LYNCHBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Down 13-10 midway through the third quarter, James Madison scored 21 unanswered points to come away with a 31-13 victory at Liberty in the inaugural Battle of the Blue Ridge matchup on Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium.
JMU (2-1) outscored Liberty (1-3) by a 21-3 margin the second half, holding Liberty to only 92 yards over the final 30 minutes, and outgaining the Flames 440-233 in total. The Dukes rushed for 231 yards, led by Wayne Knight’s (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) 89 yards and his second touchdown of the year. Ayo Adeyi added 87 yards on 13 carries.
Alonza Barnett III (Whitsett, N.C./Grimsley) accounted for three touchdowns, grabbing one through the air and a pair on the ground. He finished 17-of-25 for 213 passing yards while adding 45 yards in the run game to tally 258 total yards.
Jaylan Sanchez had his most efficient outing at JMU, as he caught a season-high four passes for 51 receiving yards. Landon Ellis caught his second touchdown of the season, finishing with three grabs for 40 yards.
For Liberty, Ethan Vasko, who was limited to just the first half due to injury, threw for 37 yards on 4-of-10 passing while adding 52 rushing yards and a score. Evan Dickens led the Flames with 67 rushing yards. Michael Merdinger took over signal-call duties in the second half, finishing 2-of-6 for 21 passing yards and 18 rushing yards.
Defensively, JMU limited Liberty to just 3.7 per play and produced three sacks, led by Aiden Gobaira, who registered the first two sacks of his career. Trent Hendrick had a team-high six tackles, while Xavier Holmes and Jacob Thomas each had five stops. Elijah Culp added four tackles and two pass breakups.
The victory marked JMU’s 21st straight against an in-state opponent and the 100th all-time, dating back to 1972.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Teams traded field goals on their respective opening drives, as Morgan Suarez knocked down a 39-yard field goal, while Jay Billingsley answered with a 47-yarder to knot the game at 3-3 with just under five minutes to play in the first.
• JMU out-gained Liberty 120-46 in the opening frame, but its second drive was thwarted in the red zone on the final play of the first on a Liberty interception in the end zone.
• Liberty took its first lead with 5:34 to play in the half, as Vasko converted a fourth down to get in the red zone and scored two plays later from two yards out to give the hosts a 10-3 lead.
• JMU answered back in the closing minutes of the half, as Barnett guided the Dukes on a 77-yard drive, capped off by a 21-yard touchdown strike to Ellis for his second receiving score of the year. That tied the game at 10 apiece heading into the half.
• JMU held a 213-141 lead in total offense in the first half, including a 110-37 margin in the pass game.
• Liberty opened the second half with nearly a seven-minute drive, aided by JMU penalties, and regained the lead at 13-10 on a 35-yard field goal from Billingsley.
• JMU retook the lead on the ensuing possession. Barnett connected with Lacota Dippre and Nick DeGennaro on consecutive passes to tally 61 yards through the air, and Knight finished off the drive with a one-yard scamper, giving JMU a 17-13 lead with 3:32 to go in the third.
• After a stop, JMU found the end zone again, as the trio of Barnett, Knight and Adeyi moved the Dukes downfield in a hurry, leading to Barnett’s nine-yard touchdown run. That put JMU up 24-13 with 11:07 to play.
• JMU extended their lead to 18 with a 13-yard touchdown rush from Barnett with 2:31 remaining, moving the score to 31-13 and pushing the contest out of reach for the Flames.
GAME NOTES
• JMU out-gained Liberty 213-75 through the air and 227-158 in the run game.
• On third down, JMU was 6-of-10, while Liberty was 3-of-14.
• JMU produced 24 first downs, as opposed to LU’s 16.
• JMU’s offensive line did not give up a sack, and LU only tallied two tackles for loss all day.
• Lacota Dippre turned in a career-long 36-yard catch in the third quarter, which was longer than his career receiving yards. He finished with two catches for a career-best 43 receiving yards.
• JMU is now 3-0 all-time against Conference USA opponents, having also beaten Middle Tennessee in the 2022 season opener and Western Kentucky in the 2024 Boca Raton Bowl. The Dukes also moved to 13-6 all-time against Liberty and 7-2 in Lynchburg.
UP NEXT
JMU opens Sun Belt play on Saturday, Sept. 27 when it hosts Georgia Southern in a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at Bridgeforth Stadium.
— JMU Athletics —
