VILLANOVA, Pa.—The combination of playing without six starters and facing a team that was looking to bounce back from its first conference loss in more than two years was too much to overcome as Villanova (3-4, 0-4 CAA Football) fell to No. 6 James Madison (5-2, 3-1) by a final score of 37-0 at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon.  Sophomore cornerback Jaquan Amos (Philadelphia, Pa.) was one of the Wildcats top performers in the loss, as he had a team-high nine tackles to go along with an interception and a pass breakup. 
 
Despite the final score, it was actually both teams that were held below what their season averages on offense had been entering the game.  Villanova was averaging 28.5 points and 414.8 total yards per contest, but its short-handed offense was held to 157 yards in the shutout loss.  On the flip side, the Dukes were averaging 426.0 total yards per game entering Saturday's contest but were held to 302 yards by the Wildcats defense. 
 
Sophomore linebacker Amin Black (Philadelphia, Pa.) made his first career start and counted two tackles for loss, including a sack, among his six total stops.  Junior linebacker Keeling Hunter (Franklin, Tenn.) added eight tackles and was one of six Villanova players with at least six stops.  Both teams committed one turnover in the game and the Wildcats turnover margin for the year remained at +2 through seven games. 
 
Villanova turned to sophomore quarterback Jack Schetelich (Cranford, N.J.) for the second straight week and also had senior wide receiver and one-time quarterback Adeyemi DaSilva (Edgewater, N.J.) see time under center.  Schetelich was 7-of-13 for 71 yards and DaSilva completed 4-of-5 passes for 23 yards.  Senior wide receiver Jarrett McClenton (Bensalem, Pa.) had a team-high 45 yards from scrimmage, including three receptions for 35 yards and a 10-yard rush. 
 
After the Wildcats went three-and-out on the first drive of the game, James Madison opened the scoring on a 31-yard field goal by Ethan Ratke with 10:15 left in the first quarter.  Three first-half field goals by Ratke and a two-yard touchdown run by Marcus Marshall late in the first quarter sent the Dukes into halftime with a 16-0 lead. 
 
The game was put out of reach in the third period when James Madison redshirt sophomore D'Angelo Amos returned consecutive Villanova punts for touchdowns to extend the margin to 30-0 by the 5:36 mark of the quarter.  His first return was for 89 yards with 7:46 left in the third period and the second was for 81 yards.  Amos totaled 183 yards on three punt returns to set a single-game record for a Wildcats opponent.
 
Freshman kicker Nathan Fondacaro (Sewell, N.J.) was credited with seven punts for an average of 45.9 yards, including tying a season-high with a 57-yard attempt.      
 
The final points of the game came on Dukes quarterback Ben Dinucci's one-yard run with less than a minute to play.  Dinucci was 21-of-31 for 171 yards and an interception in the game while also running for 16 yards and a score.  Trai Sharp led James Madison with 62 rushing yards on 14 carries.    
 
Villanova has a bye next week before returning to action at home against New Hampshire on October 27 at 2 p.m.