BOX SCORE HARRISONBURG, Va. - DaQuan Minter (Johnstown, Pa./Greater Johnstown) had a pair of interceptions and Kyle Harbridge (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) rushed for 100 yards as the Saint Francis U football team fell just shy of upsetting No. 17 James Madison on Saturday night at Bridgeforth Stadium. The Dukes outlasted the Red Flash, 24-20.

The Red Flash (1-1) struck for a touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage when Max Ward (Steelton, Pa./Middletown) hit Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) off a play-action fake for a 72-yard score. The touchdown was the first career score for Ward and Smith as SFU took a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.

The score stayed that way for most of the first half as the Flash defense stifled a JMU offense that was coming off a 498-yard performance at FBS member Akron. On their first six possessions, the Dukes threw an interception and punted five times. Minter had the pick as he read a double move and made a great break on the ball. It wasn't until an 11-play, 69-yard drive late in the first half that JMU got on the board with a 21-yard field goal. As James Madison drove for more points in the closing seconds of the half, Lorenzo Jerome (Sunrise, Fla./J.P. Taravella) came up with the second turnover of the game with a splendid interception on a deep pass down the left sideline.

The Red Flash carried that 7-3 lead into the intermission before Kyle Harbridge (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) broke loose in the second half. Held to just 12 yards in the first half on 10 carries, he scampered 50 yards around the left side after his hole between the tackles sealed. It's Harbridge's 21st career touchdown run, breaking the school record he shared with Todd Harris. With the score, the Flash took a 14-3 lead early in the second half.

James Madison (2-1) pulled ahead with two touchdowns late in the third quarter to make it 17-14. The scores came just 2:27 apart, as the Dukes finally shook off the swarming SFU defense. Earlier in the quarter, the Dukes committed their third turnover as Brody Maughan-Evanson (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) forced a fumble on a hand-off and Joe Laukaitis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St.Clair) pounced on the loose ball. Laukaitis finished with eight tackles. Max Ma'afala-Maiava (Pearl City, Hawaii/Aiea ) led the team with nine while Bishop Neal (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) registered all seven of his tackles in the first half.

Redshirt freshman kicker Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) tied the score with a 45-yard field goal with 9:58 to play in the fourth quarter. The kick tied Geesey for fourth on the school's field goal distance list, but it would drop to fifth later in the quarter with his second field goal of the game - a 47-yarder - with 3:28 to play. That kick tied for the second longest field goal make in school history. The first field goal tied the score at 17-17 and it was set up by Minter's second interception and 31-yard return. The picks were the first two of his career. In between the field goals, James Madison scored on a 22-yard touchdown run that became the eventual game-winner.

It nearly wasn't the game-winner, though, as the Red Flash pushed into JMU territory with its final possession. The drive made it to the JMU 40 before it stalled with under a minute to play.

Ward finished 5-of-7 for 115 yards and the touchdown, while fellow quarterback Capri Thompson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) was 6-of-13 for 62 yards. Harbridge's 100-yard game is the 13th of his career.

The Red Flash open the home portion of its schedule next Saturday against Lincoln (Pa.) at 2:00 p.m.