UL Monroe confounds James Madison in 21-19 win in first meeting between the squads

MONROE, La. — Aidan Armenta threw for 147 yards and a touchdown and Ahmad Hardy ran for 82 yards and a score and UL Monroe held on to beat James Madison 21-19 on Saturday night.

UL Monroe's defense held James Madison to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. The Dukes were coming off a 63-7 win over Ball State on Sept. 28 and 70-50 over North Carolina on Sept. 21.

Despite outgaining UL Monroe 399-257, the Dukes only reached the end zone twice.

James Madison led 10-0 after the first quarter before the Warhawks scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and led for the remainder.

Hardy's 38-yard scoring run with 5:45 before halftime reduced UL Monroe's deficit to a field goal. On James Madison's ensuing drive, quarterback Alonza Barnett III fumbled the ball and Daniel Knudsen ran it back 82 yards with 1:31 before halftime.

Noe Ruelas kicked a 39-yard field goal for the Dukes as time expired to close the half and pull to 14-13. The Warhawks pushed the lead to eight when Armenta threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jake Godfrey with 10:30 remaining.

Tyler Purdy scored from the 1 with 4:04 left to bring James Madison within 21-19 but the 2-point conversion failed.

UL Monroe's defense closed it out forcing James Madison to turn it over on downs on their last two possessions. The Dukes' last 13 plays generated just 30 yards.

Not only did the Warhawks win their Sun Belt Conference opener, they pushed their overall record to 4-1 for the first time since 1993.

It was James Madison’s (4-1, 0-1) first loss of the year in the first meeting between the programs.