VILLANOVA, Pa. — There was a time, no more than a year ago, when Martez Stone couldn’t think about winning a championship. He had a different priority and it was to simply get on the field.

Stone went to three other schools — Cleveland State, West Virginia and Lackawanna College — before landing at James Madison. And once he got to JMU, he had to sit out a season and bunker down in the classroom just to become academically eligible for his senior year.

He’s contributed for Madison this fall, but on Saturday, the 6-foot-1, 270-pound defensive tackle made the decisive play in the game to help the No. 4 Dukes secure an outright Colonial Athletic Association championship and an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with a 20-7 win over Villanova.

With JMU leading 13-7 and less than four minutes on the clock, Stone ripped a tipped pass out of the air for an interception that halted Villanova’s last try at a go-ahead scoring drive.

“At the beginning, [Villanova quarterback Zach Bednarczyk] hard-counted and I didn’t jump, so that was good,” Stone said. “The whole offensive line slid my way, so I sprinted around past the center. [JMU defensive tackle] Cornell Urquhart tipped the ball, and as he tips the ball, the sun was just beaming down on the ball.

“To get an interception in a game like this, I’ll never forget this moment.”

Stone’s interception turned into a two-score lead for JMU. The Madison offense, which had struggled most of the day against Villanova’s vaunted 3-3-5 stack defense, managed to get in the end zone on a 2-yard carry from senior running back Khalid Abdullah with 2:36 left.

Abdullah’s touchdown gave JMU a 20-7 lead.

“As I was walking into the locker room I kind of thought about it. I looked back and thought, ‘Man I came a long way,’” Stone said. “Then, I realized that we are winners. I just have never been at a program like this before, so this feeling that I have, I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. I can share this story with my kids later on in the future and it’s to never give up and keep working.”

Throughout the contest, James Madison relied on Stone, Urquhart and the rest of its defense to keep the team in the game and eventually pull out a win.

The normally reliable JMU offense had only 277 total yards, down from its average of 529 yards per game. Starting quarterback Bryan Schor was hurt on the first play of the second quarter and did not return. He was later seen on the sideline with his left arm in a sling.

JMU coach Mike Houston said doctors would evaluate Schor once the team returned to Harrisonburg.

“I thought when he went down that we were going to win the game,” Villanova coach Andy Talley said. “He’s really their team.”

But as good as Villanova’s defense was Saturday, JMU’s was better.

Stone had one of the four interceptions for the Dukes. Junior safety Jordan Brown, senior safety Raven Greene and senior cornerback Taylor Reynolds had the other three picks.

“We try to give our best effort and today everything came together,” Greene said.

JMU limited Villanova to 239 total yards and 71 through the air.

Urquhart blocked a field goal early in the second half, which prevented Villanova from breaking a 7-7 tie.

“That was deflating,” Talley said. “That was one of the real keys to us losing the game.”

The veteran Villanova coach said JMU’s defense, headed by coordinator Bob Trott, affected the game more than the Wildcats anticipated.

“Our lack of ability to throw the football put so much pressure on us to run the football successfully,” Talley said. “They played better than I’ve seen them on film. I’ve watched several games and there were three or four teams to put a lot of points on them.

“We really struggled with their defensive line. I thought Maine’s defensive line last week was way better, but those guys came up with a game and we didn’t.”

Houston said it was “hands down” the unit’s best performance of the year.

“I thought this was our toughest test of the year and I thought we’d have a really hard time coming up here to get a win,” Houston said. “Then, to have the adversity we had today and to still win it anyway, I think this is a really special win. I think this will be one that I’ll never forget in my career.”

JMU (9-1, 7-0) will have an opportunity to finish its CAA schedule undefeated in its final regular-season home game of the year against Elon on Saturday.

The loss for Villanova (7-3, 5-2) puts the Wildcats in a tie for second place along with Maine, New Hampshire and Richmond.