Dukes host Northeastern in A-10 conference opener
Madison looks to bounce back after loss to Mountaineers
By Brian Hansen, sports editor
Posted on September 21, 2006

The JMU football team will look to rebound off its first loss of the season as it hosts the Northeastern Huskies this weekend at Bridgeforth Stadium.

After a less-than-inspiring performance against Division II Bloomsburg College and an error-filled loss at Appalachian State, the Dukes will need to make a statement in their conference opener.

“It’s big because it’s a conference game,” JMU junior safety Tony LeZotte said. “In the A-10, every game is a challenge, and you need to bring your best stuff in conference games.”

Northeastern is 1-2 this year with losses at Virginia Tech and North Dakota State. The Huskies defeated the Patriot Conference’s Holy Cross 24-14. They’ve averaged 11.3 points per game and 236.3 yards per game this season.

“They’re a physically tough team,” JMU coach Mickey Matthews said. “They’re very vanilla in that they don’t run a lot of formations at you, but they’ll come out and try to run the ball on you.”

Maurice Murray leads the team in rushing with 256 yards and three touchdowns but is listed as questionable with tendinitis in his knee. Alex Bloomfield is second on the team with 56 yards on 25 carries and no touchdowns.

“They have a huge offensive line,” Matthews said. “They’re going to come out and try and muscle you.”

Said senior linebacker Akeem Jordan, “We have to play hard, and be tough.”

At quarterback, the Huskies are led by sophomore quarterback Anthony Orio, who has thrown for 282 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore John Sperrazza has also taken snaps at quarterback for Northeastern, completing all four passes he’s thrown for 85 yards.

Senior tight end Kendrick Ballantyne is the team’s leading receiver with nine catches for 148 yards and one touchdown.

“They’re just like the other A-10 teams,” LeZotte said. “You have to stop the run first and try to make them one dimensional. We do that and we’ll make our jobs easier.”

On defense, Northeastern is led by two of its linebackers. Senior Matt Campopiano has two sacks and 13 tackles and sophomore Craig Kenney has 22 tackles and one forced fumble.

“They run an unorthodox defense,” Matthews said. “It’s what we call a 50 defense with a man lined up over the center. Our ability to block that will be the biggest key in the game.”

The 17th-ranked Dukes are relatively healthy coming off their bye week but will probably be without senior wide receiver D.D. Boxley. At tailback, community-college transfer Eugene Holloman will start for the JMU with Maurice Fenner and Alvin Banks both seeing carries.

“We need to get back on track,” Matthews said. “We need to pick it up. This is the conference opener and we need to come out shooting.”

The game marks a series of nine consecutive Saturdays that the Dukes will play, with eight of those matchups being against Atlantic 10 opponents.

The last time these two teams met was in 2003, with Northeastern winning 41-24. It was the fourth straight win for the Huskies over the Dukes.

The Huskies were the first team Matthews defeated as a coach at JMU, but he is 0-4 since against NU.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Zane Showker Field at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The game can be heard on WSVA-AM (550).