JMU turns back Liberty

LYNCHBURG -- Late in the fourth quarter late night, a lake had formed along the Liberty sideline. Standing water was several inches deep and covered nearly the length of the sideline. So imagine just how waterlogged the football must have been when Flames quarterback Tommy Beecher tried to dig Liberty out of a third-and-long hole trailing by a touchdown.

Beecher had no choice, though, but to fling the ball as hard as he could. He overthrew his target, receiver Mike Brown, and James Madison's Griff Yancey was there waiting. He intercepted the ball and returned it 34 yards to the Liberty 13, and Corwin Acker ran it in on the next play for his second touchdown of the fourth quarter, sealing JMU's 24-10 victory.

Acker, filling in for injured starter Jamal Sullivan, ran for 136 yards and scored on touchdowns of 65 and 13 yards to break a 10-10 tie in the fourth quarter.

Immediately after Liberty tied the game on a 27-yard Matt Bevins field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, Acker took a handoff from his 35, made one cut to the left and beat everyone on Liberty's defense. The 65-yard run was the longest of his career and gave the seventh-ranked Dukes (2-1) the lead for good.

Acker, who came into the game with 195 career rushing yards, ran for 147 of JMU's 301 yards yesterday. Sullivan left with a bruised patella tendon in his left knee after taking a vicious hit from Liberty's Tim Torrence early in the third quarter, leaving Acker to take a lead role. He averaged 12.2 yards per carry and scored the first two touchdowns of his career.

Neither team could mount much of a passing attack. JMU quarterbacks Drew Dudzik and Justin Thorpe combined to go 4 for 8 for 47 yards and each threw an interception. Thorpe's came right before halftime, when JMU was inside the Liberty 10.

JMU coach Mickey Matthews had been rotating the two for the past two games, but Dudzik played the entire second half last night.

The game wasn't decided until late in the fourth quarter. With JMU up 17-10 and pinned inside its 10, Dukes punter Matt Goff pounded a 65-yard punt over the head of returner Mike Brown, who clearly didn't expect Goff to kick it so far. Picking up the slick ball was a perilous proposition, so Brown just let it roll until it settled at the Liberty 29.

The 25th-ranked Flames (2-2) went three and out on the next drive, and they didn't pick up another first down the rest of the game.

"I don't think there was any question the punt was probably the big play in the game," Matthews said. "It flipped the field."

Liberty fell to 0-13 all-time against teams ranked in the FCS top 10, but this was the first time the Flames had played a top 10 team when ranked themselves. Liberty touted the game as the biggest home game in school history. Despite playing well, Flames coach Danny Rocco wasn't ready to say his program had bridged the gap between it and the state's powerful Colonial Athletic Association teams.

"I can't say that," Rocco said. "There were certainly times in the game where you'd sit there and say these were two pretty evenly matched football teams, and I certainly had that feel in most of the first three quarters. But good teams know how to finish. Good teams understand how to capitalize on momentum and take control of the game. And that's what they did."

Chris Lang covers Liberty for the Lynchburg News & Advance.

James Madison ------------------------- 3 7 0 14--24
Liberty ------------------------- 0 7 0 3--10
First Quarter

JMU--FG Wright 35, 5:22.
Second Quarter

Lib--Beecher 1 run (Bevins kick), 14:54.

JMU--Sullivan 5 run (Wright kick), 5:14.
Fourth Quarter

Lib--FG Bevins 27, 14:55.

JMU--Acker 65 run (Wright kick), 14:35.

JMU--Acker 13 run (Wright kick), 1:58.

A--15,532.
 JMU

Lib
First downs-------------------------19

9
Return yards-------------------------43

17
Punts-Avg.-------------------------3-46.3

5-41.4
Rushes-yards-------------------------50-301

34-96
Passing yards-------------------------47

121
Comp-Att-Int-------------------------4-8-2

6-19-2
Fumbles-lost-------------------------1-1

4-0
Penalties-yards-------------------------7-35

3-25
Time of possession-------------------------32:34

27:26
RUSHING

JMU (50-301) , Acker 12-147, Sullivan 15-93, Dudzik 12-32, Thorpe 7-28, Goff 1-4, D.Smith 1-(minus 1), Team 2-(minus 2). Lib erty (34-96) , M.Brown 12-56, Allen 7-25, Hayes 6-18, Beecher 8-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 2).
PASSING

JMU (4-8-2--47) , Dudzik 2-5-1-30, Thorpe 2-3-1-17. Liberty (6-19-2--121) , Beecher 5-15-2-114, M.Brown 1-4-0-7.
RECEIVING

JMU , Caussin 2-23, Noble 1-14, Sullivan 1-10. Liberty , Summers 3-85, Hayes 2-29, F.Brown 1-7.