Oct. 28, 2003

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Alex Panormios (play-by-play) & Chris Kucharski (color)

DUKES HIT ROAD TO FACE MOREHEAD STATE

Duquesne, which clinched its fifth consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League title with a 39-7 win over Saint Peter's on Oct. 18, follows its off week with a game at Pioneer Football League power Morehead State (6-2, 3-0) on Saturday, Nov. 1 (internet only at www.RedZoneMedia.com).

Morehead State did some clinching of its own over the weekend with a 20-16 win at Jacksonville. The MSU victory gave the Eagles their second consecutive South Division title and put them in the Pioneer League championship game at Valparaiso on Nov. 22.

The Dukes (5-2, 4-0), winner of four in a row, are currently ranked No. 2 in The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10, while the Eagles - who have won five straight - hold down the No. 4 spot in the poll. This is the first meeting between Duquesne and Morehead State.

MORE ON MOREHEAD STATE

Morehead State is 3-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming in the home opener to PFL foe Dayton (12-0) ... the Eagles' other loss came by three points (24-21) before 16,811 fans at Appalachian State on Sept. 20 ... Appalachian State is currently 4-4 and tied for third in the Southern Conference ... the Eagles are ranked No. 7 nationally in scoring defense, giving up an average of 13.9 ppg. ... Duquesne is 11th in scoring offense at 37 ppg. ... MSU is also 7th in pass efficiency defense ... quarterback David Caudill ranks 10th nationally in total offense at 272 yards per game ... he has completed 53.9% of his passes for 1,820 yards and 15 TDs and is the team's leading rusher with 89 carries for 362 yards and 2 scores ... MSU's leading receiver is Seton-La Salle graduate Ralph DelSardo (31-530-3, 17.1 ypc.).

DUQUESNE LATELY:

Duquesne ranks third nationally in total offense at 471.43 yards per game ... in his last three games, quarterback Niel Loebig has completed 71-of-113 passes (.628) for 1,078 yards and 10 TDs with 4 interceptions ... he has topped the 300-yard mark in all three games (372 vs. Siena, 370 at Iona and 336 vs. Saint Peter's) ... Loebig has now topped the 300-yard mark nine times in his career (four times this season) ... he has also thrown for two or more scores in 23 of 29 career games ... receivers Michel Warfield and Randy Vulakovich combined for 18 catches and 284 yards in the win vs. Saint Peter's on Oct. 18 ... Warfield, who finished with a career-high 8 catches for a career-best 173 yards, caught touchdown passes of 24 and 20 yards in earning MAAC Offensive Player of the Week ... in his last two games, Warfield has caught 11 passes for 329 yards and 4 TDs ... that's an average of 29.9 yards per reception ... his season average stands at 23.9 yards per catch ... Vulakovich finished with 10 catches for 111 yards against the Peacocks ... it was his second 100-yard effort in DU's last three games ... in the Dukes' last three games, Vulakovich has caught 28 passes for 333 yards (9.3 receptions per game) ... Vulakovich leads the team with 48 catches ... senior running back Mike Hilliard topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the fourth time in DU's last five games with 104 vs. Saint Peter's ... Hilliard scored on runs of 3, 5 and 4 yards, giving him 13 rushing TDs in seven games ... he needs one more rushing TD to tie the record he shares with Pedro Bowman ... Bowman totaled 14 rushing TDs in 1982, while Hilliard matched him last season ... Harry Carter posted a game-high 14 tackles (9 solo), including 2 tackles for loss vs. SPC to earn MAAC Defensive Player of the Week ...it was the second consecutive week he earned the honor ... Carter, the 2002 MAAC Defensive Rookie of the Year, leads the Dukes with 77 total tackles.

MILESTONE WATCH

• QB Niel Loebig enters the Morehead State game needing 63 yards to become the first player in school history to throw for 2,000 or more yards in three different seasons ... Loebig threw for 2,112 yards as a freshman and 2,685 yards as a junior to join Tony Zimmerman (1998-00) as the only other quarterback in school history to post two 2,000-yard seasons ... Loebig, who already holds school career records for completions (444) and completion pct. (53.2%), needs six more touchdown passes to break the career mark of 73 set by Zimmerman in his three seasons at DU ... Loebig's career numbers entering Morehead State: 444-of-835 for 6,734 yards and 68 TDs ... so far this season he has completed 132-of-229 passes for 1,937 yards and 17 scores
• RB Mike Hilliard is one touchdown shy of tying the school record for rushing TDs in a season he currently shares with Pedro Bowman (1982) ... Hilliard, who rushed for 1,310 yards and 14 TDs last season, is also closing in on the 1,000-yard mark ... the 5-11, 200-pounder enters the Morehead State game with 985 yards on 179 carries and 13 rushing TDs ... he is bidding to join Donte Small (1998-01, MAAC Offensive Player of the Year in '01) as the only other back in DU history to post two 1,000-yard seasons ... Hilliard currently ranks third on Duquesne's all-time rushing list with 2,629 yards behind Small (4,260) and Bowman (3,830)

ECAC CLASSIC HOST

By virtue of clinching the MAAC title, Duquesne will serve as home team for the ECAC Classic on Nov. 22 (game time 1:00 pm). The Classic matches the winner of the MAAC vs. the champion of the Northeast Conference. Monmouth (8-0, 4-0), currently ranked No. 1 in The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10, is in the NEC's driver's seat with three conference road games remaining (11/1 at Central Connecticut, 11/8 at Sacred Heart and 11/15 at St. Francis, Pa.). Albany (4-1), Sacred Heart (3-1) and Robert Morris (4-2) are also in the NEC title hunt. This will be Duquesne's fifth classic appearance (1995, 1996, 2001 & 2002 are the others). The only other school with more than two appearances is Wagner of the NEC with three (1993, 1994 & 1995).

ABOUT THAT MAAC TITLE

Duquesne has now won seven of the last nine MAAC championships (1995, '96, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03) including the last five in a row ... the Dukes have won their last 28 MAAC games, outscoring their opponents 1,171-284 in the process ... DU's last conference loss was on Oct. 23, 1999 at Iona (62-50) ... Duquesne is 61-7 all-time in MAAC play ... DU's final league game is Nov. 8 at Marist.