No opponent can alter this part of James Madison’s game plan.

The Dukes aren’t messing with the way senior defensive end John Daka impacts each snap.

“Normally, in some of our pressures we like to drop that position,” defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said after JMU’s 17-0 win in the FCS quarterfinals over Northern Iowa on Friday. “And this year we’ve just continued to rush him after the quarterback.”

Hetherman will coach in the national semifinals for the second time in as many seasons, having departed Maine for Madison this past offseason.

Both the Black Bears last fall and the Dukes this season were and are the best run defenses in the FCS, respectively, thanks to all the negative yardage opponents incur by taking a sack. Through the 2018 quarterfinals Maine notched 47 sacks and through this year’s quarterfinals JMU has 46 sacks.

And Daka is the one who gets to the quarterback most frequently for the Dukes.

Two sacks against the Panthers boosted Daka to 16.5 sacks for the year, a JMU single-season record. He has at least two sacks in four of his last six games.

“There are similarities with it,” Hetherman said. “But I think we’ve played to the personnel. And I think the personnel that we’ve had here, we’ve adapted to it and we’re playing off the strengths.

“We’ve changed things throughout the season. There were things whether it was spring football or fall camp that we ran and we kind of moved away from, because we’re trying to find every week what our strengths are within the system and within our personnel.”

One constant each game that Hetherman can count on is Daka’s ability to chase down the opposing signal-caller.

In the last four postseason contests – vs. Northern Iowa on Friday, vs. Monmouth in the second round earlier this month, at Colgate in the second round last year and vs. Delaware in the first round last year – for Daka, the pass-rush extraordinaire has racked up 7.5 sacks.

When Northern Iowa quarterback Will McElvain tried to elude Daka’s pursuit in the final minute of the second quarter, the 6-foot-2 edge rusher jarred the ball loose to force a fumble and create a turnover when Dukes safety D’Angelo Amos recovered it.

“With [defensive tackles coach Andrew] Jackson on Thursday we do forced fumble drills,” Daka said, “so credit to him for that. But I went inside and I saw [McElvain] escape and then as I was pursuing him I saw him wind up and throw the ball, so I think just instinctually from the drill that I just went in, tried to bat the ball and it came out.”

Hetherman said Daka takes coaching well, and both Daka and fellow senior defensive end Ron’Dell Carter said Hetherman allows them to use their best pass-rushing moves and quickness to their advantage against opposing offensive linemen.

“That’s how I’ve felt with every [opposing] offensive line this year,” Carter, who recorded a sack and two quarterback hurries on Friday, said. “The size that we have and being able to move as fast as we do and as athletic as we are up front and all over the field, that’s obviously an advantage for us.”

Daka said: “I feel like we can do that to most teams, athletically, yeah. I feel like we’re gifted on our defensive line and that we have four guys and even rotational guys that could come in and athletically beat a lot of people.”

Hetherman said he believes Daka is only getting better as the Dukes prepare for Saturday’s semifinal against Weber State.

“I think his speed just opens everything up for the pass rush,” Hetherman said. “And right now, he’s developed both where he can work speed to power, and then can work that speed stuff to where I think he kind of wears down some offensive linemen. And I think that’s really helped take his game to the next level this year.”