By By Nick Pipitone
Two weeks ago, the football locker room was dead silent.
James Madison University (JMU) had just put up 42 points on the Pride defense, most of it via the passing game, and the Blue & Gold had surrendered over 40 points in a game for the second consecutive week. Dropping out of the top 25 rankings and falling to 2-2, the Pride’s season hung in the balance.
However, the team refused to quit, and its staunch defensive effort against the University of Delaware on Oct. 8 may have been the turning point of the season. With starting QB Anton Clarkson sidelined with a shoulder injury, the defense tightened up and held the Blue Hens to only six points, enabling the Pride to pull out a tight 10-6 victory.
This past Saturday, the defense kept up its solid play as it manhandled the University of Maine (2-4, 0-3 Atlantic 10) and powered the Pride (4-2, 2-1) to a 44-0 victory on its homecoming. The blowout win bumped the Pride back into the rankings at no. 23 in the I-AA top 25 poll, but the team remained in third place in the Atlantic-10 Northern Division behind Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
“I think we’re starting to play our responsibilities like we should,” senior LB and team captain Cole Haley said. “Against JMU and Furman (a 44-41 2OT loss), we weren’t playing our responsibilities. Now players are settling in a little bit and starting to feel more comfortable. After last week, we realized that we can make plays and we can hold offenses. Now we’re just developing into the defense that we can be.”
The defense held the Black Bears to a mere 135 yards of total offense, its best output since 1996. In addition, the Pride posted its second shutout and third sub-210-yard defensive effort of the season. Even more impressive, the defense accounted for 16 points.
Late in the first quarter, following a 34-yard Rob Zarrilli field goal, the defense put the game out of reach. After the 12-play, 55-yard drive, Maine started its ensuing possession at its own 43-yard line. However, junior linebacker D.J. Talvacchio crept up from behind the line and intercepted a Chris Legree pass in the flat, taking it 40 yards for the score.
“Because of practice, we were pretty prepared for that formation they ran,” Talvacchio said. “I anticipated that play, so I jumped it and took a chance and got lucky.”
The defensive touchdown put the Pride up 10-0 and in command of the game. With a 17-0 lead at halftime, the Blue & Gold scored another 27 points in the second half, including a Dan Garay safety midway through the third quarter and a 47-yard interception return by sophomore LB Stanley Gutierrez late in the fourth.
The Gutierrez interception return marked the fifth of the season for the Pride, breaking the single-season school record of four set in 1964 and 2000.
Talvacchio and Garay, as they have been most of the season, were the stalwarts of the Pride defense. Talvacchio finished the game with two interceptions, five tackles, and a half-sack, enough to be named A-10 Defensive Player of the Week. Defensive end Garay had a team-high eight tackles and one-and-a-half sacks, including the safety.
Overshadowed by the defensive performance was Clarkson’s return. The junior had two touchdown passes and an interception in his first game back from his injury.
“I felt pretty good,” Clarkson said. “I knew I was going to start by Tuesday of that week. I’m not sure if I’m 100-percent but I’m probably as close to it as I’m going to be. I think the offense played well enough to win, but we have to play a lot better.”
The defense, however, was the showstopper. Overall, it forced four interceptions and recorded seven sacks, while relinquishing only 28-yards rushing. Statistically, the Pride had the best week defensively thus far this season, a reflection of Maine’s incompetent offense, but also the defense’s improvement.
“The defense is sticking together, which is the biggest thing,” Garay said. “Everybody’s got to stick together and stay behind one another and we can do good things.”
The Black Bears came into the game ranked 11th in the A-10 in total offense and scoring offense. On four occasions, Maine receivers were able to beat Pride defensive backs deep, but simply could not complete the play because of dropped balls and overthrows.
“We executed pretty good,” Pride head coach Joe Gardi said. “The only thing that scared me was those corners getting beat on the long ball. The fact that the Maine QB had time to throw also bothered me, but as long as we keep trying to fight those corners we’ll be alright.”
Regardless, the Pride played solid and was able to do what a good team is supposed to do: clean up against a lesser opponent.
Now with a much-improved defense, it looks to continue its current two-game winning streak Saturday afternoon when the team travels to take on a much improved University of Richmond team, which upset Delaware, 20-10, last Saturday.
“These guys are doing a great job,” senior captain and linebacker Cole Haley said. “We’re going to ride the crest of the wave and keep this thing going.”