Completed Event: Football versus Weber State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 45, to, 10


9/20/2025 7:34:00 PM | Football
LYNCHBURG, Va. – 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 89 yards and his second touchdown of the year. Ayo Adeyi added 87 yards on 13 carries.
Alonza Barnett III 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
GAME NOTES
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 3, LU 0
JMU - Suarez,Morgan 39 yd field goal 12 plays, 54 yards, TOP 05:18
JMU 3, LU 3
LU - Billingsley,Jay 47 yd field goal 11 plays, 46 yards, TOP 04:47
JMU 3, LU 10
LU - Vasko,Ethan 2 yd run (Billingsley,Jay kick), 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 04:34
JMU 10, LU 10
JMU - Ellis,Landon 21 yd pass from Barnett III,Alonza (Suarez,Morgan kick) 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 04:07
JMU 10, LU 13
LU - Billingsley,Jay 35 yd field goal 13 plays, 59 yards, TOP 06:54
JMU 17, LU 13
JMU - Knight,Wayne 1 yd run (Suarez,Morgan kick), 9 plays, 81 yards, TOP 04:27
JMU 24, LU 13
JMU - Barnett III,Alonza 9 yd run (Suarez,Morgan kick), 11 plays, 67 yards, TOP 05:52
JMU 31, LU 13
JMU - Barnett III,Alonza 13 yd run (Suarez,Morgan kick), 8 plays, 68 yards, TOP 04:05