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James Madison shuts out UNI 17-0 in FCS quarters

James Madison shuts out UNI 17-0 in FCS quarters

AP PHOTO BY DANIEL LIN/DAILY NEWS-RECORD - James Madison defensive lineman John Daka (7) closes in on Northern Iowa quarterback Will McElvain (13) during the first half of a quarterfinal game in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs Friday night in Harrisonburg, Va.

HARRISONBURG, Va. — Percy Agyei-Obese ran 33 times for 124 yards and a touchdown and No. 2 seed James Madison dominated defensively in a 17-0 win over Northern Iowa in the FCS playoff quarterfinals on Friday night.

James Madison (13-1) won its 13th straight and will face the Montana-Weber State winner in the semifinals.

Northern Iowa (10-5) had 58 yards of total offense through the first three quarters and did not cross into James Madison territory until the final drive of the game with less than two minutes left.

The Panthers drove 55 yards on 11 plays before turning it over on downs and the Dukes ran out the clock, finishing with a 346-114 edge in total offense.

Northern Iowa had seven first downs, three on the final drive, and went 2-of-12 on third-down and 0-of-2 on fourth-down conversions.

AP PHOTO BY DANIEL LIN/DAILY NEWS-RECORD - James Madison safety D’Angelo Amos (24) strips the ball away from Northern Iowa running back Tyler Hoosman (32) for a fumble during the first half of Friday’s quarterfinal game in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in Harrisonburg, Va.

It was the first time the Panthers had been shut out since Sept. 25, 2010, against Iowa State, and the first shutout loss to a fellow FCS program since Montana beat UNI 38-0 in the the FCS semifinals on Dec. 15, 2001.

“They played good man coverage, they caused enough problems up front and just couldn’t get anything going on offense,” UNI head coach Mark Farley said of the Dukes’ defense. “We kept them in check on defense all game long, just couldn’t get anything going so give credit to their defense.

“They’re a top-10 team with all these other guys. … They stack up well. They’re a good football team, their defense is really good.”

UNI quarterback Will McElvain finished 12-for-30 passing for 114 yards. The Panthers finished with 19 rushes for zero yards.

Ben DiNucci was 19 of 28 for 157 yards, one touchdown and one interception for James Madison. Brandon Polk hauled in seven passes for 59 yards and the touchdown.

“You never know how these games are going to go, but we felt like we had the opportunity to shut them down and we did,” said James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti. “We felt we were going to have to play great defense in this game and it was a really great effort.”

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Friday, Dec. 13

James Madison 17, N. Iowa 0

Montana State 24, Austin Peay 10

Weber State vs. Montana, (late)

Saturday, Dec. 14

North Dakota State (13-0) vs. Illinois State (10-4), 11 a.m.

——

James Madison 17, UNI 0

At Harrisonburg, Va.

N. Iowa 0 0 0 0 — 0

James Madison 7 3 0 7 — 17

First Quarter

JM–Polk 15 pass from DiNucci (Ratke kick), 4:10.

Second Quarter

JM–FG Ratke 42, 6:39.

Fourth Quarter

JM–Agyei-Obese 1 run (Ratke kick), 2:19.

A–8,741.

TEAM STATISTICS

UNI JMU

First downs 7 22

Rushes-yards 19-0 60-189

Passing 114 157

Comp-Att-Int 12-30-0 19-28-1

Return Yards 25 34

Punts-Avg. 8-41.1 5-30.8

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1

Penalties-Yards 2-30 5-45

Time of Possession 17:51 42:09

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–N. Iowa, T.Allen 10-17, Hoosman 1-8, McElvain 8-(minus 25). James Madison, Agyei-Obese 33-124, Hamilton 21-62, DiNucci 4-6, (Team) 2-(minus 3).

PASSING–N. Iowa, McElvain 12-30-0-114. James Madison, DiNucci 19-28-1-157.

RECEIVING–N. Iowa, Graham 4-39, James 3-37, T.Allen 2-15, Lane 2-13, Hadachek 1-10. James Madison, Polk 7-59, D.Stapleton 4-48, Hamilton 3-13, Vanhorse 2-22, Agyei-Obese 2-9, R.Stapleton 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–James Madison, Ratke 47, Ratke 36.

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