David Coulson

LYNCHBURG, VA. — There is an electric atmosphere at Williams Stadium tonight as James Madison and Liberty faced off before a packed stadium.

JMU has had its issues on offense, so it was surprising to see the Dukes take the ball after winning the coin toss. It proved to be a good move by coach Mickey Matthews as the Dukes broke free to their own 45 on the opening kickoff.

After two awful option plays accounted for negative yardage, JMU quarterback Justin Thorpe put a throw up for grabs on third down. Liberty's secondary played too passively on the pass for a long first down to Renard Robinson for 31 yards.

Tailback Dae'Quan Scott followed with a quick burst for 24 yards to set up his three-yard TD run a few plays later. JMU marched 55 yards in seven plays, burning almost four minutes off the clock to take an early 7-0 lead.