Troy State Defeats James Madison

Al Lucas rushed for two touchdowns to lead Troy State to a 27-7 victory over James Madison of Virginia Saturday at Troy, Ala., in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

Troy State (11-1) held James Madison tailback Curtis Keaton to 40 yards, far below his average of 158 a game.

James Madison (8-4) lost quarterback Chris Paquette to a separated shoulder in the second quarter. The Dukes had already lost three quarterbacks this season. Mike Connelly, still recovering from a separated shoulder suffered in the season-opening 47-0 loss to Virginia Tech, was ineffective in replacing Paquette, as was scout-team freshman Jason Thompson.

Among Troy State’s victories this season was a 31-24 decision over Cincinnati, which came back a week later to defeat Big Ten champion Wisconsin, 17-12.

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In other Division I-AA games of note:

Greg Hill ran for four touchdowns and threw for two more as second-seeded Georgia Southern (10-2) routed 15th-seeded Northern Arizona, 72-29, in a first-round game at Statesboro, Ga. Hill had 206 yards rushing and 100 yards passing. Ronny Jenkins, a transfer from Brigham Young and the CIF Southern Section’s single-game rushing leader (619 yards) at Oxnard Hueneme, had 64 yards and a touchdown in 13 carries for Northern Arizona (8-4).

Massachusetts (9-3) will face Georgia Southern in the second round after defeating Furman, 30-23, in overtime. Marcel Shipp, who had fumbled the ball away at the Furman one-yard line late in the third quarter, scored the winning touchdown on a one-yard run. After Shipp’s fumble, the Paladins (9-3) drove down field and kicked a tying field goal. Massachusetts beat Georgia Southern, 55-43, in last season’s Division I-AA championship game.

North Carolina A&T; (11-1) scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 15-yard pass play from Jason Battle to Marcus Bryson in a 24-10 victory of top-seeded Tennessee State (11-1) at Nashville. Tennessee State was averaging 37 points a game.

Quarterback Jeff Ryan had 369 yards in total offense as Youngstown (Ohio) State (10-2) held on for a 30-27 victory over Montana (9-3) at Missoula, Mont. Ryan threw for a career-high 281 yards and Elliott Giles had a school-record 214 receiving yards with only six catches.

JaJuan Seider completed 33 of 43 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns and ran 30 times for 81 yards and three touchdowns as Florida A&M; (9-3) defeated Appalachian State, 44-29, at Boone, N.C. Florida A&M; plays Troy State in the quarterfinals.

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Chuck Moore ran for four touchdowns and three-time defending Division III champion Mount Union (Ohio)--11-0 and winner of 53 in a row--held off Augustana (Ill.), 42-33, in a second-round game at Alliance, Ohio. Augustana finished 9-2.