JMU rallies to beat UVA 36-35 in ‘UVA Strong’ Game

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Virginia led James Madison by 11 points after three quarters but couldn’t hold on falling 36-35 on an emotional day in the ‘UVA Strong’ game at Scott Stadium. The Dukes scored two fourth quarter touchdowns after an hour-long weather delay rallying for the win.

Kaelon Black caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jordan McCloud with 55 seconds left propelling JMU to the win.

“This one hurts and it’s going to hurt for a while”, said UVA coach Tony Elliott after the game. “Got a football team in there that battled really hard for the last ten months to get to this point. They deserved to win because of the people that they are and what they’ve been through but the game of football it’s not about what you deserve, it’s about what you’ve earned and today we didn’t make enough plays and we weren’t a disciplined enough football team to win,”

This was Virginia’s first home game since November’s tragedy which took the lives of three UVA football players. There was a pre-game ceremony to honor Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler and their families.

UVa freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea got his first collegiate start and completed 20-of-26 passes for 377 yards and two touchdowns.

UVa coach Tony Elliott says quarterback Tony Muskett could return Friday night in Virginia’s game against Maryland but says he’ll need both quarterbacks moving forward.

Virginia rallied from a 14-0 deficit to build a 35-24 lead but couldn’t hold on for the win. Virginia drops to 0-2 on the season and tries to rebound Friday night playing at Maryland.

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