Williamsburg - James Madison sophomore tailback Maurice Fenner ran for 106 yards on 18 carries in the second half and the Dukes took advantage of two crucial Tribe turnovers in the pivotal third quarter to down William and Mary, 48-34, in the semifinals of the 2004 NCAA I-AA Football Championship Friday night at soldout Zable Stadium.
With the victory, Madison advances to the national championship game next Friday night in Chattanooga, TN and improves to 12-2 on the season, while the Tribe closes the 2004 campaign with a mark of 11-3.
The Tribe spotted JMU a 21-0 lead after the first quarter, but rallied behind an impressive second quarter effort from senior quarterback
Lang Campbell (Winchester, VA), a Payton Award Finalist and All-American candidate, to trim the Dukes' lead to one at the half.
After the Dukes' Clint Kent intercepted Campbell at the JMU 31-yard line and raced 69 yards for a touchdown, giving JMU a three-touchdown advantage just 11 minutes into the game, Campbell completed 17 consecutive passes and the Tribe scored on four-straight possessions to pull within 21-20.
W&M cracked the scoreboard on a 27-yard field goal by junior all-conference kicker
Greg Kuehn (Potomac Falls, VA), capping a 65-yard, 13-play drive. The drive was keyed by a 30-yard pass from Campbell to redshirt freshman wide receiver
Joe Nicholas (Sugarloaf, PA) over the middle, giving the Tribe a first-and-10 at the Dukes' 15.
On JMU's ensuing possession, the Tribe forced a three-and-out and regained control at its 32-yard line after a 10-yard punt return by junior Jon Shaw (Altamonte Springs, FL).
The Tribe moved 68 yards and 10 plays and Campbell scored from two-yards out on a bootleg to his right, trimming the Dukes' advantage to 21-10 with 6:20 remaining in the first half. On the drive, Campbell ran four times for 16 yards, while sophomore tailback
Elijah Brooks (Largo, MD) carried four times for 17 yards.
After another JMU punt, Campbell went back to work at his own 40-yard line and quickly marched the Tribe 60 yards on seven plays, connecting with Nicholas on a nine-yard touchdown pass with 2:14 remaining to make it 21-17. Campbell completed four-of-four passes on the drive for 35 yards, and senior wide receiver
Dominique Thompson (Durham, NC) ripped off an 18-yard run on a end-around.
W&M forced JMU three-and-out on its next series, and Kuehn drilled a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the opening half, capping a quick three-play, 34-yard drive. Campbell completed passes of nine yards to senior
John Pitts (Kernersville, NC), 23-yards to junior tight end
Adam Bratton (Montoursville, PA) and four yards to Thompson to set up Kuehn's 46th career field goal, which moved him into a tie for third place on the Atlantic 10 career chart.
Campbell and senior tailback
Jon Smith (Cincinnati, OH) kept the momentum going on the first series of the second half, as the Tribe moved 73 yards on seven plays to take its first lead of the game, 26-21, on a seven-yard touchdown pass to Thompson. Smith, who led the Tribe ground attack with 67 yards on 15 carries, gained 17 yards on four attempts on the drive, and Campbell completed all three of his attempts, including strikes of 35 and 12 yards to Nicholas.
Unfortunately for the Tribe, the tides quickly turned in favor of JMU, as the Dukes answered with a two-play, 63-yard drive to move back ahead, 27-26. Fenner reeled off a 29-yard run to start the drive, and sophomore quarterback Justin Rascati hit D.D. Boxley on a 34-yard scoring pass to put the Dukes ahead to stay.
On the Tribe's ensuing possession, Smith fumbled at the Tribe's 40, which led to an 11-play, 48-yard drive for JMU, which was capped by a four-yard run by senior fullback Chris Iorio that pushed the JMU lead to 34-26 with 4:24 remaining in the third.
W&M turned it over again on its next series, as Campbell was hit behind the line of scrimmage by Dukes' senior defensive tackle Brandon Beach, causing a fumble that was recovered at the Tribe's 18. Three plays later, Rascati hooked up with freshman Antoinne Bolton for a 13-yard scoring pass, extending the lead to 41-26.
The Tribe's next drive stalled at its own 23, and after a 36-yard punt by senior
Mike Mesi (Eatontown, NJ) the Dukes regained control at their 42-yard line.
Fenner ran six-straight times for a total of 31 yards to open the drive, and sophomore Alvin Banks capped a 15-play, 58-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run, effectively putting it out reach at 48-26 with 8:01 remaining in the fourth.
Campbell connected with Pitts on a four-yard touchdown pass, his third of the game, with 1:21 remaining, and the two-point run by Campbell set the final margin at 48-34.
Campbell completed 30-of-39 passes for 315 yards, surpassing the 300-yard mark for the seventh time this season. His three touchdown passes extended his single-season record to 30, while his 315 passing yards brought his season total to 3,988, which also ranks as the single-best season in W&M history.
Nicholas pulled in eight catches for 119 yards, his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, while Thompson closed his stellar senior season with eight receptions for 96 yards. Thompson extended his single-season receiving yards total to 1,585 and caught his 13th touchdown pass of the season.
Smith moved into fifth place on the College's career rushing list with 2,546 yards.
Despite the loss, W&M set a school record with 11 victories this season and advanced to the semifinals for the first time ever. The loss also snapped the Tribe's nine-game winning streak at Zable Stadium.
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