Sept. 22, 2001

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Vince Nedimyer hit freshman wideout Curtis Horne on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 11:24 to play, giving 12th-ranked Rhode Island a come-from-behind 16-12 victory at James Madison Saturday night in an Atlantic 10 Conference battle.

The Rams rallied from a 12-7 halftime deficit to go 3-0 for the first time since 1995, when they wound up 7-4, and get off to their first 3-0 start in league play since 1957 in the old Yankee Conference.

The Rams snapped James Madison's 14-game home winning streak, the second longest in Division I-AA. JMU dropped to 1-2 overall, 0-2 in the Atlantic 10.

The winning TD pass came one snap after the Rhode Island defense forced the last of three key turnovers in the second half. It gave the Rams their first lead since late in the second quarter.

Burke George put James Madison on top 3-0 with a 22-yard field goal late in the first quarter. But Rhode Island took the ensuing kickoff and drove 66 yards for a touchdown, with wideout Salim Wellington running 17 yards for the score with 22 seconds left in the opening period.

James Madison cut the margn to 7-6 on George's 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter, then took the lead with 41 seconds left in the half on a 23-yard touchdown pass from freshman Clayton Matthews to sophomore wideout Alan Harrison. The two-point conversion try failed.

Shane Laisle brought the Rams to within two points at 12-10 by booting a 43-yard field goal with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

Senior David Jamison rushed for 85 yards on 30 carries for the Rams and caught two of Nedimyer's seven completions.

Next Saturday (Sept. 29) the Rams travel to Brown for the annual battle for the Governor's Cup. Game time is 1 p.m.