SECOND-AND-THREE FROM THE 6. The Dukes inch into history, battle-worn from three straight pass-and-rush road games and four quarters of sod-churning play. Sitting atop a precarious three-point lead, Rascati scrambles through yet another hole plowed by his offensive line and straight-arms the ball into the end zone.

It was that way all season. Rush after rush, inch after punishing inch. The offensive line bulldozed holes all season, giving Rascati and his trio of tailbacks opportunities for 100-yard games all the way to this championship against Montana. It was that kind of football. Old fashioned. What John Madden calls smash-mouth. Eating the clock, grinding up fields, wearing down defenses.

Against Villanova, when Dukes fans first sucked in their breath. And Delaware, when a win in the last 30 seconds turned hopes into tantalizing possibility. Then Furman, when sportswriters ate their predictions. By then, players knew in their bones they were coming here, to Chattanooga, to go head to head against the Grizzlies, to this moment.

The 2004 JMU football team won its first NCAA Division I-AA championship the old-fashioned way, running through the Big Sky Conference champs 31-21 at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium on Dec. 17.

JMU eventually ran away with the victory by running out the clock. Though the victory may have stunned Montana and some Atlantic 10 football pundits, it came as no surprise to Dukes fans. JMU had been running away with victories throughout 2004.

JMU's young offense -- led by a sophomore quarterback and a trio of collaborative rushers -- ran over defenses with a punishing ground game against the likes of Villanova and Delaware. A bulldozing veteran offensive line pushed around defensive players with ease and set up resourceful, long rushing drives. A stingy and punishing defense stifled opponents' ground games, allowing only 89.9 yards per game and only nine rushing touchdowns all season.

Head coach Mickey Matthews propelled his players along a playoff road game series much tougher than that of The Griz. Matthews' Dukes are the first team in NCAA history to win the championship after three straight playoff games on the road, which speaks as much about the team's maturity and mental toughness as its physical prowess.

The Dukes also became the first team from Virginia to win the I-AA national championship, making believers out of the sports analysts who sowed the seeds of doubt prior to the big game. I-AA.Org Magazine's 2004 preview of Atlantic 10 football picked JMU to finish fourth among the South Division's six teams. Under its section on "possible upsets," the writers noted, "JMU's lack of road success is well-chronicled." Experts' dreary forecasts also included reports that Davenport Field's poorly laid, fresh sod would trip up a running game. And The Griz had been to the big show three times prior, winning twice.

No apologies needed. The Dukes weeded out problems on Davenport Field and did what they did best -- manhandled Montana's defensive line and bulldozed their way down the field.

The Grizzlies returned the first kickoff 71 yards for a touchdown -- the first touchdown JMU gave up in the first quarter all season. "I thought we played so bad in that first quarter that we thought the kickoff was at 8:30 instead of 8:00," Matthews says.

In the second quarter, the Dukes' offense found its footing. JMU pulled to within 7-3 with 8:54 left in the first half on a 28-yard field goal by sophomore David Rabil. Sophomore tailback Maurice Fenner's one-yard scoring run for JMU's 10-7 halftime lead capped a 71-yard, 13-play series. JMU raised the lead to 17-7 by driving 80 yards in six plays to start the second half. Sophomore quarterback (Louisville transfer) Justin Rascati and sophomore tailback Alvin Banks had successful carries to the Montana 21, setting up a 10-yard Fenner run and a Rascati 11-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter.

Montana scored on its next possession, driving 75 yards to make it 17-14. The Grizzlies recovered a JMU fumble two plays later at the Dukes' 29 to set up a 21-17 Grizzlie lead. The 72-yard drive that gave JMU the lead for good included three Fenner carries for 35 yards, a 25-yarder by Banks and a Fenner one-yard touchdown with 3:25 left in the third.

Montana missed on a 31-yard field goal on its next possession, and JMU added its insurance touchdown on an 80-yard, 16-play drive during which Rascati connected on six of eight passes for 48 yards and ran twice for 10 yards before scoring from the 6. Junior cornerback Clint Kent's fifth interception of the year came on the final offensive play the Grizzlies would run. The Dukes then completed 14 straight rushing plays to run out the clock.

"We went into the championship game planning to throw the ball, but we were making so many yards rushing that we didn't need to throw," says Matthews. Fenner led the ground attack with 164 rushing yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns, and Banks added 88 rushing yards. Rascati ran 11 times for 57 yards and two scores and hit on 13 of 18 passes for 132 yards.

"It was a match of two great quarterbacks," says Matthews. "The difference in the game was that we could run it and they couldn't. We were confident. We'd faced other great quarterbacks this season, W&M's Lang Campbell and Furman's [Ingle Martin]." 

One of Madison's first linemen, Jeff Adams ('76), says, "It was great seeing JMU's offensive line dominate Montana in the fourth quarter. The guys on the field played their hearts out."

Heavy reliance on the running game may not have been a balanced attack, but all season Rascati threw in enough passes to keep JMU's ground game honest. Several pass attempts also turned into productive Rascati scrambles, all of which helped the Dukes maintain control of the ball.

No one can say the Dukes didn't earn every sweet taste of victory in their record-setting season. The wins were muddy, grass-stained brawls. Their I-AA supremacy was fought out on the road. "It's all in how you play -- not where," said a confident senior defensive tackle Brandon Beach, standing ankle-deep in mud after the semifinal stomp over W&M on Dec. 10.

The I-AA semifinal win over W&M (48-34) -- which could have been called the 2004 Mud Bowl -- was a prime example of JMU's players capitalizing on critical plays. Sid Evans' third-quarter sack of W&M's quarterback set up a fumble recovery by junior tackle Demetrius Shambley. That crunch play set up a Chris Iorio four-yard touchdown.

The win was sweet revenge from a regular season (Nov. 13) loss to the Tribe by a last-second field goal. Fenner led the semifinal ground game with 117 yards. Rascati was 11 of 14 for 143 yards passing and three touchdowns, including a memorable fingertip grab by wide receiver D.D. Boxley to give JMU the 27-26 lead it never relinquished. The semifinal game aired on ESPN2, and was the highest tournament spot ever reached by the Dukes. JMU twice before advanced in NCAA play, but fell in the tournament's second round in 1991 and 1994.

The opening-round playoffs and quarterfinal wins were also examples of the Dukes dominating the line of scrimmage. In the opening-round playoff squeaker over Lehigh (14-13), Rascati and tailback Raymond Hines ran for first-half touchdowns. Hines ran for 193 yards, his fifth 100-yard game in 2004, and the team got a strong defensive effort. The victory raised the Dukes' record to 10-2, advanced them to the playoffs' second round at Furman, and gave them a team season-record-tying wins total. JMU's playoff appearance was its sixth overall and first since 1999, Matthews' first year as coach.

In the quarterfinal win over Furman (also 14-13), the Dukes drove 74 yards in 12 plays during the game's final five minutes, and Hines scored with a one-yard run with 28 seconds to play. With 5:11 on the clock, Shambley blocked a 43-yard Furman field-goal attempt to set up the winning drive.

Ardent Dukes fans say the championship run began with coach Matthews' contract negotiations last spring. Matthews entered 2004 with no job security and three previous disheartening seasons, including a 6-6 record last year. "I never doubted that we had a great program, that we were doing things right and recruiting the right people," says Matthews. "We just needed a little patience. Our administration had that, and they are to be commended."

 

 

Dukes fans have also earned praise for their support this season. "We have the best fans in the league," says quarterback Rascati. "Even on the road, it almost felt like we were playing at home because our fans are so loud."

The team first got the attention of fans with its 17-0 stomp over conference favorite Villanova in the Dukes' first 2004 Atlantic 10 match up. The Dukes finished 7-1 in A-10 play and tied for the league's regular-season title. W&M and Delaware also finished 7-1 in the A-10, and the Tribe was designated the league's automatic NCAA representative through a tiebreaker system. With a 31-17 win over Towson on Nov. 20, JMU also won a bid to the NCAA's 16-team playoffs and the road dogs went on the warpath.

So did Dukes fans. Students and alumni blitzed the JMU ticket office before every road game and kept the purple pride alive throughout the playoffs. They had been waiting for this chance for three decades.

In 1972, then-president Ronald Carrier and athletics director Dean Ehlers asked Challace McMillin to serve as Madison's first football coach. He recruited his first players from the ranks of the nominally coed student body. Football, then, was a pipe dream for Madison. But, it was one of Carrier's original ideas to attract enough men to transform a women's college into a comprehensive university.

Thirty-five students answered the call. They were outscored 140-0 in that first season, but in three short years, McMillin led Madison to a 9-0-1 record in 1975 and a No. 1 ranking in Div. III in 1976.

"We achieved this 2004 championship at a little faster pace than happens at most universities -- just like all the other things we've done," says JMU President Linwood H. Rose. "The team has given a gift to all of us."

Former president Carrier -- who never shied away from dreaming big -- agrees. "These guys have always been champions. Now it's known throughout the nation."

Madison's first quarterback Les Branich ('76, '78M) says, "The 2004 team truly had a can't-lose attitude. They peaked at the right time and took advantage of opportunities that were presented, especially in playoff games. … It's hard to believe that, considering all of the colleges and universities in the United States that have sponsored a football team for nearly 100 years and have never won a national championship, JMU has done it in the short time frame of 32 years. I'm so proud of this team."

Jeff Adams ('76), adds, "I was able to attend the championship game and must say it was one of the most inspiring highlights of my life. To be able to be part of the very first team at Madison -- which didn't even score a point the first year -- and to witness the national championship this year was awesome. I loved seeing many of my former teammates at the game. It was neat seeing former teammates with coach McMillin. And, then watching coach Matthews arrive at the celebration with the national championship trophy topped the night off."

On Dec. 18, nearly 500 students and fans welcomed the team home at a championship rally at Godwin Hall. "I went to each and every road playoff game during the championship run, and each time I was so proud to see how many faithful JMU fans not only traveled to the game, but let their spirit be heard," says Mike Keown ('05). "To watch the streamers fly, hear the JMU Fight Song and see Duke Dog on the sidelines was amazing. It really made my senior year."

On Dec. 20, JMU attained its first-ever No. 1 ranking by The Sports Network's final Top 25 poll. JMU is one of four Atlantic 10 teams ranked in the top 25, marking the first time the A-10 has had four teams in the top 10 in the final poll.

Not since Madison's 21-17 upset of the University of Virginia in 1982 (the team's first win over a Div. I-A team) has the Dukes' football program touted such success. And that's even with producing some notable NFL players like Washington Redskin Gary Clark ('84), Charles Haley ('86) and Buffalo Bill Scott Norwood ('82), all of whom have appeared in Super Bowl games. Haley became the first player to own five Super Bowl rings, playing for San Francisco and Dallas.

The 2004 football program produced another kind of standout -- television "stars." On the same night of the championship game, Matthews and his son, Clayton, were featured on SPIKE TV in Bruce Willis' True Dads. Matthews "greatest accomplishment" this year, he says, "was getting his son, Clayton, out of the hospital." Clayton, a former JMU football standout, suffered two spinal cord injuries in 2004. His former teammates, along with his family, rallied behind him, and Clayton has remained involved in his dad's program by assisting the coaching staff and spotting from the sidelines and press box.

Having his son at his side for the championship win would seem like adequate icing on the cake, but Matthews was also named I-AA coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association in January.

"Our league is by far the best in the country," says Matthews. "Playing in our league -- especially on the road -- really prepared us to play in this environment against Montana. Our guys just knew that they were going to win. … The support that our fans showed helped make this happen."

As the final whistle blew on the championship game, more agile Dukes fans scrambled onto the field for well-earned jubilation with Matthews and his team. Many fans stood quietly staring at the scoreboard, some clicked photographs of players and each other; some hugged each other and screamed their lungs out. Some stealthily snatched a handful of sod from the field.

It was purple pandemonium, a Madison mayhem dedicated to both the humble beginnings of JMU football and the 2004 record-setting season.

Pity the dynasties.

Yes, it's fun to watch a team dominate in win after glorious win. But watching your favorite team march its way into history -- climbing from obscurity to its first championship -- is unforgettable.

The 2004 JMU football team gave every Duke the best fan bragging rights there are. All can boast, "I was there." All witnessed their Dukes scramble from no name to No. 1. From extreme Dukes fans with purple-painted chests to Zoo Crew-era alumni, from pioneering Madison men and women who never thought they'd see the day, and to pleased Madison grannies who just itch to pinch your cheeks and say, "Young man, you make us proud," all of JMU gets to share in this historic season and national championship.

A Selfless Leader

As a nod to the Dukes' 21 upperclassmen, coach Mickey Matthews let his seniors rotate as game captains during regular season games in 2004. After JMU reached the Div. I-AA playoffs, Matthews held a players' election for team captain. Senior Matt LeZotte, who started at quarterback from 2001 to 2003, was still held in high esteem by his teammates even though sophomore transfer Justin Rascati had taken the 2004 QB reigns. LeZotte took on the role of leadership from the sidelines working hand-in-hand with Rascati, relaying opponent's defensive nuances to him after each play. LeZotte could have taken the low road and been a serious mental spoiler for the Dukes, but that would not have fit in this dream season. "The adversity of previous losses and rough seasons helped strengthen our camaraderie," says LeZotte of teammates, especially seniors. "All the adversity we've been through and to finally end up going out on top, no one can take that away from us. We'll forever be champions."

A grateful Rascati says, "Matt made me a better player."

Dukes fans can look forward to more leadership from the LeZotte family. Matt's younger brother, Tony, a redshirt freshman free safety, was named Atlantic 10 co-rookie of the year.

 

 

 

About the Author
Michelle Hite ('88) is assistant editor of Montpelier and a Dukes fan who has been waiting hopefully since third grade to write this story.

 

About the Photographer
Cathy Kushner ('87) is a road warrior who didn't sleep from the first playoff game (Nov. 27) to the championship. The Sports Media Relations photographer covers all 28 JMU intercollegiate athletics teams.