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JMU AD Jeff Bourne says East Tennessee State has been added to the 2017 football schedule.

Tweet: https://twitter.com/MattJones36/status/7...9774105600

(05-19-2016 12:57 PM)brock20 Wrote: [ -> ]JMU AD Jeff Bourne says East Tennessee State has been added to the 2017 football schedule.

Tweet: https://twitter.com/MattJones36/status/7...9774105600

Damn that is great for me. My Fathers alma mater against mine. Sounds like I will be taking a road trip that day.

So that will almost complete the nonconference schedule for 2017. I know for a fact we will also host Robert Morris. My guess is that the other game will be a non-Division I home game.

For anyone who can go, make the trip. You can do it in one day (I did covering the VHSL state title games). It's a beautiful drive and an awesome campus/stadium.

I'm excited for this one. When I was younger, we played JMU frequently (quite often the first game or the last game). I see we are 4-5 all time against them.

JMU is a great campus, nice stadium and they have great uniforms (similar to Washington with the purple and gold).

Every time I drive up north, a highlight of the drive is passing by that football stadium. It just looks beautiful from I-81.

I look forward to this road trip.

JMU has suspended 6 players for the first 2 games

(05-20-2016 07:08 AM)Meanmike0001 Wrote: [ -> ]I'm excited for this one. When I was younger, we played JMU frequently (quite often the first game or the last game). I see we are 4-5 all time against them.

JMU is a great campus, nice stadium and they have great uniforms (similar to Washington with the purple and gold).

The History of JMU and ETSU
9/8/79 ETSU 31 JMU 0 AT ETSU
11/8/80 ETSU 28 JMU 23 AT JMU
11/21/81 JMU 17-14 AT ETSU
9/25/82 JMU 15-10 AT JMU
10/27/84 ETSU 9 JMU 6 AT JMU
9/7/85 JMU 14 ETSU 9 AT ETSU
11/8/86 JMU 34 ETSU 3 AT JMU
11/21/87 JMU 28 ETSU 24 AT ETSU
9/13/97 JMU 32 ETSU 27 AT JMU

I REMEMBER THE GAMES GROWING UP AS A KID

(08-31-2017 12:17 PM)hburgjmufan Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-20-2016 07:08 AM)Meanmike0001 Wrote: [ -> ]I'm excited for this one. When I was younger, we played JMU frequently (quite often the first game or the last game). I see we are 4-5 all time against them.

JMU is a great campus, nice stadium and they have great uniforms (similar to Washington with the purple and gold).

The History of JMU and ETSU
9/8/79 ETSU 31 JMU 0 AT ETSU
11/8/80 ETSU 28 JMU 23 AT JMU
11/21/81 JMU 17-14 AT ETSU
9/25/82 JMU 15-10 AT JMU
10/27/84 ETSU 9 JMU 6 AT JMU
9/7/85 JMU 14 ETSU 9 AT ETSU
11/8/86 JMU 34 ETSU 3 AT JMU
11/21/87 JMU 28 ETSU 24 AT ETSU
9/13/97 JMU 32 ETSU 27 AT JMU

I REMEMBER THE GAMES GROWING UP AS A KID

I hope to one day see both teams in the same conference.

I heard that in one of those 80s games they had a big brawl.

FROM THE JMU NEWSPAPER IN 1997

Dukes plunder Buccaneers 32-27
JMU upsets No. 7 ETSU
in Bridgeforth opener
by Seth Burton
assistant sports editor

While fireworks illuminated
the sky following the Dukes 32-
27 upset win over No. 7 East
Tennessee State University, it
was Delvin Joyce and a tough
JMU defense that really lit up
Bridgeforth Stadium Saturday
night.
There were a host of key contributors
for the Dukes, but Joyce
shined the brightest, racking up
321 multi-purpose yards, a new
Bridgeforth Stadium record.
While Joyce got the Dukes on
the board first, electrifying the
packed Bridgeforth crowd with a
63-yard touchdown reception
just 44 seconds into the game, the
defense closed things out.
"It came down to the defense,"
senior free safety Tony Booth
said. "That's the way you want
it."
After a 29-yard Nelson Gamer
field goal gave the Dukes a 32-27
lead with three minutes left in the
game, East Tennessee began their
final drive trying to take their
first lead of the game.
The Buccaneers, who rushed
for 260 yards behind their mammoth
offensive line, attempted to
pound away at the Dukes.
For three straight plays, the
JMU defensive line held strong,
setting up fourth down and oneyard
to go for East Tennessee
from their own 29-yard line.
The Buccaneers brought tail
back Brian Edwards up the middle,
where he was stuffed by
Derrick Ball and a host of Dukes,
touching off a wild celebration by
the defense and a boisterous
home crowd.
JMU head coach Alex Wood
said, "The fourth and one is the
play I want to remember. We
came up with the big play on
defense when we needed it.
"If they had converted on
that, who knows," he said.
There were no lack of big
plays on offense, starting with
Joyce's 63-yard touchdown. On
the Dukes' next possession, Joyce
returned the Buccaneer punt 31-
yards to the ETSU 23-yard line.
Five plays later, freshman Zeb
Clark barreled into the end-zone
for his first JMU touchdown,, giving
the Dukes a quick 14-0 lead.
JMU sophomore quarterback
Greg Maddox said, "The key
was that we got two touchdowns
early. That gave us more confidence."
The lead didn't last long, however,
as the Buccaneers charged
back with their vaunted running
attack. Edwards, who rushed for
142 yards, got East Tennessee on
the board with a 17-yard run on
the Buccaneers next possession
with six minutes left in the first
quarter.
The Buccaneers cut the lead to
two on their next possession with
another grueling drive which
ended with quarterback Todd
Wells scoring a touchdown on a
one-yard run as time ran out in
the first quarter.
Wood said, "We couldn't stop
them all day. We had to make
some adjustments on the run."
The Dukes made the proper
defensive adjustments, but it was
the offense who continued to
make the big plays, as Maddox
hit freshman wide receiver
Lindsay Fleshman for a 25-yard
gain and then scored on a naked
bootleg to put the Dukes up 20-12
to start off the second quarter.
"Greg got us in the right
place," Wood said. "He threw the
ball well and made some plays
himself."
Maddox finished 12-23 for 269
yards and two touchdowns. He
said, "We just tried to take what
the defense gave us."
In the third quarter with the
Dukes holding on to a 23-18
lead, the Buccaneer defense gave
up a 51-yard touchdown pass to
freshman wide receiver Earnest
Payton. Maddox found Payton
on the right side, and he gathered
the ball and took off for the end
zone.
Payton said, "I didn't expect it
to go all the way. I just started
running for my life. Like Forrest
Gump, I just started running."
The Buccaneers got a touchdown
run from Brandon Walker
and a Jerry Chapman field goal
in the fourth quarter before the
JMU defense clamped down.
Booth, who grabbed an interception
in the second quarter, finished
with 11 tackles, while
senior linebacker Marcus
Ordonez led the team with 18.
Senior linebacker Doug Bigelow
added 13 tackles.
Wood said, "This was a total
team win. We did well on special
teams and offense and good
enough on defense to get us a
win."
It was on special teams where
Joyce made his biggest impact
darting in and out of opposing
players before exploding int0
the open field.
Joyce finished with 181 return
yards.
Payton said, "[Joyce] is incredible,
the guy is amazing."
The Dukes return to action
Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. at Bridgeforth
Stadium against the University
of Massachusetts Minutemen
and are looking to take the
momentum gained from beating
a top-ranked opponent into their
conference play.
Wood said, "This was a great
confidence builder. We made the
improvement from week one to
week two like we said we had to.
Now we/ve got to continue to
improve;"
The Dukes gained 35 more
yards rushing against the
Buccaneers then they did against
Ball State, and almost every statistical
category showed the
improvement that having one
game under the belt brings.
Booth said, "Last Saturday,
that was our break-in game."
Maddox agreed, as he said
"The young guys now know
what it takes to win a college
football game."
With Atlantic 10 conference
play looming in the weeks
ahead, experiencing a win is an
invaluable lesson for the young
Dukes.
Maddox said, "I think this attitude
will carry into our conference
play."

I know this is the JMU side, but thought you ETSU fans would like the stories from the past

THE BREEZE JMU NEWSPAPER FROM 1987

Playoff-bound JMU stops Bucs
By Rob Washburn
editor
JOHNSON CITY. Tenn. — With its back against
the wall and a berth in the NCAA Division I-AA
playoffs on the line, the JMU football team overcame
a muffed punt, two turnovers and three long pass
plays to defeat East Tennessee State 28-24 Saturday
night at Memorial Center.
The victory improved the Dukes' record to 9-2,
tying a team record for most wins in a season, and
earned them a spot in the 16-team playoff field
against Marshall University Saturday.
"This is the sweetest feeling I've ever known in
football," senior tackle Roy Delph said. "It's what
we've worked for and it's been our goal. We've taken
so much grief from the press and so many doubters,
but we believed in ourselves. There were only five
teams in the country that won nine games, and we're
one of them. I don't want to be stopped." '
JMU head coach Joe Purzycki thought his team had
assured itself a spot in the playoffs by defeating
Northeastern a week ago, but things got more
complicated as the week went on. Boston University
athletic director Rick Taylor, one of four
representatives on the playoff selection committee,
was quoted as saying 12 teams had locked up
post-season bids, and JMU was not one of them.
Thus, the Dukes were put in yet another pressure
situation.
"I guess everybody made it clear to us [that] you
had to win to get in," Purzycki said. "It's not a sense
of relief, I think it's more a sense of elation because
in the back of my mind [I thought] a loss here . . .
might tarnish what we had done all season.
"We're excited. We've earned our way in, we didn't
back in."
The Dukes got a total team effort in picking up the
victory, but for the first time in several weeks it was
the offense who bailed out the defense on several
occasions. Twice in the second half JMU found itself
in crucial fourth-and-one situations, and both times
the Dukes picked up the first down.
The first key fourth-down situation came with eight
minutes remaining and the ball silting on ETSU's
3-yard line. Clinging to a 21-17 lead, Purzycki opted
to run Tony Graddy on a sweep to the right side
rather than attempt a short field goal. The result was
a game-winning touchdown and an 11-point cushion.
"We put everything on the offense," Purzycki said.
"Everybody wanted me to go for the field goal, but I
was worried about the angle of the kick and I was
worried about East Tennessee's ability to score again.
To me, that was the play of the game."
Purzycki's move paid off as the
Buccaneers needed only 2:32 to drive 85
yards and make the score 28-24 with
5:15 to play. The score came on a
27-yard pass from quarterback Jeff
Morgan to George Searcy. Morgan was
outstanding all day, completing
12-of-26 passes for 236 yards and three
touchdowns.
The Dukes were unable to pick up a
first down on the ensuing possession,
and ETSU got its final chance to take
the lead with 3:28 remaining. Morgan
was able to complete an 18-yard pass
on first down to move the ball to the
Buccaneer 45-yard line, but from there
the Dukes' defense stiffened on four
straight plays to kill the drive.
Again JMU struggled to bum the rest
of the time off the clock, and faced its
second fourth-and-one situation on the
JMU 42. With just 1:12 left on the
clock, a punt would have been the safe
and logical choice — but Purzycki
again decided to go. This time Rodney
Stockett went around left end and gained
the necessary yardage by only half a
length of the football.
"I didn't want to put any more
pressure on the kicking people than we
had to," Purzycki said. "I said to
[defensive coordinator Jim] Pletcher,
'Can you handle it from here, I don't
want to kick.' He said to go for it.
"We came up smelling pretty good
today. You're either the goat or the hero
on those plays. We get stuffed and I
don't look too good right now."
That statement also could be used to
describe JMLTs performance in the first
half. The Dukes' secondary didn't look
good in allowing touchdown passes of
50 and 32 yards from Morgan to Sam
Brown, as ETSU went into halftime
tied 14-14.
But JMU's offense came up smelling
good with a controlled ground attack
that mounted 281 yards for the game.
Leading the way was fullback Greg
Medley, who picked up a team-high 94
yards on 16 carries. The sophomore
also was responsible for the Dukes' first
touchdown of the game on a 14-yard
gallop to tie the game 7-7.
Stockett accounted for the Dukes'
other first-half score when he capped a
74-yard drive with a 1 -yard run.
"We got burned a couple of times,"
Puryzcki said. "But I thought it was a
little bit reversed. Usually the defense is
always bailing out the offense, but this
time we put some pressure on the
offense. They had to come up and make
some big plays and they did."
The biggest play came on JMU's
opening drive of the second half.
Quarterback Eric Green faked a slant
pass, and found split end Tony Miller
wide open behind the ETSU secondary.
Miller caught the ball in full stride and
galloped 63 yards for a touchdown and a
21-14 lead.
The Buccaneers had two good
opportunities in the third quarter to
close the JMU lead, but the Dukes'
defense was able to hold ETSU to just
three points. The first JMU miscue
came when punter John Druiett hobbled
a snap and was tackled at the JMU 36,
and the second happened when Julius
Sherman fumbled a punt and the
Buccaneers recovered on the the JMU
23.
"We were tested in every way in
terms of character and having to play
with our backs up against the wall,"
Purzycki said. "We're a legitimate top
10 team. We did what we had to do in
tight situations and prevailed. Now we
go to the icing portion of the season."

I-AA Playoff Pairings
First Round
(all games Saturday)
Western Regional:
JMU (9-2) at Marshall (7-4);
Weber State (9-2) at Idaho
(9-2)
Eastern Regional:
Maine (8-3) at Ga. Southern
(8-3); Richmond (7-4) at
Appalachian State (9-2)
Southern Regional:
North Texas State (7-4) at
Northeast Louisiana (9-2);
Western Kentucky (7-3) at
Eastern Kentucky (8-2)
Central Regional:
Jackson State (8-2-1) at
Arkansas State (7-3-1);
Youngstown State (8-3) at
Northern Iowa (8-3)

1980- second meeting

Hopes for .500season shattered
Dukes blow 17-point advantage, fall 28-23
By RICH AMACHER

Trailing 23-7, East Tennessee State
University captilaized on several big
plays to rally for 21 fourth quarter
points Saturday to spoil James
Madison University's Homecoming
28-23.
The win ruined the Dukes' chance of
achieving a .500 season in their initial
year at the Division I-AA football
level.
-• A silence fell over Madison
Stadium, as Buccaneer placekicker
Phil Hurt climaxed the comeback
when he nailed a 46-yard field goal
with 1:12 remaining and gave ETSU a
26-23 lead.
The winning boot was set up when
JMU quarterback Frankie Walker
threw long and the Bucs' Donnie Cook
intercepted at the 50 and returned the
ball to the Dukes 21-yard line.
Hurt had connected on only two of 10
field goal attempts prior to his game
winner.
"We've come back a lot of times,
but usually we fall short," said ETSU
head coach Jack Carlisle. The victory
marked Carlisle's 200th carreer win,
and he reacted by stating simply,
"Obviously, I feel real good."
IT WAS A difficult loss for the
Dukes' coach Challace McMillin who
could not pinpoint what went wrong
for JMU in the second half. "I wish I
knew, but I don't think it was overconfidence,"
McMillin commented.
The Bucs began to pick up
momentum early in the fourth
quarter and mounted a successful
drive, led by second string running
back Richard Dill, who carried seven
times for 68 yards, including a 41-yard
dash. Fullback Rick Reeves capped
the series when he took a pi tcbout and
ran 11 yards for the score.
Quarterback Jeff Davis tossed a
pass to Mike Barnes for the two-point
conversion.
Dill started in place of Earl Ferrell,
who was withheld for punitive
reasons,, according to ETSU Sport
Information Director John Cathey. A
sophomore, Dill rushed for 128 yards,
93 of which came in the fourth period.
THE PLAY THAT hurt the Dukes
most came after JMU's defense had
stymied a Buccaneer drive that
should have ended at the ETSU 45. On
fourth-and-seven, Phil Wilson faked a
punt and raced 39 yards down the left
side line to the JMU 16.
formation rather than the split backs.
It's hard to run a split offense against
an eight-man front," he said.
A LETDOWN ON defense by JMU
enabled the Bucs' to rally and Carlisle
attributed this partly to mere
exhaustion. "We seemed to have a
little more juice than they did in the
end"
"It looked like they let down some in
the middle. They were running a 60
defense with no nose guard and we
just started trapping them a lot in the
middle," Carlisle added.
JMU got on the scoreboard first
when Walker kept on third-and-goal
-from the one. The touchdown came
after back-to-back fumbles
The faked punt was not called.
We go over that situation every week.' ':••■
Two plays later, Reeves darted
eight yards up the middle for his
second touchdown. Davis completed a
critical two-point conversion pass to
fullback Johnny McFall which tied
the game.
ETSU got a big break on the faked
punt, according to Carlisle. "The
faked punt was not called. We go over
that situation every week," he said.
"And if the guy turns inside, you have
the option to go outside. But the
punter doesn't run unless he's absolutely
sure."
Carlisle made no apparent changes
in the fourth quarter but did implement
a different game plan. "My
game plan was to go with the IOn
the intial series of the contest,
the Dukes mounted an 87-yard, 10-
play drive to the ETSU three, but
Walker mishandled the snap from
center on first-and-goal and ETSU
recovered. The Buccaneers returned
the favor one play later, and defensive
lineman Dan Cullen recovered at the
six.
Scott Norwood upped JMU's
margin to 10-0, easily hitting a 32-yard
field goal to begin the second period.
Norwood's kick was set up when the
Dukes advanced from their own 20 to
the ETSU 15.
Highlighting that march was a
55-yard aerial from Walker to Gary
Clark.
Neither team could sustain a
serious offensive drive for the
remainder of the quarter, but the
Buccaneers tallied with :59 left to
close within three.
ETSU took posses ion at midfield
after a 34-yard punt by the Dukes'
Greg Caldwell. On the next play,
Davis dropped back to pass, but a
heavy rush forced him out of the
pocket. Davis, scrambling in the
backfield, appeared to cross over the
line of scrimmage just as he released
a bomb to Ronnie Horton, who was
wide open in the endzone.
Reflecting on the play McMillin
commented, "I thought he was over
the line."
WITH :45 left, the Dukes quickly
moved within Norwood's range, and
with :02 left he powered a 48-yarder
through the uprights that would have
been good from 60 yards. Norwood
might have broken his own record of
51 yards had the Bucs not been
penalized for offsides.
The field goal gave JMU a 13-7
halftime lead.
On the Dukes first possession of the
third quarter, they moved the ball 53
yards on eight plays as D.J. Jones
carried twice for 15 yards and a
touchdown. The fullback led all JMU
rushers with 81 yards on 19 attempts.
Norwood connected on his third
field goal, a 25-yard effort, with :11
left in the period. The goal upped
JMU's lead 23-7.
ETSU which entered the ballgame
with an 0-8 record, beat JMU 31-0 last
season and Carlisle noted the improvement.
"They're a much better
team than last year, but then we're
not as good either".

(08-31-2017 12:17 PM)hburgjmufan Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-20-2016 07:08 AM)Meanmike0001 Wrote: [ -> ]I'm excited for this one. When I was younger, we played JMU frequently (quite often the first game or the last game). I see we are 4-5 all time against them.

JMU is a great campus, nice stadium and they have great uniforms (similar to Washington with the purple and gold).

The History of JMU and ETSU
9/8/79 ETSU 31 JMU 0 AT ETSU
11/8/80 ETSU 28 JMU 23 AT JMU
11/21/81 JMU 17-14 AT ETSU
9/25/82 JMU 15-10 AT JMU
10/27/84 ETSU 9 JMU 6 AT JMU
9/7/85 JMU 14 ETSU 9 AT ETSU
11/8/86 JMU 34 ETSU 3 AT JMU
11/21/87 JMU 28 ETSU 24 AT ETSU
9/13/97 JMU 32 ETSU 27 AT JMU

I REMEMBER THE GAMES GROWING UP AS A KID

Don't you guys have quite a few folks suspended for our game? Any starters suspended?

JMU beat East Carolina tonight 34-14. Yikes.

(09-01-2017 09:50 PM)Efan Wrote: [ -> ]

(08-31-2017 12:17 PM)hburgjmufan Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-20-2016 07:08 AM)Meanmike0001 Wrote: [ -> ]I'm excited for this one. When I was younger, we played JMU frequently (quite often the first game or the last game). I see we are 4-5 all time against them.

JMU is a great campus, nice stadium and they have great uniforms (similar to Washington with the purple and gold).

The History of JMU and ETSU
9/8/79 ETSU 31 JMU 0 AT ETSU
11/8/80 ETSU 28 JMU 23 AT JMU
11/21/81 JMU 17-14 AT ETSU
9/25/82 JMU 15-10 AT JMU
10/27/84 ETSU 9 JMU 6 AT JMU
9/7/85 JMU 14 ETSU 9 AT ETSU
11/8/86 JMU 34 ETSU 3 AT JMU
11/21/87 JMU 28 ETSU 24 AT ETSU
9/13/97 JMU 32 ETSU 27 AT JMU

I REMEMBER THE GAMES GROWING UP AS A KID

Don't you guys have quite a few folks suspended for our game? Any starters suspended?

7 guys, I believe most or all guys play if not on just special teams. Starting TE, WR, LB. 6 of them did not play in semis or NC last year, its continued into this season for 4 games.

How many of you making the 250 mile trip up I 81 saturday?

I wish I could, what section of your stadium is reserved for visitors?

(09-03-2017 12:46 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote: [ -> ]I wish I could, what section of your stadium is reserved for visitors?

Section 7 and 8, not bad seats

(09-03-2017 02:38 PM)hburgjmufan Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-03-2017 12:46 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote: [ -> ]I wish I could, what section of your stadium is reserved for visitors?

Section 7 and 8, not bad seats

I chose my season tickets in section 6, last row on top and they are at 20 yd line good seats, section 7 about GL to 10 yd line