Reynolds, #25 JMU Rolls to 55-20 Triumph at #14 Richmond

Saturday, November 15

Richmond, Va.

12:30 p.m.

James Madison University

Richmond

Reynolds, #25 JMU Rolls to 55-20 Triumph at #14 Richmond

11/15/2014 4:15:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Players Press Conference
Withers Press Conference

RICHMOND, Va. - Redshirt-sophomore cornerback Taylor Reynolds (Newark, Del./Newark) recorded two interceptions for touchdowns and redshirt-junior quarterback Vad Lee (Durham, N.C./Hillside (Georgia Tech)) set the program's single-season passing record as the 25th-ranked James Madison rolled to a 55-20 Colonial Athletic Association football victory at No. 14 Richmond Saturday at Robins Stadium.

The Dukes won their sixth straight game to improve to 8-3 on the year and 5-2 in CAA play while the Spiders dropped their second straight outing, falling to 7-4 and 4-3.

The 55 points scored by JMU was the most it ever tallied against Richmond in the 32-game history, besting the previous record of 47 in 1991 and was the most points on the road since beating Towson 58-20 on Nov. 22, 2008.

Reynolds set a pair of program records in the win, as he became the first Duke to register two interceptions for touchdowns and had 101 yards on his two picks, also a record. Only the third JMU player to record two defensive TDs, he also forced two touchdown-saving fumbles, had eight tackles and two pass breakups.

Lee also rewrote the JMU record book Saturday, throwing for 433 yards with two touchdowns. He not only broke his own single-game passing record (406 at Villanova) but also surpassed Michael Birdsong's single-season passing record (2,728) and is now the lone JMU quarterback to ever reach 3,000 passing yards as he sits at 3,066 yards. Lee also ran for 22 yards and added another rushing TD.

Senior wide receiver DeAndre' Smith (District Heights, Md./Wise) made four catches for a career-best 128 yards, which included a program-record 93-yard touchdown reception early in the first quarter. That play, in which Lee found Smith wide open downfield, was also the second-longest play from scrimmage ever by JMU. It was the second 100-yard receiving game of Smith's career as he had 122 yards at Richmond on Oct. 20, 2012.

Other receivers of note were sophomore Brandon Ravenel (Stafford, Va./North Stafford), who had two catches for 90 yards, and redshirt senior Daniel Brown (Windsor, Va./Isle of Wight), who tied Smith with four catches to go with 56 yards and a touchdown. A total of 10 players made at least one reception in the win.

The Dukes amassed 526 total yards off offense on 433 yards passing and 93 yards rushing while the Spiders totaled 403 yards on 234 through the air and 169 on the ground. JMU forced UR into five turnovers (3 interception, 2 fumble) while only giving the ball away once on a fumble. Madison converted 11-of-17 third-down attempts while Richmond was 9-of-18.

Richmond was led by quarterback Michael Strauss, who threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns, despite throwing three interceptions. Seth Fisher carried the ball 14 times for a game-best 126 yards and Reggie Diggs made five catches for 97 yards in the defeat.

The Dukes jumped out to an early 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game and it only took three plays to get on the board. Facing a third-and-11 from his own seven-yard line, Lee found Smith downfield for a 93-yard touchdown pass. That broke a 21-year-old record for longest pass, dating back to when Mike Cawley hit David McLeod for an 86-yard passing TD vs. New Hampshire on Oct. 16, 1993.

JMU doubled its lead to 14-0 on the ensuing drive with 7:42 to go in the first, when Strauss had his pass intercepted by Reynolds, who returned it 55 yards for his second career pick-six and the Dukes' third interception return for a touchdown this season.

The Spiders answered back, utilizing an eight-play drive to get on the board. UR kept the drive alive with a 34-yard pass to Diggs and Strauss capped off the drive when he found a wide-open Brian Brown for a 4-yard touchdown to make it a 14-6 game with 3:14 remaining in the opening quarter.

Early in the second, the Dukes stretched the lead to 21-6 with 11:59 to go in the half. The offense converted a pair of third-down conversions to set up a six-yard touchdown scamper by Lee, his seventh rushing score of the year. Richmond brought itself back to within eight at 21-13 with 5:44 to go when Jacobi Green caught a short screen pass from Strauss and used downfield blocks to score from 28 yards out.

The Dukes regained a two-possession lead just 1:18 later on a 6-play, 75-yard drive. Ravenel hauled in a 50-yard reception, followed up by a 17-yard leaping grab by freshman tight end Jonathan Kloosterman (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) to set up first and goal. Two plays later, redshirt-senior tailback Jauan Latney (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) walked into the endzone from three yards out, upping JMU's lead to 28-13.

After JMU hit a 43-yard field goal, Richmond seized an opportunity off a pair of targeting calls to drive quickly down the field, ending with a Strauss TD pass to Green from nine yards out to make it 31-20 at the break.

A 35-yard field goal early in the second half extended JMU's advantage to 34-20 and after a long Richmond pass play was overturned, Reynolds picked off Strauss for the second time, returning it 46 yards for his second touchdown of the afternoon and the team's fourth of the year.

The interception woes continued for the Spiders, as Strauss turned it over for the third time, throwing into the hands of redshirt-freshman linebacker Kyre Hawkins (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) for his first career interception. Three plays later, Lee tossed his second passing score of the day to Brown for his seventh touchdown reception of the season to extend the lead to 48-20 with 5 minutes left in the third. In the fourth, the Dukes completed the game's scoring output on a 10-yard option rush by sophomore wide receiver Rashard Davis (Charlottesville, Va./Charlottesville) to put the Dukes ahead 55-20 with just over 6 minutes to go.

JMU closes the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 22 when it hosts CAA newcomer Elon at noon. Prior to kickoff, the Dukes will honor their senior class.