HARRISONBURG, Va. — Jordan McCloud threw three long touchdown passes and ran for 61 yards as unbeaten James Madison held off a late South Alabama rally for a 31-23 win in South Alabama’s Sun Belt Conference opener on Saturday.
McCloud’s scoring passes covered 48, 44 and 66 yards. James Madison improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Sun Belt, remaining unbeaten through five games for the second straight season.
South Alabama fell to 2-3 and 0-1 in league play. The loss was the Jaguars’ second in a row and their fourth in their last six games, dating to the 2022 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Early Hole
James Madison’s defense limited South Alabama’s running game throughout. The Jaguars did not reach positive rushing yardage until the third quarter and finished with 27 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Carter Bradley was under pressure all afternoon. The Dukes sacked him five times and batted several passes at the line of scrimmage. One of those deflections was intercepted and returned for a touchdown late in the second quarter, sending James Madison to the locker room with a 24-7 lead.
South Alabama’s defense kept the Dukes off the scoreboard in the third quarter, but the Jaguars’ offense managed only a 40-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo, cutting the deficit to 24-10.
Early in the fourth quarter, McCloud found Zach Horton, who broke a tackle attempt and ran the rest of the way for a 66-yard touchdown. That made it 31-10 with 11:32 to play.
Late Push
South Alabama answered. Facing fourth-and-7 at the James Madison 49 after a sack, Bradley hit Caullin Lacy over the middle for a 31-yard gain to the 18. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the 3, and Bradley threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Lincoln Sefcik. Guajardo’s extra point hit the right upright, leaving the Jaguars behind 31-16 with 8:17 remaining.
After using two timeouts, South Alabama forced a punt with 5:44 left. Bradley connected with Lacy for 55 yards, and officials ruled Lacy down at the 1-yard line. La’Damian Webb scored on the next play, pulling the Jaguars within 31-23 with 3:56 remaining.
With South Alabama out of timeouts, James Madison ran 2:40 off the clock before giving the ball back. On the final possession, a pass interference penalty on the first play was followed by an incompletion, a 7-yard loss on a screen pass to Webb and a 9-yard sack. Facing fourth-and-26 at his own 34, Bradley threw under pressure, and the pass sailed over DJ Thomas-Jones and was intercepted to end the game.
Wommack: Adversity ‘All Self-Created’
“I’m really pleased with the fight of our team,” South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack said. “When you’re down and you put yourself in a hole, I think that guys seemed to stay really locked in on the sideline. Had a lot of adversity today, but it was all self-created.”
Stats
Bradley completed 28 of 50 passes for 299 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was credited with minus-6 rushing yards on eight carries.
Lacy led all receivers with 132 yards on six catches. Jamaal Pritchett caught three passes for 65 yards, including his first career touchdown. Webb had a team-high seven receptions for 24 yards and led the Jaguars on the ground with 36 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Sefcik caught two passes for 19 yards and a score. Marco Lee Jr. had one carry for 5 yards.
Defensively, Trey Kiser led South Alabama with eight tackles, five solo. Quentin Wilfawn added seven stops, four solo. Jamie Sheriff recorded a sack, Charles Coleman III and Wy’Kevious Thomas combined on another, and Jaden Voisin made his second interception of the season.
McCloud completed 12 of 22 passes for 241 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and rushed 10 times for 61 yards. Kaelon Black ran for 61 yards on 19 carries, and Ty Son Lawton added 18 yards on 11 carries. Horton caught three passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Elijah Sarratt had five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Team Totals
- Total offense: James Madison 377 (241 passing, 136 rushing); South Alabama 326 (299 passing, 27 rushing)
- Third down: South Alabama 5 of 18; James Madison 2 of 13
- Fourth down: South Alabama 1 of 4; James Madison 0 of 2
- Penalties: James Madison 10 for 108 yards; South Alabama 5 for 50 yards
- Time of possession: James Madison 31:14; South Alabama 28:46
Up Next
South Alabama travels to Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff against the Warhawks.
