The Good 5 Cent Cigar

Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Meghan Vendettoli An 11-yard pass to Jimmy Hughes [above] from Derek Cassidy in the beginning of the fourth quarter brought the Rams within three points of James Madison.

Media Credit: Meghan Vendettoli Sophomore Shawn Leonard reaches for an interception against James Madison University Saturday. Leonard scored off the interception, bringing the Rams to a score of 23-13 in the second quarter. The Rams lost 44-27.

10/16/07 - Halloween came early to Meade Stadium Saturday, as the University of Rhode Island football team was full of tricks in its match up with James Madison University.

However, it was the Dukes that ended up with all the treats, coming away with a 44-27 victory over the Rams on homecoming weekend.

Rhody dug deep into the playbook for this game, pulling out all the stops to try to upend the ninth-ranked James Madison.

"I just looked at it as a stitch in the offense," Rams head coach Tim Stowers said. "I felt like we were having a hard time scoring, and I figured we'll take as many chances as possible to give our football team a chance to win the game."

The Rams scored a touchdown on a fake field goal at the end of the second half, converted an onside kick performed and recovered by kicker Brian Giannecchini and attempted a fake punt run that fell just short.

"We actually knew when all of the fakes were coming,"? James Madison head coach Mickey Matthews said. "The only thing was coach [Tim] Stowers just didn't run across the field and tell us what fake they were going to run."

Each team scored on its opening drives, however Giannecchini's extra point sailed wide to give the Dukes a 7-6 lead.

JMU kept the pressure on with scores on four of its next five drives, to take a 23-6 lead on three field goals and a touchdown.

"It was a recipe for an upset when you go down and come away with threes when we should have had sevens," Matthews said.

The Rams would not roll over though, responding with a 10-play, 44-yard drive capped off by Shawn Leonard's fake field goal with two seconds remaining.

After the Dukes extended their lead to 30-13 at the tail end of the third quarter, the Rams began to make their run.

Rhody came right back with an eight-play, 72-yard drive capped off by a 24-yard Jerell Jones touchdown run. Jones finished the game as the Rams' leading rusher with 137 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

JMU followed with a fumble deep in its own territory, which the Rams quickly capitalized. On the third play of the drive, quarterback Derek Cassidy connected with running back Jimmy Hughes on an 11-yard touchdown pass to cut the Dukes' lead to just three points. The Rams' passing game continued to grow, as it has all season, with Cassidy totaling 12 completions on 20 attempts, 168 yards and one touchdown.

The Dukes responded, showing why they are one of the top teams in Division-IAA with a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rodney Landers to wide receiver Marcus Turner.

"We were very, very concerned with Landers and the great athlete he is," Stowers said. Unfortunately for the Rams these worries came true.

Landers had a monster game for the Dukes, gaining 170 yards on the ground to go with 168 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Trailing by 10 with 11:30 remaining, the Rams needed to score to prevent the Dukes from regaining momentum. After the drive sputtered, gaining only five yards in three plays, the Rams lined up to punt.

Rhody faked the punt, directly snapping the ball to fullback Joe Casey. Casey then pitched the ball to Giannecchini, who was unable to pick up the first down and was ridden out of bounds a few yards shy.

Momentum then clearly shifted towards the side of the Dukes, who marched down field and scored in just 1:50 to extend the lead to 17 with 8:36 to go.

After gaining 39 yards in three plays, Rhody's ensuing drive came to an abrupt end at the 32-yard line with the Rams turning the ball over on downs.

The Dukes were able to chew up the next six minutes of the game, essentially ending the game with the Rams coming up just short.

"Its just real frustrating to, you know, feel that we're so close to winning, every week, every game this season," Jones said. "I feel like we had a real chance to win the game."

The Rams will face another tough opponent next Saturday when they take on No. 20 Richmond University in Richmond at 3:30 p.m.

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