Despite Third Quarter Rally, Football Falls 40-13 At JMU

HARRISONBURG, Va. – In front of a sell-out crowd of 25,201 at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Va., the University at Albany football team fell 40-13 to the hosting James Madison University Dukes Saturday afternoon in CAA play. JMU improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while the Great Danes dropped to 1-5 on the season and 0-2 in the CAA.

On target all afternoon, junior quarterback Will Fiacchi completed 26-of-43 passes for a total of 214 passing yards and one touchdown. Tight end Brian Parker had a career day as Fiacchi's top receiver, recording eight receptions for 71-yards. Senior wide receiver Kevin Chillis was also a go-to option with six receptions, 22-receiving-yards and a touchdown catch.

On the ground, Omar Osbourne carried the ball 17 times, netting 59 rushing yards.

Defensively, the Great Danes were led by Christian Dorsey's eight tackles, while Alex Helmer and Michael Nicastro logged seven apiece.

As a team, UAlbany finished with 324 yards of total offense, while JMU recorded 460. Neither squad surrendered a fumble or interception.

After forcing the Great Danes to punt in their first possession, James Madison quickly put points on the board with a four-play, 78-yard drive. Tailback Khalid Abdullah took the handoff and rushed 38-yards into the end zone, breaking six tackles along the way to give JMU a 6-0 head start. With 11:18 on the clock in the first quarter, the Dukes went for two, but the run was stifled by the UAlbany defense.

The Great Danes immediately responded with a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive. With third-and-seven Fiacchi found Cole King 40-yards down field along the visitor's sideline, giving UAlbany a first down on the JMU-21. Five snaps later, kicker Tom O'Riordan connected a 24-yard field goal, making the score 6-3 with 6:36 remaining in the opening quarter.

The hosting Dukes answered back with a touchdown on the next drive, using four plays to cover 78-yards in 1:10. JMU quarterback Michael Birdsong capped the drive with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Brown. However, the Dukes again missed the point-after, as the kick sailed wide right, making the score 12-3 with 5:26 left in the first quarter.

James Madison added another touchdown at the start of the second quarter, closing a 10-play, 67-yard drive with Dae-Quan Scott's three-yard rush across the goal line. With their first successful extra point, the Dukes held a 19-3 lead with 11:54 remaining in the second quarter.

Forcing UAlbany to punt, JMU took over on its own 36-yard line and drove down the gridiron with 10 plays. Birdsong zipped a pass to Brown in the back of the end zone with 6:06 left in the first half, giving the Duke s 26-3 advantage after the kick.

The Great Danes looked as though they were in line for their own successful scoring drive after a roughing the kicker penalty gave UAlbany a fresh opportunity at the UAlbany-45. The Danes drove to the 10, using an 11-yard fleaflicker pass to Osbourne, a 10-yard pass to Parker, and a 10-yard scramble by Fiacchi. However, a holding penalty and a third-down sack for a loss of 10 forced a punt with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

While the Dukes were given another chance to score, the Great Dane defense displayed their best performance of the game, recording back-to-back sacks by Joe Fasano, Christian Dorsey, and Michael Nicastro. With the ball at the JMU-5, the Dukes punted out of the back of the end zone, giving UAlbany the ball with 30 seconds remaining. Fiacchi completed passes to Parker and Malachi Lawrence, but time ran out, sending the teams into the locker rooms with a 26-3 score on the board.

Out of the break, the UAlbany defense came up with a stop and set the tone for the rest of the third quarter. James Madison attempted a 44-yard field goal, but it wobbled wide left with 11:26 on the clock.

Using trickery, the Great Danes avoided a quick three-and-out in their first possession of the second half.  With fourth-and-two, the Great Danes faked a punt and Chillis rushed seven yards for a first down. A pass interference call on third down gave UAlbany another first down on the JMU-30 before driving all the way to the two-yard line with five rushes by Osbourne. Facing fourth-and-goal, the Danes went for it, but unfortunately Fiacchi's pass to Cole King was dropped in the back of the end zone with under 6:00 minutes remaining in the third.

While the Danes didn't score on the play, the defense made quick work of JMU, forcing a three-and-out punt. UAlbany took over on the JMU-46 with 4:47 remaining in the third. Completing two 10+ yard passes to Parker and a 16-yard pass to Jameel Gay, Fiacchi led the Great Danes to the seven-yard line. Two short rushes by Ryan Spelman led to Fiacchi's five-yard touchdown pass to Chillis. Chillis caught the ball at the one and stretched across the corner of the goal line. Going for two, Fiacchi found Chillis in the same location, making the score 26-11 with 2:05 left in the third.

Momentum continued to stay on the side of the visitors. With JMU's drive starting on the 10, UAlbany's defense stepped up again, pushing the Dukes backward to the six-yard line on Kologrivov and Nicastro's shared tackle. On the next play, Kologrivov pressured Birdsong in the end zone, and an intentional grounding penalty awarded UAlbany two points for the safety.

"I was exceptionally proud of our kids for about an 11-minute block in the third quarter — I thought we had a chance to maybe tie things up," said head coach Bob Ford. "We drove the ball twice down the field, didn't get it in the first time, got it in the second time, went for two and got it. And I thought at that point we might have a chance to come back."

UAlbany trailed 26-13 heading into the fourth quarter. However, James Madison scored two unanswered touchdowns in the final stanza to make the final 40-13 score. With 11:48 on the clock, Scott rushed one yard, capping a 10-play 86-yard drive. Lastly, with 2:10 remaining, Brown caught a two-yard pass from Birdsong after driving 55 yards down the field for the final points of the game.

Up next, the Great Danes travel to take on Delaware Saturday, Oct. 12^th for a noon kickoff on Comcast SportsNet.

Scoring Summary (Final)

2013 James Madison Football
Albany vs #21 James Madison (Oct 05, 2013 at Harrisonburg, Va.)

Albany (1-5,0-2) vs. James Madison (4-2,1-1)

Date: Oct 05, 2013 • Site: Harrisonburg, Va.  • Stadium: Bridgeforth Stadium  •  Attendance: 25201

Team Statistics (Final)
2013 James Madison Football
Albany vs #21 James Madison (Oct 05, 2013 at Harrisonburg, Va.)

Individual Statistics (Final)
2013 James Madison Football
Albany vs #21 James Madison (Oct 05, 2013 at Harrisonburg, Va.)

Drive Chart (Final)
2013 James Madison Football
Albany vs #21 James Madison (Oct 05, 2013 at Harrisonburg, Va.)

Drive Chart (By Quarter)

Defensive Statistics (Final)
2013 James Madison Football
Albany vs #21 James Madison (Oct 05, 2013 at Harrisonburg, Va.)

Participation Report (Final)
2013 James Madison Football
Albany vs #21 James Madison (Oct 05, 2013 at Harrisonburg, Va.)