Defense begins answering questions

By Matthew McGovern, assistant sports editor
Posted on September 10, 2007

James Madison’s defense is in a state of transition. Considering the Dukes lost standout linebackers and defensive linemen in 2006, the 2007 edition faces new challenges.

Good thing the JMU no-huddle offense pays dividends in games and in practice. Matching up against a high-powered offense on weekdays has accelerated the maturation of Madison’s defense come game day.

Not too many teams run the offense that we run and at the tempo that we run [it],” sophomore tight end Mike Caussin said. “Our defense is used to going against us every day. [They are] going to be more well conditioned against teams, and other defenses aren’t because they don’t go against the tempo that we go with.”

The Dukes took some time to settle in defensively Saturday, but once they adjusted to New Hampshire’s west-coast attack, JMU forged a steady lead.

New Hampshire showed an aggressive attitude early by going for it on 4th-and-one on their first drive. Senior quarterback Ricky Santos scrambled for a first down to the JMU 43-yard line, and the reigning Walter Payton Award winner started off five-for-five as New Hampshire easily scored following the fourth-down conversion.

Santos was 36-47 for 353 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Short, precise passes characterized the early UNH drives. The Wildcats relied heavily on their passing attack, only rushing for 79 yards compared to Madison’s 285 in the game.

Madison countered Santos’ 100th career touchdown pass with a 48-yard kickoff return to the New Hampshire 41-yard line by cornerback Scotty McGee. The sophomore made his debut after sitting out the North Carolina contest with a groin injury.

Madison struggled with its special teams coverage when New Hampshire safety Jeff Pammer returned a punt 48 yards to the JMU seven-yard line. However, the Dukes stepped up on defense and stuffed UNH on two running plays before senior linebacker Justin Barnes tackled UNH running back Chris Ward on a passing play at the one-yard line. New Hampshire settled for a field goal as the Dukes scored a moral victory.

“In retrospect, maybe we should have brought more pressure,” JMU coach Mickey Matthews said, “But field position helped them more than our lack of pressure.”

The JMU special teams coverage unit suffered again when New Hampshire fumbled the kickoff and then recovered it at the Madison 49-yard line. Santos was sacked the next play however, and the Wildcats ultimately failed to capitalize on their field position.

Santos completed a pass for 35 yards on the second play of the second half, and did his best Rodney Landers impersonation as he burned the JMU defense for a 26-yard touchdown rush. That would be the last New Hampshire score of the day.

Madison’s defense stepped up when junior cornerback Evan McCollough intercepted a Santos pass at the 32-yard line. Landers ran for his second touchdown four plays later on a six-yard rush.

“I thought turnovers killed us,” UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. “After that field goal muff we had a good play on first down, then on second down unfortunately we throw the ball off a little bit, [and] the kid makes the pick. From that part on, we were on our heels the rest of the game.

The JMU defense smothered Santos late in the game and the Wildcats struggled to execute down the stretch. Every time the Dukes scored, New Hampshire seemed to have that much more trouble in their attack.

Junior cornerback Darrieus Ramsey intercepted his second pass of the season at the JMU 21-yard line, giving Madison the ball with 7:18 remaining in the fourth. The Dukes provided themselves with some insurance on a 49-yard TD run by senior tailback Antoinne Bolton.

“They’ve got a great front, and I think they pinned their ears back knowing that they had a comfortable point margin out there,” McDonnell said of the JMU defense. “They were up by seven, all of a sudden up by ten and next thing you know 17. They’re going to pin their ears back because they know what the heck we’re doing every time.”

It was no secret that New Hampshire preferred passing the ball, and JMU made the necessary defensive adjustments throughout the game to fluster Santos.

“[New Hampshire] drove it down the field many times today, but we didn’t give up the big play,” senior free safety Tony LeZotte said. “[We] made them work for everything they had, and that’s what happens — you end up pressuring [Santos], and he ends up turning the ball over.”

Holding New Hampshire to one touchdown in the second half bodes well for a young JMU defensive squad. The Dukes continue their maturation next Saturday at home against VMI.