Nov. 19, 2003

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DUKES AND HAWKS MEET FOR FIRST TIME

Duquesne (7-3, 5-0) completes the season at home vs. Northeast Conference champion Monmouth (10-1, 6-1) in the ECAC Classic on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1:00 p.m. The Dukes, who clinched their fifth consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League title - and accompanying Classic berth - with a 39-7 win over Saint Peter's on Oct. 18, will be making their record fifth ECAC Bowl/Classic appearance.

Monmouth, the second-ranked team in The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10, is coming of a title-clinching 28-21 win at St. Francis last weekend. Duquesne, ranked No. 5 by The Sports Network, defeated Robert Morris at home, 33-28, on Saturday night. Monmouth, which leads NCAA Division I-AA in total defense (232.2 ypg.), rushing defense (61.73 ypg.) and scoring defense (8.18 ppg.), is the second consecutive NEC foe for the Dukes who enter the game ranked 4th nationally in total offense (463.3 ypg.). Five-eleven, 230-pound middle linebacker Joe Sentipal (95 tackles) is the heart and soul of the Monmouth defense, while Niel Loebig, who broke school career records for passing yards (7,598) and touchdown passes (75) in the win over Robert Morris, leads the DU offense.

ECAC CLASSIC

This is Duquesne's fifth appearance in the ECAC Classic (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 TITLE

Duquesne has now won seven of the last nine MAAC championships (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) including the last five in a row ... the Dukes finished the conference season with a 29-game MAAC win streak ... during the streak, the Dukes have outscored their opponents by a 1,202-290 margin, with just one of the 29 games decided by fewer than 10 points ... Duquesne's last conference loss was on Oct. 23, 1999 at Iona (62-50) ... Duquesne is 62-7 all-time in MAAC play (since 1994).

DUQUESNE VS. MONMOUTH
first meeting

ECAC Bowl/Classic Results
NEC leads 5-2 *
Home team is 3-4 all time

1993    +Wagner 32              at Iona 01994    at St. John's 34        +Wagner 141995    at Duquesne 44          +Wagner 301996    +Robert Morris 28       at Duquesne 261997    +Robert Morris 35       at Georgetown 132002    +Sacred Heart 31        at Duquesne 152003    +at Albany 24           Duquesne 0
+ - indicates NEC representative

Most appearances: Duquesne (5), Wagner (3), Robert Morris (2)

MORE ON MONMOUTH

Monmouth is ranked first nationally in total defense (232.18), rushing defense (61.73) and scoring defense (8.18) ... the Hawks are also ranked 9th nationally in pass efficiency defense (97.49 ypg.) ... Monmouth has held 10 of its 11 opponents to 14 or fewer points ... the only team to score more than 14 was St. Francis, which scored 21 in a 28-21 loss to the Hawks last weekend ... the Dukes and Hawks share four common opponents in Saint Peter's, Robert Morris, Iona and La Salle ... here is a comparison of final scores:

MONMOUTH vs.            DUQUESNE vs.Saint Peters    W       24-0    Saint Peter's   W       39-7Iona    W       30-7    at Iona W       42-29at La Salle     W       50-0    La Salle        W       62-14Robt. Morris    W       17-10   Robt. Morris    W       33-28

FEATS OF NOTE

QB Niel Loebig holds 13 of the 15 school passing records currently kept (see Loebig bio later in the release) ... the only ones he doesn't hold are: passing yards in a game (438 by Tony Zimmerman vs. Iona in 2000) and completion pct. in a game (.813 by Bill Marancel at Gannon in 1989) ... Loebig, who established DU career records for passing yards (7,598) and TD passes (75) last weekend, has now thrown for 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in each of his first three seasons .... he and Zimmerman (1998-00) are the only players in school history to throw for over 2,000 yards and 20 scores in three different seasons ... Loebig threw for 2,112 yards as a freshman and 2,685 yards as a junior

Senior running back Mike Hilliard has topped the 100-yard rushing mark 14 times in DU's last 22 games (seven times in 10 games this season) ... Hilliard, who has rushed for a school record 1,447 yards this season, has joined 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, who ran for 1,310 yards last year, currently ranks third on Duquesne's all-time rushing list with 3,091 yards behind Small (4,260) and Pedro Bowman (3,830) ... Hilliard is currently the third-leading rusher in NCAA Division I-AA.

Michel Warfield, currently ranked 8th nationally in receiving yards per game (100.3), became the fourth receiver in school history to total 1,000 yards in a season with his 6 catches for 97 yards vs. Robert Morris ... Warfield, who has 45 catches for 1,003 yards and 13 TDs this season, is averaging 21.8 yards per catch for his career (58-1,262 with 16 TDs)

RECORD WATCH

A number of Dukes are approaching career and single-season school records as the season winds down. Here is a look at school marks within reach:

CAREER RECORDS

WR Randy Vulakovich needs 12 catches and Yardon Brantley needs 14 catches to break the school career receptions record of 159 held by Joe Rosato (1994-97) ... Vulakovich and Brantley enter the Monmouth game with 148 and 146 career receptions respectively ... Brantley needs 201 yards to pass Jeremy Conley (2,696 yards from 1998-02) and become DU's career receiving yardage leader.

SINGLE SEASON RECORDS

QB Niel Loebig needs 8 completions eclipse the season mark of 191 yards he set last year ... Loebig is 184-310 for 2,801 yards so far this season ... RB Mike Hilliard needs 23 carries to break the school record of 303 he set last year ... Randy Vulakovich needs 14 catches for the single-season reception record (72 by Jeremy Conley and Gerald Foster) and Michel Warfield needs 4 touchdown receptions to break the school mark of 16 set by Reggie Harris in 2000.

PLAYING "UP"

Duquesne once again took on one of the most challenging non-conference schedules among the I-AA Mid-Majors. The Dukes opened the season at Bucknell (28-21 loss on Aug. 30) of the Patriot League, hosted Pioneer League North foe Butler (49-0 win on Sept. 13) and traveled to Ivy League defending champion Penn (51-10 loss on Sept. 20). On Nov. 1 the Dukes went to Morehead, Ky. to play Pioneer Football League South Division champion Morehead State (a 15-10 loss). DU's final non-conference opponent during the regular season was intra-city rival Robert Morris (33-28 win). Over the last four years, the Dukes have notched some impressive non-conference wins:

199928-17 at Lafayette (Patriot League)
200057-31 at VMI (Southern Conference)44-20 vs. Georgetown (Independent)23-14 vs. Lafayette (Patriot League)
200141-18 vs. VMI (Southern Conference)33-23 at Butler (Pioneer League)35-14 vs. Bucknell (Patriot League)
200235-28 at Dayton (Pioneer League)23-22 vs. Lafayette (Patriot League)
200349-0 vs. Butler (Pioneer League)33-28 vs. Robt. Morris (Northeast Conf.)