Nov. 19, 2005
Box Score | Quotes | Notes
Loretto, Pa. - Duquesne, behind a big play from senior cornerback Michael Ford, exploded for 37 second-half points in pulling away for a 44-17 season-ending win at Saint Francis, Pa. With the Dukes clinging to a 21-17 lead, Ford stepped in front of a Nate Coughlin pass and raced untouched 72 yards for a score on the last play of the third quarter to give DU an 11-point advantage. On Saint Francis' next possession, Duquesne stuffed a fake punt attempt then went 48 yards on three plays to take a 35-17 lead on a 13-yard run by fullback Greg Hough.
Duquesne added a 39-yard Mark Troyan field goal and a five-yard run by Jeremy McCullough to close out the scoring. Saint Francis jumped in front early with a game-opening 11-play, 78-yard drive capped by a 10-yard pass from Coughlin to Luke Palko. Duquesne fumbled on its second play from scrimmage at its own 30, but the Dukes defense, which entered the game ranked No. 1 in Division I-AA, was able to hold Saint Francis on downs.
Duquesne got on the board when Palko mishandled a David Kovalcik punt at the SFU goal line. Ford, the first man down on punt coverage, fell on the ball in the end zone to make it 7-7. Adam Sciulli gave the Red Flash a 10-7 halftime lead when he converted a 37-yard field goal with 3:28 left. Sciulli's field goal was set up by Duquesne's third turnover of the half - a fumble by quarterback Kevin Rombach. Rombach, who was 3-of-8 for 40 yards in the first half, bounced back to complete 9-of-16 passes for 166 yards in the second 30 minutes. The true freshman quarterback, who was making just his second start, found Travis Taltoan for a 40-yard gain to key a 59-yard drive that ended when Rombach found Dan Spriggs from 17 yards out to give the Dukes their first lead at 14-10.
SFU's Antawn Coleman picked of a Rombach pass on Duquesne's next possession, setting up a two-play, 38-yard drive that consisted of a 37-yard pass from Coughlin to Michael Caputo followed by a one-yard run by Todd Harris. Rombach then completed 3-of-5 passes for 43 yards, the last of which was a nine-yard pass to Alex Roberson, to cap a 57-yard drive that gave Duquesne the lead for good and set the stage for Ford's interception.
Duquesne, which ended up with 404 yards of total offense, held Saint Francis to 271 total yards. The Red Flash, which entered the game ranked fifth nationally with 304 passing yards per game, was held to 182 yards by a Duquesne defense that finished with a pair of interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Senior middle linebacker Harry Carter led the Dukes with nine tackles (seven solo) and added an interception to lead the defensive charge. Ford and outside linebacker Javonn Bradley - also seniors playing their last game - added six stops each. James Jacobs led the DU running game with 78 yards on 14 carries. Greg Hough and Jeremy McCullough added 44 and 40 yards on the ground respectively for the Dukes. SFU's Todd Harris took game rushing honors with 96 yards on 24 carries. Taltoan led Duquesne's receivers with three catches for 67 yards. Saint Francis' Luke Palko (5-36) and Caputo (4-84), who entered the game needing 15 catches between them to break a 21-year-old I-AA record for combined catches, were held to nine grabs by DU's secondary.
BY QUARTER 1 2 3 4 FINALDUQUESNE 7 0 21 16 44SAINT FRANCIS 7 3 7 0 17
LEADERS
Rushing (Att./Yds./TD):
DU - Jacobs (14-78-0)
SFU - Harris (24-96-1)
Passing (Att./Comp./Int./Yds./TD):
DU - Rombach (24-12-2-206-2)
SFU - Coughlin (35-12-1-161-1)
Receiving (Att./Yds./TD):
DU - Taltoan (3-67-0)
SFU - Palko (5-36-1), Caputo (4-84-0)
Tackles (Tot./Solo):
DU - Carter (9/7)
SFU - Sevelo (15/4)
DUQUESNE QUOTES --
Head Coach Jerry Schmitt: "They did a very good job of controlling the tempo early. I was a little concerned with us coming off and off week. In the second half, our defense made breaks and we fed off that."
GAME NOTES --
Duquesne, which entered the game with the top-ranked defense in NCAA Division I-AA held Saint Francis to 271 total yards ... the Red Flash, which entered the game fifth nationally in passing yards per game (304.1), finished with 182 net yards through the air ... middle linebacker Harry Carter (Lanham, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) led Duquesne with nine tackles to up his career total to 394 ... the nine stops enabled him to pass Matt Fisher (392 tackles between 1995-98) and move into the second spot on Duquesne's all-time total tackles list ... Carter also added his first interception of the season in the fourth quarter ... senior Michael Ford (Clinton, Md./Oxon Hill) scored a pair of touchdowns - one on a fumbled punt recovery in the end zone and the second on a 72 interception return to up his career TD total to four ... Ford, who finished the season with five interceptions (including three in DU's last two games), ended his career with 13 career picks - good for tied for third on Duquesne's all-time list ... the 72 yard touchdown return gave Ford 347 return yards shattering the previous school record of 297 (on 28 interceptions) set by former All-American - and current Cleveland Browns cornerback - Leigh Bodden between 1999-02 ... freshman fullback Greg Hough (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) carried six times for a season-high 44 yards (7.3 ypc.) including a 13-yard touchdown run ... Duquesne completed its 12th consecutive winning season ... DU will enter the 2006 season with a 37-game conference win streak ... it is the longest active conference win streak among NCAA Division I-A and I-AA schools and ranks third all time behind Oklahoma (44 in the Big Eight from 1952-59) and Nebraska (39 in the Big Eight/Big 12 from 1992-98) on the all-time list for Division I-A and I-AA ... Duquesne has won seven consecutive MAAC titles, including nine in the last 11 years (1995, `96, `99, `00, `01, `02, `03, `04, `05) ... Duquesne, which entered the year having used just three different starting quarterbacks in the previous 10 seasons (Dave Loya, Tony Zimmerman and Niel Loebig), used three different starting QBs in its last four games ... Scott Knapp, the season starter, had a shoulder injury that kept him out of the last three games; Ben Palumbo, who started in place of Knapp at Iona, was injured in the first quarter of that game and Kevin Rombach, who replaced Palumbo at Iona and started the last two games of the year vs. La Salle and at Saint Francis.
