Johnson, Thornton lead James Madison to 51-14 win

Published Nov. 6, 2021 7:19 p.m. ET

Associated Press

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Cole Johnson threw for four touchdowns, Kris Thornton caught four TDs and James Madison beat Campbell 51-14 on Saturday.

Johnson and Thornton connected on three touchdown passes. Johnson finished with 259 yards on 11-of-21 passing while Thornton made eight catches for 142 yards.

The Dukes (8-1) led 10-7 after the first quarter then scored 17 second-quarter points, two on Johnson-to-Thornton passes, to lead 26-7 at halftime.

By the time Johnson added an 8-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter, the Dukes were up 36-7.

Hajj-Malik Williams was 19 of 33 for 268 yards passing and two touchdowns for the Fighting Camels (4-6), both to Caleb Snead, who had 198 yards on 11 catches, both single-game school records. Snead also set school records with single-season receptions (63) and career TD catches (25). Campbell lost three fumbles, two leading to Dukes scores.

Before the game, James Madison, ranked third in the FCS coaches poll, announced it would be leaving the Colonial Athletic Association to move up to the FBS and join the Sun Belt Conference. After this season, the Dukes will go through a two-year transition to the FBS and join the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2023. The Dukes’ withdrawal from the CAA is effective June 30, 2022, the CAA said. JMU won the national FCS title in 2016 and reached the championship game twice since.

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25