JMU Preview
September 22, 2004 03:06 PM | General
September 22, 2004
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| Banks | Boxley | Rascati | Thompson | Townsend |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – If New Hampshire (defeated Rutgers) or Maine (defeated Mississippi State) didn’t get Rich Rodriguez’ attention, then James Madison’s 17-0 shutout of Villanova certainly did.
That’s why Rodriguez has tightened the screws on his No. 6-rated Mountaineer football team as it prepares for Saturday’s game against I-AA James Madison.
“There are enough cases where I-AAs have beaten I-As to draw your attention,” Rodriguez said Tuesday.
JMU, ranked No. 24 in the week’s Sports Network I-AA Top 25, is one of seven Atlantic 10 schools in this week’s I-AA ratings. JMU’s 17-0 whitewash of previously No. 5-rated Villanova in a driving rainstorm set a school record for fewest total yards allowed by an opponent (91).
“The hardest part about evaluating them was that their last game was played in a hurricane. You can even tell the camera was shaking,” Rodriguez said. “You can see the track around the field was covered with water. It was a mess.”
The Dukes defensive effort against Villanova effort surpassed the school-best set in 1985 when the Dukes held Northeastern to 102 total yards. A bad Villanova snap set up JMU’s first score when quarterback Justin Rascati (6-2, 220, So.) plunged in from the one. Senior cornerback Cortez Thompson set up JMU’s other touchdown when he picked off a Villanova pass and returned the ball to the Wildcat 25. Alvin Banks (5-10, 220, So.) later scored on a 14-yard run and finished the game with 86 yards on 25 carries.
James Madison, picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 South, is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2000 -- Coach Mickey Matthews’ second season at James Madison.
Rascati, a sophomore who transferred from Louisville, beat out fifth-year senior Matt LeZotte (6-1, 210, Sr.) during preseason camp and has completed 12 of 25 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns. LeZotte came into his senior season having thrown for more than 200 yards six times for his career, including a 376-yard, three-touchdown effort against Villanova in 2001.
"They’ve got the Louisville transfer Justin Rascati at quarterback and they’ve got some pretty good wide receivers so that’s why Mickey is pretty optimistic about his team,” Rodriguez said. The coach remembers Rascati from the recruiting trails as a top-rated quarterback out of Miami.
“He was a big recruit out of Florida. He signed at Louisville and we remember watching him on film,” Rodriguez said. “He actually was (Louisville’s) backup and played for them a little bit last year but they had their senior coming back and they signed Brian Brohm, who I think was the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country.”
The Dukes also have two capable runners in the backfield in Alvin Banks and Maurice Fenner (6-1, 220, So.). Fenner ran for 166 yards and scored a touchdown in the opener against Lock Haven while Banks contributed 86 yards and a score against Villanova. Both backs have crossed the 100-yard mark seven times for their career.
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| West Virginia is expecting another large crowd for Saturday's 4 pm game against James Madison at Milan Puskar Stadium.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Wide receiver D.D. Boxley (5-9, 175, So.) caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown against Lock Haven in the season opener, while senior tight end Tom Ridley (6-4, 245, Sr.) added a career-high four grabs for 67 yards against Lock Haven.
“You’ve got to be prepared for some tricky stuff on offense. They’ll kind of let it loose a little bit,” Rodriguez said.
Defensively, the Dukes have pretty good size up front with 280-pound Brandon Beach at defensive tackle and 260-pound Sid Evans at defensive end.
Kevin Winston (6-3, 225, So.) and Kwynn Walton (6-0, 220, Sr.) are James Madison’s top two linebackers, with Virginia Tech transfer Michael Brown (6-3, 225, Fr.) playing behind Walton.
“Their defense is very similar to four or five teams we play,” Rodriguez noted. “They’ll play the eight-man front the same as Pitt, Connecticut and Virginia Tech are doing now. Everybody crowds the box, bring the safeties down, and kind of force you to execute in the passing game. This is different from what they did last year.
“Their defense is playing well. I think they’re strength is their speed on defense,” he added.
The secondary is comprised of Bruce Johnson (5-8, 195, Jr.), Cortez Thompson (5-9, 175, Sr.), Clint Kent (5-8, 185, Jr.) and Tony LeZotte (6-0, 175, Fr.), who earned Atlantic 10 rookie of the week honors.
“They’ve got two guys on defense that transferred. The guy that came from UVA (Robbie Catterton) Coach Stew (Bill Stewart) knew and talked to a little bit. But they’re backups; they’re not starters,” Rodriguez said. “There are a couple of other guys we know through recruiting from Eastern Pennsylvania and Coach Stew knows from the Virginia-Maryland area.”
West Virginia, meanwhile, is coming off a 19-16 overtime win against Maryland last Saturday. The Mountaineers are 3-0 for the first time under Rodriguez and have advanced to No. 6 in one poll (AP) and No. 7 (ESPN/USA Today) in the other.
Senior Kay-Jay Harris, despite gaining just seven yards at Central Florida two weeks ago, comes into Saturday’s game as the nation’s seventh-leading rusher averaging 162 yards per game. Harris has carried 59 times for 486 yards and scored five touchdowns.
Rasheed Marshall has completed 30 of 53 pass attempts for 500 yards and six touchdowns, while junior Chris Henry has caught 16 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Backup running back Jason Colson, is second on the team with five receptions for 61 yards while also gaining 211 yards on 48 carries.
Saturday’s game will be James Madison’s first foray against a Division I-A program since losing at Virginia Tech 43-0 last year in Blacksburg. JMU’s last win against a I-A opponent came against Navy in 1990.
James Madison is 3-12 all-time against I-A opponents and will be playing before a crowd of more than 50,000 for just the third time in program history.
Tickets still remain for Saturday’s game and can be purchased by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU GAME. Fans can also stop by United Bank locations throughout West Virginia to pick up a two-for-the-price-of-one coupon that can be redeemed at the Mountaineer Ticket Office in person or at the stadium during game day. The two-for-one coupon is also available on-line at MSNsportsNET.com.
There is no live television for the West Virginia-James Madison game which kicks off at 4 pm.
