Top 10 Stories
JMU Football And Basketball Dominated (Sort Of) in ’12
Posted: December 31, 2012
HARRISONBURG — In a year scarce on state or national championships, the top local sports stories of 2012 centered around James Madison University — and not really in a good way.
JMU football was down, men’s basketball was down and the Colonial Athletic Association was down. About the only bright spot for Madison among its signature sports was women’s basketball, and even those Dukes failed to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Top 10 stories were decided by thesports staff. These aren’t the Top 10 achievements of the year; these are the stories that elicited the most interest and dominated our coverage the past 12 months.
Here they are:
1. JMU Football Misses Playoffs, Shakes Up Staff: Once again, the Dukes underachieved in football — and, now, the pressure is beginning to mount on coach Mickey Matthews to restore the program to national prominence. Madison was ranked fifth in Division I-AA in the preseason this year, rose as high as No. 2, and then finished just 7-4, missing the playoffs for the third time in four years. That’s not good enough to satisfy a fan base and administration that expects the heavily funded Dukes to compete for CAA and national titles annually. Season-ending losses to Villanova and Old Dominion trashed the Dukes’ hopes of an at-large bid to the playoffs. With the offense once again sputtering, Matthews fired offensive coordinator Jeff Durden and offensive line coach Chris Malone in early December. Matthews is promising a more productive passing game built around rising sophomore quarterback Michael Birdsong — a major overhaul that could make 2013 a dramatic season for Madison football.
2. Brady Survives, For Now: With the JMU basketball team floundering in the penultimate year of coach Matt Brady’s contract last season, athletic director Jeff Bourne had three options: 1) extend Brady’s contract, and give him a pass for a pair of injury-plagued seasons; 2) fire Brady following the team’s embarrassing first-round loss to UNC-Wilmington; 3) allow Brady to go into the final year of his contract without an extension – a move that’s rare in college sports because it can severely handcuff recruiting, but one that saved JMU from having to buy out Brady’s $290,000 contract. Bourne and the athletic department chose Door No. 3. “At the end of the day, it’s the right thing to honor his contract and give him a chance to take these kids and play next season,” Bourne said, hardly delivering a vote of confidence for the coach. Brady’s Dukes have started the 2012-13 season 6-6 and improved dramatically throughout December. In a weak CAA, JMU is capable of competing for a league title. Would a strong Colonial tournament performance be enough for Brady to keep his job? Not necessarily.
3. ERHS Girls’ Basketball Soars: Led by coach Paul Comer and his precocious freshman point guard – his daughter Madison – East Rockingham beat Covington 66-42 in the Division 1 state championship game last March in Richmond, capping a splendid 30-1 season in the program’s third year of existence. “Back in November, I asked these girls to dream big with me and feel like they could win a state championship this year,” Paul Comer said after the game. The Eagles overcame a season-ending injury to star player Sarah Cameron midway through the year, but senior Chase Raynes stepped up to become the region’s top player. It’s now a new season, but the Eagles haven’t stopped racking up victories. They have won 38 straight games, dating back to last year.
4. CAA Crumbles, JMU Stays Committed: Last May, Virginia Commonwealth, the “it” basketball school in the Colonial, announced an immediate move to the Atlantic 10, where the hoops are traditionally stronger and the payouts better. Two days later, Old Dominion announced that it would leave next year for Conference USA in a football-driven decision (it’s moving up to I-A). Georgia State also is bolting next year. All the while, James Madison affirmed its commitment to the CAA through public comments and by voting in favor of boosting the league exit fee from $250,000 to $1 million. I-A? It’s on JMU’s radar, but there appears to have been little movement in that direction so far.
5. Prep Football Blues (Except for ERHS): Broadway followed a state championship appearance in 2011 with a disappointing 4-6 record in 2012, failing to make the playoffs and finishing sixth in the seven-team Valley District, despite a monster year by running back Trevor Bostic. Harrisonburg, meanwhile, went from 13 wins in 2010 to eight in 2011 to just five in 2012. The Blue Streaks, who were down to a fourth-string quarterback by the end of the season, finished 5-5 in coach Chris Thurman’s second year at the helm, and also missed the playoffs. Spotswood (5-5) and Turner Ashby (4-6) improved throughout the year but both fell short of the postseason. The only city/county team to make the playoffs was East Rockingham, playing out of the Group A powerhouse Shenandoah District. East Rock finished 8-4 after a second-round loss to Essex.
6. Michael Holmes Tech’s Tailback (For A While): Michael Holmes was the story of the year in 2010 as an astonishingly productive running back at Harrisonburg High School. Then, after redshirting during his first season at Virginia Tech, he won the Hokies’ starting tailback job in 2012, perhaps the most prestigious position in the commonwealth. But Holmes failed to ignite Tech’s running game and was a non-factor by the end of the season. The 6-foot, 208-pounder finished the regular season with just 282 yards and four touchdowns on 69 carries.
7. The Kid Beats Out The Veteran: Unlike in many recent years, the JMU football team entered 2012 without a quarterback controversy. But, stunningly, a serious one materialized by midseason. Fifth-year junior Justin Thorpe (the NCAA awarded him a sixth year of eligibility) zoomed past inferior competition but struggled against solid CAA teams, including Richmond on Oct. 20. That opened the door for Michael Birdsong, a true freshman pocket-passer who nearly led JMU to a comeback victory. Matthews announced Birdsong would start the following week, but Thorpe, who pouted on the sideline after losing his job, appeared to regain his role two games later with a sterling relief effort against Maine. Birdsong injured his ankle during garbage time at the end of that game and didn’t play in the Dukes’ final two contests. But by December, Thorpe was no longer a part of the program and Matthews had anointed Birdsong the Dukes’ starter for 2013.
8. Brady Loses Lawsuit, But … : After a four-year legal battle with his former employer, Marist College, JMU basketball coach Matt Brady went to court in May as the defendant in a breach-of-contract lawsuit. A Poughkeepsie, N.Y., jury agreed that Brady broke his pact with Marist when he left the school for Madison in 2008, but it did not award Marist a single penny of the $425,000 it sought. Still, the lawsuit cost Brady time, stress and legal fees (and annoyed his bosses, sources said). And it hit JMU in the wallet. In April, Madison settled its portion of the suit by agreeing to pay Marist $100,000. While it admitted no guilt, JMU, through a spokesman, said it paid the settlement to simply end the time-consuming lawsuit.
9. JMU Reaches WNIT Final: While JMU received bids to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in 2010 and 2011, losing in the first round each year, the Dukes may have benefited more by missing out on the main event in 2012. Madison instead was relegated to the WNIT, where it reached the championship game of the 64-team consolation tourney. A 75-68 loss at Oklahoma State was preceded by an entertaining run of five home games in which JMU defeated major-conference opponents in thrilling contests. The Dukes drew more than 4,000 fans for one of their games, and the crowds were not just large, but loud. Afterward, coach Kenny Brooks said the WNIT appearance was more beneficial than losing again in the first round of the more sought-after tournament. “What’s happened the last couple weeks in Harrisonburg,” he said, “has been tremendous.”
10. Clover Hill Finally Falls; Turks Win: The Rockingham County Baseball League playoffs, for a time, seemed like a mere formality. Clover Hill had won five straight championships and eight in a span of nine years, asserting an absolute dominance over the summer circuit, which is stocked with standout local players of all ages (from high school stars to college standouts to ex-pros). But this past August, that dominance stopped. Feisty Bridgewater defeated the Bucks in the best-of-five semifinals, setting up a championship series with Stuarts Draft – the team most tormented by Clover Hill in recent history. Draft took advantage of the Bucks’ rare absence and topped Bridgewater 4-2 in the final series behind a true MVP performance by pitcher/first baseman Ryan Cooper. Meanwhile, in Harrisonburg, the Turks won the Valley Baseball League playoffs, beating Winchester for the title. The Valley League, comprised of players from colleges nationwide, features a higher-quality brand of baseball than the RCBL, but lacks the County League’s continuity of local talent. So take your pick on which was a bigger story in 2012.
JMU football was down, men’s basketball was down and the Colonial Athletic Association was down. About the only bright spot for Madison among its signature sports was women’s basketball, and even those Dukes failed to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Top 10 stories were decided by thesports staff. These aren’t the Top 10 achievements of the year; these are the stories that elicited the most interest and dominated our coverage the past 12 months.
Here they are:
1. JMU Football Misses Playoffs, Shakes Up Staff: Once again, the Dukes underachieved in football — and, now, the pressure is beginning to mount on coach Mickey Matthews to restore the program to national prominence. Madison was ranked fifth in Division I-AA in the preseason this year, rose as high as No. 2, and then finished just 7-4, missing the playoffs for the third time in four years. That’s not good enough to satisfy a fan base and administration that expects the heavily funded Dukes to compete for CAA and national titles annually. Season-ending losses to Villanova and Old Dominion trashed the Dukes’ hopes of an at-large bid to the playoffs. With the offense once again sputtering, Matthews fired offensive coordinator Jeff Durden and offensive line coach Chris Malone in early December. Matthews is promising a more productive passing game built around rising sophomore quarterback Michael Birdsong — a major overhaul that could make 2013 a dramatic season for Madison football.
2. Brady Survives, For Now: With the JMU basketball team floundering in the penultimate year of coach Matt Brady’s contract last season, athletic director Jeff Bourne had three options: 1) extend Brady’s contract, and give him a pass for a pair of injury-plagued seasons; 2) fire Brady following the team’s embarrassing first-round loss to UNC-Wilmington; 3) allow Brady to go into the final year of his contract without an extension – a move that’s rare in college sports because it can severely handcuff recruiting, but one that saved JMU from having to buy out Brady’s $290,000 contract. Bourne and the athletic department chose Door No. 3. “At the end of the day, it’s the right thing to honor his contract and give him a chance to take these kids and play next season,” Bourne said, hardly delivering a vote of confidence for the coach. Brady’s Dukes have started the 2012-13 season 6-6 and improved dramatically throughout December. In a weak CAA, JMU is capable of competing for a league title. Would a strong Colonial tournament performance be enough for Brady to keep his job? Not necessarily.
3. ERHS Girls’ Basketball Soars: Led by coach Paul Comer and his precocious freshman point guard – his daughter Madison – East Rockingham beat Covington 66-42 in the Division 1 state championship game last March in Richmond, capping a splendid 30-1 season in the program’s third year of existence. “Back in November, I asked these girls to dream big with me and feel like they could win a state championship this year,” Paul Comer said after the game. The Eagles overcame a season-ending injury to star player Sarah Cameron midway through the year, but senior Chase Raynes stepped up to become the region’s top player. It’s now a new season, but the Eagles haven’t stopped racking up victories. They have won 38 straight games, dating back to last year.
4. CAA Crumbles, JMU Stays Committed: Last May, Virginia Commonwealth, the “it” basketball school in the Colonial, announced an immediate move to the Atlantic 10, where the hoops are traditionally stronger and the payouts better. Two days later, Old Dominion announced that it would leave next year for Conference USA in a football-driven decision (it’s moving up to I-A). Georgia State also is bolting next year. All the while, James Madison affirmed its commitment to the CAA through public comments and by voting in favor of boosting the league exit fee from $250,000 to $1 million. I-A? It’s on JMU’s radar, but there appears to have been little movement in that direction so far.
5. Prep Football Blues (Except for ERHS): Broadway followed a state championship appearance in 2011 with a disappointing 4-6 record in 2012, failing to make the playoffs and finishing sixth in the seven-team Valley District, despite a monster year by running back Trevor Bostic. Harrisonburg, meanwhile, went from 13 wins in 2010 to eight in 2011 to just five in 2012. The Blue Streaks, who were down to a fourth-string quarterback by the end of the season, finished 5-5 in coach Chris Thurman’s second year at the helm, and also missed the playoffs. Spotswood (5-5) and Turner Ashby (4-6) improved throughout the year but both fell short of the postseason. The only city/county team to make the playoffs was East Rockingham, playing out of the Group A powerhouse Shenandoah District. East Rock finished 8-4 after a second-round loss to Essex.
6. Michael Holmes Tech’s Tailback (For A While): Michael Holmes was the story of the year in 2010 as an astonishingly productive running back at Harrisonburg High School. Then, after redshirting during his first season at Virginia Tech, he won the Hokies’ starting tailback job in 2012, perhaps the most prestigious position in the commonwealth. But Holmes failed to ignite Tech’s running game and was a non-factor by the end of the season. The 6-foot, 208-pounder finished the regular season with just 282 yards and four touchdowns on 69 carries.
7. The Kid Beats Out The Veteran: Unlike in many recent years, the JMU football team entered 2012 without a quarterback controversy. But, stunningly, a serious one materialized by midseason. Fifth-year junior Justin Thorpe (the NCAA awarded him a sixth year of eligibility) zoomed past inferior competition but struggled against solid CAA teams, including Richmond on Oct. 20. That opened the door for Michael Birdsong, a true freshman pocket-passer who nearly led JMU to a comeback victory. Matthews announced Birdsong would start the following week, but Thorpe, who pouted on the sideline after losing his job, appeared to regain his role two games later with a sterling relief effort against Maine. Birdsong injured his ankle during garbage time at the end of that game and didn’t play in the Dukes’ final two contests. But by December, Thorpe was no longer a part of the program and Matthews had anointed Birdsong the Dukes’ starter for 2013.
8. Brady Loses Lawsuit, But … : After a four-year legal battle with his former employer, Marist College, JMU basketball coach Matt Brady went to court in May as the defendant in a breach-of-contract lawsuit. A Poughkeepsie, N.Y., jury agreed that Brady broke his pact with Marist when he left the school for Madison in 2008, but it did not award Marist a single penny of the $425,000 it sought. Still, the lawsuit cost Brady time, stress and legal fees (and annoyed his bosses, sources said). And it hit JMU in the wallet. In April, Madison settled its portion of the suit by agreeing to pay Marist $100,000. While it admitted no guilt, JMU, through a spokesman, said it paid the settlement to simply end the time-consuming lawsuit.
9. JMU Reaches WNIT Final: While JMU received bids to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in 2010 and 2011, losing in the first round each year, the Dukes may have benefited more by missing out on the main event in 2012. Madison instead was relegated to the WNIT, where it reached the championship game of the 64-team consolation tourney. A 75-68 loss at Oklahoma State was preceded by an entertaining run of five home games in which JMU defeated major-conference opponents in thrilling contests. The Dukes drew more than 4,000 fans for one of their games, and the crowds were not just large, but loud. Afterward, coach Kenny Brooks said the WNIT appearance was more beneficial than losing again in the first round of the more sought-after tournament. “What’s happened the last couple weeks in Harrisonburg,” he said, “has been tremendous.”
10. Clover Hill Finally Falls; Turks Win: The Rockingham County Baseball League playoffs, for a time, seemed like a mere formality. Clover Hill had won five straight championships and eight in a span of nine years, asserting an absolute dominance over the summer circuit, which is stocked with standout local players of all ages (from high school stars to college standouts to ex-pros). But this past August, that dominance stopped. Feisty Bridgewater defeated the Bucks in the best-of-five semifinals, setting up a championship series with Stuarts Draft – the team most tormented by Clover Hill in recent history. Draft took advantage of the Bucks’ rare absence and topped Bridgewater 4-2 in the final series behind a true MVP performance by pitcher/first baseman Ryan Cooper. Meanwhile, in Harrisonburg, the Turks won the Valley Baseball League playoffs, beating Winchester for the title. The Valley League, comprised of players from colleges nationwide, features a higher-quality brand of baseball than the RCBL, but lacks the County League’s continuity of local talent. So take your pick on which was a bigger story in 2012.