JMU Controls Coastal Carolina 39-7

Thursday, October 10

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:30 p.m.

James Madison University

5-1 , 1-1

Coastal Carolina

4-2 , 1-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Coastal Carolina	7	0	0	0	7
James Madison	7	22	7	3	39

10/10/2024 10:57:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Mike Barber

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison's white out turned out to be a wipeout.

Quarterback Alonza Barnett III threw for three touchdowns and the Dukes' defense took over the national lead in turnovers, blowing out visiting Coastal Carolina, 39-7, on Thursday night at Bridgeforth Stadium.

"It's great when you're playing on national TV and you play at the level we played at today," said linebacker Jacob Dobbs. "

In front of the ninth largest crowd in stadium history -- 25,622, many clad in white for the Dukes' annual Brighten the Lights of Madison game – JMU outgained the Chanticleers 421-181 to pick up its first Sun Belt victory of the season.

Running back George Pettaway rushed for 89 yards on 13 carries and caught a 9-yard touchdown pass, as the Dukes racked up 222 yards on the ground.

JMU (5-1 overall, 1-1 SBC) shook off last weekend's loss at ULM in impressive and dominant fashion, jumping out to a 29-7 halftime lead on its way to a fourth straight blowout of Coastal Carolina.

"Obviously that was disappointing last week for all of us," Barnett said of the previous game. "But just the continued confidence we have in each other will take us a long way."

In their three FBS meetings with the Chanticleers, the Dukes have now outscored them 142-28. Thursday, it stifled the conference's No. 2 scoring offense, holding Coastal Carolina to its lowest point and total yard marks this season.

"You had everybody playing within the framework of the defense, doing their one eleventh," said Dobbs, who posted a team-high nine tackles. "And the D-line, I thought, just dominated the game. They wrecked the game."

The offense was creative, unpredictable and – for much of the night – unstoppable. The defense continued its dynamic play, not only holding the Chanticleers to a 3 for 14 showing on third downs, but also taking over the nation's lead in turnovers with 17.

That included defensive tackle Lloyd Summerall III's 35-yard pick-6 in the second quarter.

"It's still surreal for me right now," Summerall said. "Just seeing the ball in the air and took it to the crib. It was a great feeling."

Five days after struggling offensively on the road at ULM, the Dukes had no trouble moving the ball against the Chanticleers, as offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy's diverse and deceptive game plan kept Coastal (4-2, 1-1) on its heels all night.

JMU got on the board first, scoring on a nifty red zone play where it motioned Pettaway out into a bunch formation, then threw him a bubble screen. Tight end Josh Phifer opened space for Pettaway to juke up field, and wide receiver Dylan Williams threw the final block, at the 2-yard line, to get Pettaway into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 6:51 left in the first quarter.

After Coastal responded with a big play of its own, a 40-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Vasko to Jameson Tucker, JMU dialed up some more offensive creativity.

Barnett took a shotgun snap and gave the ball to Pettaway, who shuffled it to wide receiver Omarion Dollison on a reverse. Dollison flipped it back to Barnett who fired down field to an open Taylor Thompson for 33 yards.

That set up a 25-yard touchdown grab by Thompson, who made a leaping catch on a well-placed ball by Barnett to put the Dukes – who picked up the 2-point conversion – ahead 15-7.

Summerall's interception return, the first of his career, put JMU ahead 22-7 and signaled that the rout was on.

JMU improved to 20-3 following its first regular-season loss since 2000 and coach Bob Chesney won his 10^th straight game following a defeat, a streak that dates back to his years at Holy Cross.

The Dukes next play at Georgia Southern on Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. and airing on ESPN+.