Sept. 11, 2004
GAME #2 ROBERT MORRIS 34, DUQUESNE 14
Sept. 11, Moon Stadium, Moon Township, Pa.
Records: Duquesne (1-1), Robert Morris (2-0)
sunny - 80 degrees
Robert Morris jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead and was never threatened the rest of the way in handing Duquesne a 34-14 defeat at Moon Stadium.
The Colonials, who outgained the Dukes 442-to-307 on the day, enjoyed a 208-to-14 edge in total yardage in dominating the first 15 minutes of play.
RMU took the opening kickoff and drove 81 yards to open a 7-0 lead on a two-yard run by Kevin Drakeford. After holding Duquesne to back-to-back three-and-outs, the Colonials capped an 86-yard drive with a 24-yard Nate DeLorenzo field goal to go up 10-0.
On the next series, DU quarterback Niel Loebig threw the first of three interceptions on the day, setting up a two-play, 28-yard drive that ended with Drew Geyer hitting Tyjuan Massey with a 21-yard touchdown pass to make the score 17-0 with :31 left in the first quarter.
Duquesne got on the board with 10:06 left in the half when Loebig found Michel Warfield in the corner of the end zone from three yards out to make the score 17-7.
Any momentum the Dukes gathered was squelched when Geyer answered by leading Robert Morris on a 57-yard scoring drive capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Devin Wilson to make the score 24-7 at the half.
Geyer, who finished the game 19-of-31 for 302 yards, added a 27-yard touchdown pass to Mario Hines on the Colonials' first possession of the second half, and DeLorenzo kicked a 32-yard field goal with 2:45 left in the third quarter to make the score 34-7.
Loebig found Bruce Hocker from six yards out with 11:46 left in the game to close out the scoring.
Wilson led all ballcarriers with 73 yards on 18 carries. James Jacobs led Duquesne with 43 yards on 13 attempts.
After a slow start, Loebig finished the game 18-of-39 for 245 yards and two TDs. He was intercepted three times and fumbled twice as the Dukes finished the game with five turnovers.
Four receivers for each team finished the game with over 40 yards receiving led by Duquesne's Warfield (6-68-1) and Robert Morris' Massey (4-68-1).
RMU outgained DU 290-to-80, enjoyed a 15-5 edge in first downs and held the Dukes to 19 yards rushing on 15 attempts in building its 24-7 halftime lead.
BY QUARTER 1 2 3 4 FINALDUQUESNE 0 7 0 7 14ROBERT MORRIS 17 7 10 0 34
LEADERS Rushing (Att./Yds./TD): DU - Jacobs (13-43-0); RMU - Wilson (18-73-1)
Passing (Att./Comp./Int./Yds./TD): DU - Loebig (39-18-3-245-2); RMU - Geyer (31-19-1-302-2)
Receiving (Att./Yds./TD): DU - Warfield (6-68-1); RMU - Wilson (5-40-0), Massey (4-68-1)
Tackles (Tot./Solo): DU - Carter (15/5); RMU - Noel (13/4)
DUQUESNE POST-GAME QUOTES -- Duquesne Head Coach Greg Gattuso: "To put it simply, they wanted the game more than us. They outplayed us. What disappointed me most is that we failed to compete. We had multiple chances to get back in the game in the second quarter and just fizzled. Football comes down to two very basic things, blocking and tackling and we did neither one today. Its that simple."
DUQUESNE GAME NOTES -- Junior linebacker Harry Carter (Lanham, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) finished with a game-high 15 tackles (5 solo) ... the 15 stops tied the second-best single-game effort of his career ... junior defensive end Antoine Bullock (Houston, Texas/Sugar Land Kempner) recorded his first sack of the season, moving him into the fifth spot on DU's all-time sack list with 13.5 for his career ... the Dukes finished the game with five sacks ... senior defensive end Ryan Tolan (LaVerne, Calif./Bonita) recorded a team-best two sacks and forced a fumble ... DU's two longest rushes of the day were ten yards each (one by tailback James Jacobs and one on a scramble by quarterback Niel Loebig) ... Duquesne averaged just 2.3 yards on 27 carries on the afternoon (27-62) ... senior quarterback Niel Loebig (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette), who completed 18-of-39 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns, was picked off three times and fumbled twice ... true freshman punter David Kovalcik (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly), playing in just his second game, punted six times for 282 yards (47.0 average) ... his long punt covered 55 yards.
