HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison football closed its 2023 spring practice schedule Saturday afternoon with its annual Spring Game at Bridgeforth Stadium, as the defense made a key stop in the closing seconds to pull off a 24-22 win against the offense.

The two-quarter, regulation game was played offense (white uniforms) versus defense (purple uniforms) with the quarterbacks wearing black.

The offense put together three touchdown drives and converted on its only two-point attempt of the game. The defense stalled the offense on eight drives, gaining three points on each stop for its 24 points.

The offensive scoring began with a 70-yard touchdown drive to open the game, capped by a one-yard rushing score from Latrele Palmer. Four drives later, Reggie Brown hauled in a 64-yard touchdown pass, the longest play of the game. The offensive scoring wrapped on the second-to-last possession with a Sammy Malignaggi touchdown rush, followed by a two-point conversion to Taylor Thompson, which gave Team Purple 22-21 lead at the time.

Four quarterbacks saw action on the afternoon, Alonza Barnett III, Jordan McCloud, Billy Atkins and Brett Griffis. They combined for 24-for-40 passing with 253 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers.

Ty’son Lawton led in the ground game, with 43 yards on six rushes, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Three receivers – Brown, Phoenix Sproles and Elijah Sarratt each had three receptions, with Brown leading the team with 77 receiving yards.

The defense collected eight sacks on the afternoon, with Jamree Kromah and Spencer Toth each having two. Jailin Walker and Kye Holmes led the defensive with six and five tackles, respectively, while Holmes added a sack.

The Dukes begin the 2023 season, presented by CarMax, on Saturday, Sept. 2 against Bucknell at Bridgeforth Stadium. JMU is coming off an 8-3 (6-2 Sun Belt) record in 2022, finishing first in the Sun Belt Conference East Division.

— JMU Athletics —