WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Competing against a top-10 opponent for the second consecutive game, the William & Mary football team fell to No. 2 James Madison, 38-10, in front of a sold-out crowd for Homecoming at Zable Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
 
Although W&M (2-5, 0-3) got on the scoreboard first with a 20-yard field goal by Jake Johnston midway through the first quarter, JMU (7-1, 4-0) responded with 21 unanswered points before halftime.
 
A 6-yard touchdown pass from Ted Hefter to Trey Zgombic on a fake field goal narrowed the margin to 21-10 early in the third quarter, but the Dukes held W&M scoreless during the remainder of the contest en route to securing the conference win.
 
 
Tribe Standouts
Bronson Yoder led the Tribe offensively with 77 yards rushing on six carries, highlighted by a 73-yard scamper that helped set up Johnston's field goal. It marked the longest run by a Tribe player since 2011 and ranks as the 15th-longest run in school history.
 
Zach Burdick was the Tribe's leading receiver with three catches for 58 yards.
 
Latrelle Smith and Nate Atkins led W&M in tackles with nine and eight, respectively, while Gavin Johnson posted six tackles with a sack, forced fumble and a PBU.
 
Bill Murray added seven stops with a TFL, while Isaiah Laster recorded an interception in the end zone that halted a JMU scoring opportunity in the first quarter.  
 
George Eberle averaged 44.4 yards per punt on his seven kicks, which included a career-long 56-yard punt.
 
Inside the Numbers
Although W&M held the Dukes to 126 yards rushing, which was 126 yards below its average entering the contest (252.4), JMU owned a 250-119 advantage through the air and outgained the Tribe, 376-194.

Just one of JMU's five touchdown drives covered more than 36 yards.
 
The Dukes held a 3-1 edge in forced turnovers and converted 8 of 17 third downs. W&M was 5 of 16 on third down situations.
 
JMU also posted 4.0 sacks and 15.0 TFL.
 
The Opposition
Quarterback Ben DiNucci completed 23 of 36 passes for 250 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
 
Percy Agyei-Obese rushed for a team-high 68 yards with two touchdowns, while Brandon Polk totaled seven catches for 77 yards with a score.
 
Defensively, Ron'Dell Carter recorded a team-high 10 tackles with a sack and 6.0 TFL.
 
Notes
In addition to ranking as the 15th-longest run in school history, Yoder's 73-yard scamper marked the longest run by a Tribe player since 2011 … Ten players recorded at least one catch for W&M … The Tribe scored on both its trips into the red zone and has recorded seven touchdowns in its last nine trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line … The Tribe is now 53-38 in its Homecoming games.  
 
Up Next
The Tribe will continue its conference slate when it travels to Maine next Saturday. W&M's next home game will be against Rhode Island on Nov. 9. Tickets for the W&M-URI game are available by clicking here or by calling the Tribe Ticket Office.