Oct. 14, 2006
Box Score | Notes
Duquesne used big plays to jump out to a 28-0 lead and added a late score to put away scrappy Saint Peter's 35-21 on SPC's Homecoming at Jersey City on Saturday.
The win, in addition to being Duquesne's (5-2, 1-0) fifth this season, extended the Dukes Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League win streak to 38 games. The loss dropped Saint Peter's to 0-6 (0-1 in the MAAC).
Scott Knapp threw touchdown passes of six yards to Phillip Hayes, 65 yards to Dan Spriggs and 25 yards to Bruce Hocker to help the Dukes to their early lead. James Jacobs scored DU's second touchdown of the day on a 68-yard run.
Saint Peter's rallied to cut the lead to 28-14 on a two-yard run by Shaun Puluse with 10:51 left, but Duquesne's Jeremy McCullough answered with a one-yard plunge one minute later to give the Dukes a three-touchdown lead.
SPC's Scott Bonnono hit Mark Anderson Jr. with a 56-yard touchdown with 7:41 for the game's final points.
Knapp, who entered the game leading the nation with an average of 302 passing yards per game, completed 17-of-34 tosses for 222 and the three scores. Spriggs was the prime beneficiary of Knapp's passes with six catches for 120 yards including the career-long 65-yard TD. It was the second career 100-yard game for the senior who has caught 20 passes in DU's past three games.
Jacobs led the DU ground game with 72 yards on five carries - including his career-long 68-yard touchdown jaunt - which came on the first play following a missed 48-yard field goal attempt by Saint Peter's early in the second quarter.
McCullough added 70 yards on 18 carries for the Dukes who finished with 124 yards on the ground.
SPC's Puluse was the game's top ground-gainer with 143 yards on 21 attempts. John Bond added six catches for 77 yards including a 12-yard touchdown reception with two seconds left in the first half.
Bonnono completed 21-of-43 passes for 245 yards for the Peacocks who outgained the Dukes 367-346.
Saint Peter's, which is 0-13 all-time versus Duquesne, turned it over four times to none for the Dukes.
Duquesne's quick-strike offense had one one-play and three three-play scoring drives on the afternoon.
Defensive end Ronnie Garvin led DU with a game-high 10 tackles. Linebacker Greg Hough added nine tackles a half-sack and blocked a third-quarter punt. Aaron Strader chipped in with his second interception of the season for the Dukes who will look to extend their MAAC winning streak when they host Marist for Duquesne's Homecoming next Saturday.
BY QUARTER 1 2 3 4 FINALDUQUESNE 7 21 0 7 35SAINT PETER'S 0 7 7 7 21
LEADERS
Rushing (Att./Yds./TD):
DU - Jacobs (5-72-1), McCullough (18-70-1); SPC - Puluse (21-143-1)
Passing (Att./Comp./Int./Yds./TD):
DU - Knapp (34-17-0-222-3); SPC - Bonnono (43-21-1-245-2)
Receiving (Att./Yds./TD):
DU - Spriggs (6-120-1); SPC - Bond (6-77-1)
Tackles (Tot./Solo):
DU - Garvin (10/7); SPC - Gordon (9/4)
GAME NOTES -- The win extended Duquesne's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League winning streak to 38 games ... the streak, which is the longest in NCAA I-AA history, is the third-longest all-time in the history of Division I football ... only Oklahoma (44 Big Eight games from 1952-59) and Nebraska (39 Big Eight/Big 12 games from 1992-98) have had longer conference win streaks ... Duquesne's last conference loss was by a 62-50 score at Iona on Oct. 23, 1999 ... the win also upped Duquesne's all-time series advantage to 13-0 over Saint Peter's ... Dan Spriggs (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hill College) caught six passes for 120 yards in posting the second 100-yard game of his career ... Spriggs, whose 65-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was a career-long, has caught 20 passes in DU's past three games ... sophomore quarterback Scott Knapp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry Traditional Academy) finished the game 17-of-34 for 222 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions ... it was the fourth time this season he has thrown for at least three scores in a game ... Knapp has thrown for multiple touchdowns in all seven games ... Knapp has 19 TD tosses this season ... junior receiver Bruce Hocker's (Upper Marlboro, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) two catches for 35 yards were a season-low ... however he did catch one touchdown pass giving him 11 on the season, moving him into a tie for fifth-most TD catches by a DU player in a season ... Hocker has caught at least one TD pass in six of Duquesne's seven games ... fullback-turned-linebacker Greg Hough (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland), who picked off his first career pass and added a sack for the Dukes in last week's win at Fordham, totaled nine tackles and blocked a punt against the Peacocks ... freshman defensive lineman Ronnie Garvin's (Aiken, S.C./Aiken) 10 tackles were a game- and career-high.
