Football Falls to 0-2 With Loss on the Road at #12 James Madison

The Central Connecticut football team dropped to 0-2 on the season with a 56-21 loss at #12 James Madison on Saturday night at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, VA.  The Blue Devils fall to 0-3 all-time vs. the Dukes, with all three meetings coming since the 2011 season.  

Central will return to action at home next Saturday, Sept. 17, at 3 p.m. vs. Bowie State.  James Madison will play at North Carolina.

The Dukes scored on all five first half possessions and took a 35-7 lead at the break.  Junior quarterback Bryan Schor completed 15 of 16 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offense.  JMU racked up 359 total yards in the half and held the Blue Devils to just 109.

The Dukes led 21-0 before the Blue Devils scored their lone points of the half.  Sophomore quarterback Jacob Dolegala hit classmate K.J. Smith for a four-yard score to cut the lead to 21-7 with 12:41 left in the second half.  The Blue Devil scoring drive went eight plays for 84 yards and took just 3:38 as Central got on the board for the first time.

Dolegala was 9-of-14 for 88 yards and a touchdown in the first half.  Central ran for just 21 yards on the ground, led by 18 from senior Brenden Lytton.

James Madison ran for 178 yards on 21 rushes in the half and Schor threw for 181 and three scores.

JMU returned a punt for a touchdown to make it 42-7 to open the second half before the Blue Devils put together a solid offensive drive to cut the lead to 42-14.  Dolegala hit junior Joey Field for a 17-yard touchdown strike to cap an 80-yard drive.  It was his second scoring pass of the game.

The Blue Devils cut the lead to 42-21 with uner two minutes to play in the third quarter when junior Najae Brown intercepted a Schor pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.  JMU answered with a quick scoring drive to make it 49-21 with 13:58 to play. 

Dolegala finished the game 19-of-31 for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  Smith led the receivers with four catches for 65 yards.  Nash also had four catches.  Lytton rushed for 33 yards to lead the rushing attack.

Schor finished the game 17-of-21 for 205 yards and three touchdowns.  Cardon Johnson rushed for 121 yards and two scores while Khalid Abdullah had 113 yards and a score.

Defensively the Blue Devils were led by Brown who had 10 tackles and the interception for the score.  Junior Randall LaGuerre added eight stops.  Senior Joel Maddock had a sack.  

The Blue Devils return home on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 3 p.m. hosting Bowie State in the Harmony Classic.