for rushing scores in a single game – the mark also sits second all-time in FCS football history.
Throughout the preseason, Houston said one of his biggest goals was to improve the Dukes’ offensive line to run the football when he wanted to run the ball.
“We could have thrown it around a lot, but there was really no need to,” Houston said.
Junior running back Cardon Johnson ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and sophomore Trai Sharp carried 15 times for 110 yards and one touchdown. Schor, Johnson and Sharp gave JMU three 100-yard rushers for the first time since last fall when Johnson, senior running back Khalid Abdullah and graduated quarterback Vad Lee did it, also against Morehead State.
Junior Taylor Woods reached the end zone three times on the ground.
“It came from preparation all week,” Johnson said. “Coach Houston preaches that you have to practice how you want to play and the offensive line came out executed tonight like they did all week.”
JMU’s defense force five turnovers in the contest – four of the takeaways setup touchdowns.
The 80-point mark set the school record for most points in a single game.
JMU (1-0) hosts Central Connecticut State next Saturday.
