James Madison stymies St. Francis (Pa) 44-7

Updated: Sep 8, 2019, 02:26 am

HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Ben DiNucci threw two touchdown passes, Solomon Vanhorse ran for two and the James Madison defense was dominant in the Dukes' 44-7 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday.

While James Madison (1-1), which has won 17-straight home openers, was building a 27-0 halftime lead and 37-0 after three quarters, the Red Flash offense was completely stymied. After picking up 32 yards on its first possession, Saint Francis had 32 yards on its next nine possessions, all three-and-outs.

Vanhorse had a pair of touchdown runs sandwiched around Jake Brown's 45-yard catch and run for a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. James Madison's next three drives were Ethan Ratke field goals. Then DiNucci connected with Austin Douglas to make it 37-0.

Saint Francis (1-1) put together a 13-play, 77-yard drive with Jason Brown hitting E.J. Jenkins for a 10-yard touchdown.

James Madison, ranked No. 2 by FCS coaches, quickly responded behind backup quarterback Cole Johnson, who went 4 for 4 capped by a 2-yard toss to Clayton Cheatham.

With five different players gaining at least 33 yards, James Madison had 295 yards rushing and 533 yards in total offense. The Dukes had 29 first downs to nine for the Red Flash, who had 175 yards of total offense. Saint Francis' longest play from scrimmage was 16 yards.