After a week off, the University of Maine football team is set to host the #11 team in all of FCS. The James Madison University Dukes will invade Morse Field at Alfond Stadium Saturday at noon in the home opener for the Black Bears and the Colonial Althetic Association Conference opener for both teams.
Maine (0-2) comes home after two losses on the road, both against FBS opponents. The Bears dropped a close 24-21 decision to UConn on September 1st, and then lost 45-3 to Toledo on September 10th.
Maine is led offensively by senior quarterback Dan Collins. Collins has completed 48% of his passes (28-58) for 334 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions through the first two games. The Bears are averaging 167 yards through the air.
The Black Bear rushing attack has averaged 105 yards on the ground so far, led by sophomore Darian Davis-Ray who has rushed 11 times for 67 yards, while Temple transfer Zaire Williams has run 15 times for 52 yards. Junior Nigel Beckford also adds 22 carries for 46 yards in the two Black Bear losses.
The receiving core is being led by junior wideout Jaleel Reed who has caught nine passes for 180 yards and one touchdown. Junior Marquise Adams also adds four catches for 51 yards, while freshman running back Josh Mack has three receptions for 36 yards and one touchdown.
The Black Bear defense is being led by Mulumba Tshimanga who has 22 total tackles and Sterling Sheffield who has a total of 13. The defense has allowed 193 yards rushing and 245 yards passing and an average of 34.5 points over the first two contests.
The Dukes from JMU (2-1), lost their first game of the season Saturday 56-28 to FBS opponent North Carolina. The Dukes had outscored their first two opponents, Morehead State and Central Connecticut State, by a collective score of 136-28 in their first two wins. JMU is averaging 54.5 points per game.
Running backs Carson Johnson and Khalid Abdullah, along with quarterback Bryan Schor, have rushed as a group for 728 yards on 118 carries and 12 touchdowns in their first three games. The Dukes have 1,019 yards rushing on 179 carries and 16 touchdowns, and have averaged 339 yards per game on the ground so far.
Schor has completed 72 percent of his passes (39-54) for 532 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Domo Taylor has nine of those receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown to lead the receiving group for the Dukes.
Brandon Hereford has 28 total tackles, and Dimitri Holloway has 18 to lead the JMU defense. Opponents have averaged 28 points per game and have put up 248 yards through the air and 99 yards on the ground in the first three games of the season against the Dukes.
Eastern Maine Sports will provide live scoring updates Saturday through Twitter at www.twitter.com/EasternMeSports and will also provide a recap of all the action on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/EasternMaineSports.
