Knocked out: JMU loses star QB, then its title hopes

HARRISONBURG -- The one player James Madison could ill afford to lose in their chase for the Football Championship Subdivision title was quarterback Rodney Landers.

Unfortunately for the top-seeded Dukes last night, Landers went down with a sprained ankle late in the first half, and with him went JMU's chances of reaching next week's championship game.

Without Landers, the Colonial Athletic Association's offensive player of the year and the Dudley Award winner as the best player in the state, the Dukes managed to stay close behind backup Drew Dudzik.

But the Dukes couldn't stop Montana's high-powered offense, and the fourth-seeded Grizzlies stunned the home crowd by winning 35-27 in an FCS semifinal before 15,976 at Bridgeforth Stadium.

Montana (14-1) will meet the winner of today's other semifinal, between the University of Richmond and No. 3 seed Northern Iowa, in Friday's title game in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Four turnovers -- two of them on kickoffs -- doomed JMU (12-2) in the first nationally televised home game in the Dukes' history.

"Our offensive line has been busting holes all year for us," said Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist, who was 11 of 17 for 142 yards and three touchdowns. "I think they were really worried about our running game, and our play-action [passing] caught them off guard a little bit."

The Grizzlies converted two of the turnovers into 14 points, en route to their 10th consecutive victory.

In spite of all the mistakes, the Dukes had the ball with 2:06 left and down by eight points. But JMU had 93 yards to negotiate and couldn't do it, turning it over on downs at its 41.

In large part because of three turnovers, the Dukes found themselves trailing at the half for the first time since Oct. 11, when UR was up 14-13 at the break.

JMU took the opening kickoff and converted a fourth and three in Montana territory, en route to the Grizzlies' 14, where the drive stalled and Dave Stannard kicked a 32-yard field goal.

The 3-0 lead didn't last long, however, as Montana gave an indication of what was to come by marching 62 yards on 10 plays to take a 7-3 advantage on a 2-yard run by Chase Reynolds.

Less than a minute later, the Grizzlies were in the end zone again, thanks to a fumble by Scotty McGee on the ensuing kickoff. Donny Lisowski recovered at JMU's 15, setting up a 7-yard run by Reynolds (123 yards on 26 carries).

The PAT by Brody McKnight gave Montana 14 points in 57 seconds and a 14-3 bulge with 4:02 left in the opening quarter.

The Dukes closed the gap on their next possession, going 69 yards on 13 plays, with Eugene Holloman (105 yards on 21 attempts) going the final yard. Stannard's PAT made it 14-10 early in the second quarter.

After McKnight was short on a 45-yard field-goal attempt, JMU had a promising drive come to an end when Landers fumbled at Montana's 13, where Tyler Pelluer pounced on it.

The Dukes' defense held, and JMU had another shot at taking the lead, but after Landers was injured, Dudzik's second pass of the game was intercepted by cornerback Andrew Swink with 23 seconds remaining before intermission.

Montana increased its lead to 21-10 when it took the second-half kickoff and went 56 yards in seven plays. A 27-yard TD pass from Bergquist to Reynolds capped the march.

Yet another turnover led to the Grizzlies' fourth touchdown. Patrick Ward fumbled the kickoff, and Ryan Fetherston recovered at JMU's 34. Five plays later, Bergquist lofted a perfect 16-yard spiral into the arms of tight end Steve Pfahler at the goal line.

Pressed into the starting role with Landers sidelined, Dudzik took the Dukes down the field on their next possession and scored on a scrambling, 10-yard run 5:02 before the end of the third quarter.

But Montana continued its assault against JMU's defense, sweeping 60 yards to make it 35-17 on Bergquist's 9-yard TD pitch to wideout Mike Ferriter with a little more than a minute left in the third.

The Dukes were stopped on a fourth and goal at Montana's 1, but they got two points closer when the ball was snapped over punter Ken Wood's head and out of the end zone with 8:22 to go.

JMU crept within eight points on an 18-yard run by Dudzik after the ensuing free kick and a two-point conversion run by Dudzik, which was initially ruled just short of the goal line but changed after review in the replay booth.

MONTANA 35, JAMES MADISON 27
Montana ------------------------- 14 0 21 0--35
James Madison ------------------------- 3 7 7 10--27
First Quarter

JMU--FG Stannard 32, 8:58.

Mont--Reynolds 2 run (McKnight kick), 4:59.

Mont--Reynolds 7 run (McKnight kick), 4:02.
Second Quarter

JMU--Holloman 1 run (Stannard kick), 11:54.
Third Quarter

Mont--Reynolds 27 pass from Bergquist (McKnight kick), 11:06.

Mont--Pfahler 16 pass from Bergquist (McKnight kick), 8:14.

JMU--Dudzik 10 run (Stannard kick), 5:02.

Mont--Ferriter 9 pass from Bergquist (McKnight kick), 1:06.
Fourth Quarter

JMU--Safety, 8:22.

JMU--Dudzik 18 run (Dudzik run), 6:10.

A--15,976.
Mont

JMU
First downs-------------------------14

26
Return yards------------------------- 0

(-3)
Punts-Avg.-------------------------2-38.5

0-0.0
Rushes-yards-------------------------35-156

58-334
Passing yards-------------------------142

85
Comp-Att-Int-------------------------11-17-0

7-17-1
Fumbles-lost-------------------------0-0

4-3
Penalties-yards-------------------------2-12

3-32
Time of possession-------------------------27:30

32:30
RUSHING

Montana (35-156) , Reynolds 26-123, Bergquist 5-42, Schmidt 1-3, Team 3-(minus 12). JMU (58-334) , Holloman 21-105, Dudzik 12-88, Landers 17-84, Yancey 6-44, Long 1-9, McGee 1-4.
PASSING

Montana (11-17-0--142) , Bergquist 11-17-0-142. JMU (7-17-1--85) , Dudzik 6-13-1-70, Landers 1-4-0-15.
RECEIVING

Montana , Mariani 3-50, Reynolds 3-50, Pfahler 3-29, Ferriter 2-13. JMU , Turner 4-25, Long 1-29, Holloman 1-16, Ward 1-15.
TACKLES

Montana: Anderson 18, Schillinger 12, Fisher 10, Stadnyk 9, Mettler 7, Lebsock 6, Corwin 6, Palmer 5, Fetherston 3, Mullins 3, Swink 3, Thompson 3, Stoll 3, Carlson 3, Pelluer 3, Cummings 2, McSurdy, Larson, Mariani, Lisowski. JMU: Williams 11, Skolnitsky 9, Haywood 7, Griffin 7, Nelson 7, Veney 6, Moats 5, Abdul-Wahid 3, McGee 2, Cuffee 2, McCollough 2, Daniels 2, Pritchard, Bryant.
SACKS

Montana: Corwin. JMU: Skolnitsky ½, Moats ½.
INTERCEPTION

Montana: Swink.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES

Montana: Fetherston, Pelluer, Lisowski.