DiNucci’s three TDs boost JMU past ’Nova
HARRISONBURG, VA. >> Ben DiNucci passed for three touchdowns, MJ Hampton returned an interception 83 yards for the winning score and James Madison rallied with a dominant fourth quarter to clip Villanova 38-24 on Saturday in a clash of two teams ranked in the top five of the FCS polls.
The second-ranked Dukes
(6-1, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association) entered the fourth quarter trailing by a touchdown but scored three times and shut out the fifth-ranked Wildcats (6-1, 3-1) over the final 15 minutes. Villanova lost a fumble, had three passes picked off and missed a field goal in its last five possessions.
The backbreaker came with
10:48 remaining when quarterback Daniel Smith was driving Villanova to a second-and-6 at the 21. He threw to Changa Hodge on the right flat but Hamilton had a running start and snatched the ball away as it arrived.
At midfield he cut inside behind a key block from Dimitri Holloway to beat Smith and was in the clear for the winning score.
Smith finished with 387 yards passing and three touchdowns. Hodge led all receivers with 134 yards and two TDs on eight catches. DeeWill Barlee, the Episcopal Academy AllDelco, was the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 11 carries for
38 yards in place of the injured Justin Covington, and Barlee also caught two passes for 23 yards.
DiNucci passed for 216 yards, Riley Stapleton caught two TD passes, Latrele Palmer gained 103 yards on eight carries with a touchdown for JMU. MISERICORDIA 40, WIDENER 35 >> Sam Gillison hauled in a 16yard touchdown from Brady Williams for the only score of the third quarter, putting the Cougars up for good as part of
24 straight points to ruin the Pride’s homecoming.
Widener (3-3, 2-2 MAC) had led 28-16 on John Bauer’s fiveyard run with 3:36 left in the first half.
But Misericordia (3-1, 3-0) cut the deficit to five at the break and led 40-28 until a cosmetic score by the Pride in the final minute.
Sean McGaughey threw for
297 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score. He hit James Gillespie for a 33-yard score in the first quarter and Ethan Reiger for a 23-yarder with 45 ticks left in the game. Gillespie made nine catches, including the 100th of his Widener career, for 130 yards. It’s his fifth 100-yard game of the season. Tahir Cruse ran for 75 yards and a score. WILLIAMSON 21, COPPIN STATE
7>> Ridley High graduate Nick Layden scored on a threeyard run on Williamson’s first possession of the game, and Layden hit old Ridley mate Lamont Sudler with a 14-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, keying the Mechanics’ victory Saturday.
On a homecoming day in which the Betty and Russ
5W0 Field was dedicated, the Mechanics had put together a
14-play, 88-yard drive to start which culminated in Layden’s touchdown run.
Coppin State’s James Garrett latched on to a 14-yard scoring pass from Michael Smalls as the Eagles bounced back to 7-7. But Layden’s scoring strike to Sudler and a sevenyard scoring run by Interboro All-Delco Michael Moore in the fourth quarter helped Williamson put the finishing touches on the win.
Quincy Williams had six tackles for Williamson, while Ridley grad Joe Spillman had five, along with a sack and forced fumble. That helped Williamson improve to 3-1.