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James Madison beats Norfolk State in football game shortened to one quarter

Posted at 9:57 PM, Sep 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-08 21:57:55-04

JMU vs Norfolk State (Courtesy: ESPN3)

NORFOLK, Va. (NSU Athletics) – No. 2 ranked James Madison earned a storm-shortened 17-0 win over host Norfolk State on Saturday night at Dick Price Stadium.

The game, whose start was delayed 90 minutes by storms in the Hampton Roads area, was called after one quarter after another delay of 50 minutes. That delay came with the Dukes ahead 17-0. Administration from both sides agreed the game would be called with more lightning in the area and the forecast of further storms later in the evening.

Thunderstorms delayed the scheduled 6:05 p.m. start. The game kicked off with a slight drizzle underway at 7:35 p.m. JMU (1-1) quarterback Ben DiNucci capped the game’s opening possession with a 5-yard TD run, finishing an eight-play, 69-yard drive. De’Angelo Amos later returned a Spartan punt 76 yards for a score. Later in the period, Amos’ 27-yard punt return set the Dukes up with a short field, leading to Ethan Ratke’s 28-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in the period, which capped the scoring.

The game was delayed again by lightning at 8:20 p.m., with the game called at 9:10 p.m.

DiNucci ran for 67 yards on four carries for JMU, which out-gained the Spartans 118-29 in total yards in the lone period of play.

The Spartans hit the road for the first time this season next Saturday, when they face Liberty University at 6 p.m. in Lynchburg, Virginia.