Posted on September 4, 2007
Chapel Hill, N.C.— Madison went to Chapel Hill Saturday with a new offense and high aspirations. The Tar Heels shook those aspirations in the first quarter as the Dukes went down 21-0.
Carolina wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Jason Pritchard’s 44-yard kickoff put the Tar Heels at their 27-yard line, but it took them only three plays to score a touchdown.
Redshirt freshman tailback Johnny White rushed for eight yards on Carolina’s first two plays. On the third, redshirt freshman quarterback T.J. Yates made his first touchdown pass for 65 yards to junior wide receiver Brooks Foster.
Madison was without sophomore cornerbacks Scotty McGee and junior Evan McCollough Saturday, who both started all 12 games for Madison in 2006. Sophomore Jamaris Sanders and junior Darrieus Ramsey played in their place.
“One had surgery [McGee] and one was being disciplined [McCollough]; I don’t like to make excuses, those other two kids need to play better,” coach Mickey Matthews said. “When you think about it from James Madison’s [defensive] perspective, [allowing] 320 yards of offense, probably half of it was on three plays. That’s a hard pill to swallow.”
JMU quarterback Rodney Landers struggled to hand off the ball on his first offensive play and fumbled. Carolina defensive end E.J. Wilson recovered the fumble at the JMU 21-yard line and pandemonium ensued.
“[UNC] came out here and they took advantage of the turnovers and the field position,” Landers said. “At times, us playing so hard put us at a disadvantage because we had some mental errors and some busts.”
North Carolina looked poised to score for the second time in the first five minutes until Madison responded with an interception at their eight-yard line. Ramsey intercepted Yates’ attempt and brought it to the 16-yard line before being tackled.
JMU looked to reverse the momentum with the interception but their first run of the drive was a four-yard loss. Senior tailback Eugene Holloman rushed for the first two plays and got back to the line of scrimmage on his second attempt. An incomplete pass by Landers forced JMU to punt from their 16-yard line.
After a 27-yard punt by Pritchard, the Tar Heels had a shortened field once again and capitalized. They started on the JMU 43-yard line and on their first play junior wide receiver Brandon Tate rushed 15 yards for a first down. Yates threw his second touchdown pass on a 28-yard completion caught by Tate with 8:52 remaining in the first quarter.
“He was throwing some great balls, especially for his first game,” junior UNC wide receiver Brooks Foster said. “He had one interception but he bounced back and threw another touchdown to Tate, I think he did a really good job.”
Yates was 13-18 for 218 yards Saturday, with three touchdowns, and one interception in the game. Madison struggled to contain him in the first half especially.
“If you keep giving up long pass plays, you’re going to lose whether you’re playing North Carolina or whoever you play,” Matthews said. “They weren’t blown coverages, they just ran by us.”
On the second play of Madison’s third drive, sophomore tight end Mike Caussin caught a seven-yard pass would have brought Madison to the 27-yard line. However, JMU was penalized for not having six people on the offensive line and brought back five yards to the 15-yard line instead.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Landers said. “We had some penalties in the beginning of the game and we had some incomplete passes, and you can’t win when you put yourself in third and long situations.”
An incomplete Landers pass on third-and-6 forced a punt. The Tar Heels tipped Pritchard’s punt and it shanked out of bounds at the JMU 40-yard line.
With the score at 14-0 and 7:15 left in the first quarter, Carolina started in JMU territory for the second straight drive. JMU was called for pass interference on the second play of the drive, giving UNC a first down at the JMU 31-yard line.
The last six plays of the drive were divided between Carolina’s trio of running backs. Sophomore tailback Richie Rich got his first touch as he brought UNC to the 10-yard line on a two-yard rush. Redshirt freshman Anthony Elzy had the last three rushes for eight yards and Carolina’s third touchdown of the first quarter.
Madison’s penalty issues continued when another illegal procedure was called on a seven-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Rockeed McCarter. The penalty was the same as earlier; JMU was not lined up properly prior to the snap, and they were brought back five yards from the line of scrimmage. Two plays later, Landers rushed for eight yards on a quarterback draw only to have another illegal procedure called.
Landers was intercepted on the first play of the second quarter by redshirt freshman safety Deunta Williams, at the UNC 43-yard line. Williams returned the interception 45 yards to the JMU 12-yard line. The Tar Heels were unable to get their fourth touchdown and settled for a field goal.
As soon as they penetrated Carolina territory, Madison received another penalty, this time for holding. On first-and-20, Landers responded by rushing eight yards to the UNC 40-yard line. He rushed for 12 yards on the next play, giving JMU a first down.
Landers was 14-22 for 100 passing yards, one touchdown and two interception Saturday. His playmaking ability was evident as he rushed 14 times for 71 yards.
“An athlete of this caliber, you’re not going to shut him down,” senior defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer said. “I think we had a good scheme for him, but of course they’re going to make plays.”
Holloman broke out for a 22-yard gain two plays later, taking the Dukes to the five-yard line. JMU scored a touchdown on a four-yard completion to L.C. Baker on third-and-goal.
The Tar Heels scored their fourth touchdown two drives later with 20 seconds left in the first half, but missed the extra point. UNC junior wide receiver Foster caught the eight-yard touchdown pass, and they took a 30-7 lead into halftime.
On their second drive of the second half, the Dukes started from their two-yard line, and advanced only three yards. Standing in his own end zone, Pritchard had his punt blocked and it was recovered by Carolina at the JMU one-yard line. Elzy rushed for the UNC touchdown on the next play. His touchdown was the only score for the Tar Heels in the second half.
In the fourth quarter, the Dukes drove 79 yards on 11 plays for their second touchdown of the game. Landers carried the ball eight yards into the end zone with 41 seconds remaining.
“I thought overall he [Rodney] did fine, but it was a field position nightmare in the first quarter.” Matthews said.
Madison opens conference play Saturday at home against New Hampshire. The Dukes will prepare to defend a pass heavy offense run by the Wildcats, who have yet to play a game in 2007.
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