HARRISONBURG, Va., Nov. 7, 2009 – James Madison jumped out to a 22-0 lead through three quarters and held on for the 22-14 victory while benefitting from six Maine turnovers in a Colonial Athletic Association football contest Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.

JMU won its second in a row to improve to 4-5 for the season and 2-4 in the CAA.  Maine dropped to 4-5 on the season and 3-3 in the league.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Thorpe (Richmond, Va./Varina) had 216 total yards of offense in the JMU victory.  He completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 133 yards and a score while also rushing 17 times for a net of 83 yards and a score.

Redshirt junior Jamal Sullivan (Ruther Glen, Va./Caroline) rushed 22 times for 83 yards as the pair accounted for 299 of JMU’s 328 total yards.  JMU led total offense 328 to 309 and forced four interceptions and two fumbles by the Black Bears compared to two turnovers committed on a pair of picks.  The Dukes also held UM to 49 total yards rushing with a 195-49 advantage for the game.

Warren Smith completed 25 of 42 passes for 178 yards for Maine with one touchdown and three interceptions.  Mike Brusko caught 12 passes, one short of the stadium record, for 90 yards while also throwing an 82-yard touchdown on a fake punt in the fourth quarter.

The Dukes took advantage of a series of first-half miscues by the Black Bears to build a 15-0 lead at the break.  JMU opened the game’s scoring on a safety in the second quarter when the snap on a punt went out of the end zone. 

The ensuing free kick went out of bounds to set up JMU at the 50, and Thorpe had a career-long 42-yard burst to put the Dukes ahead 9-0.  A pair of field goals set up by short fields after an interception and a fumble gave JMU the 15-0 lead at the half.

Maine opened the game with an impressive 14-play, 80-yard drive in 7:50 to the JMU eight-yard line.  However, the Dukes came up with the stop on fourth-and-one, pushing Derek Session back for a loss of one.

JMU received the kick to open the second half and drove 66 yards on nine plays in five minutes, culminating in a 31-yard pass from Thorpe to sophomore running back Scott Noble (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) for a 22-0 lead.

Maine made the contest close in the fourth with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Brusko and the 82-yard pass by Brusko on a fake punt for a 22-14 score with 6:01 remaining. 

JMU went three-and-out twice in the final six minutes, but the Dukes held the Black Bears to a total of 24 yards on their final two possessions before finally intercepting the game’s final play.

Redshirt sophomore Pat Williams (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) led JMU with 11 total tackles while Vinson Givans had 15 for Maine.

JMU will be on the road next week for a noon kickoff at Massachusetts.  The game will be televised on The Comcast Network.