Aug. 17, 2003
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In rolling to a sixth Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League title in eight seasons, the Duquesne Dukes entered the rarified air of NCAA Division I-AA football by becoming just the second I-AA Mid-Major program to earn a spot in both the ESPN/ USA Today Division I-AA and Sports Network I-AA polls. DU, which held a spot in both polls for the final two weeks of the regular season, saw its perfect season dashed by a loss at Albany in the ECAC Classic. The 11-1 Dukes - with impressive wins over Bucknell, Lafayette, at Dayton and at Saint Peter's - had to settle for the No. 2 spot among I-AA Mid-Majors.
Duquesne returns 14 starters from a team that averaged 33.1 points and 406 yards per game on its way to going undefeated in conference play for the fifth time under head coach Greg Gattuso. The dominating Dukes finished the season ranked first nationally in both total defense (188.0 ypg.) and scoring defense (9.6 ppg.).
Two-time first team All-MAAC junior quarterback Niel Loebig who has thrown for 4,797 yards and 51 touchdowns in his first two seasons, returns to call the signals for an offense that has everything in place to once again put up big numbers. Loebig, the most accurate passer in DU history (51.5%), is 19-4 as a starter and has thrown for two or more touchdowns in a game 19 times.
Loebig will have a number of talented targets led by two-time second team All-MAAC senior flanker Yardon Brantley. Brantley, who pulled in 48 passes for 632 yards last season, has caught at least one pass in 32 straight games. Reliable fellow classmate Randy Vulakovich added 41 catches for 442 yards and three scores last season.
Second team All-MAAC senior running back Mike Hilliard, came back from a broken thumb to lead the Dukes in rushing last season with 1,310 yards and a school-record tying 14 rushing touchdowns. Hilliard topped the 100-yard mark seven times with a career high of 205 vs. Iona.
The Dukes still look to be formidable up front. Center Robert Bowser and tackle Ken Chambon, both seniors, started all 12 games last year as a unit, giving DU continuity up front. They will welcome the addition of junior guard Hakim Carroll, who started all 11 games two years ago before missing last season for medical reasons.
A blend of three returning first and second team All-MAAC performers and group of talented underclassmen return on from last year's defense. First team All-MAAC senior defensive tackle Philip Polony, who ranks second on DU's all-time sack list with 19.5, returns to anchor the defensive front. He is joined by senior defensive end Ben Bailey. Also returning is sophomore middle linebacker Harry Carter, the 2002 MAAC Defensive Rookie of the Year. Carter posted a team-high 88 tackles despite not becoming a starter until the fourth week of the season.
Senior safeties Tim Pichette - a second team All-MAAC pick - and Joe Pavlick along with junior cornerback Armar Watson return from a unit that finished last season ranked second nationally in both pass defense (95 ypg.) and pass efficiency defense. Watson, who picked off five passes as a sophomore, was a second team all-league pick.
Second team All-MAAC Joe Maker (SR) is back to handle punting duties, and John Harris (JR) looks to be the likely replacement for second team All-MAAC kicker Earl Bellisario.
For more news on the upcoming season, please click the link at the top of this story.
