Oct. 31, 2006

#8 DUQUESNE (6-3, 2-1) at LA SALLE (2-6, 0-2)
Saturday, Nov. 4 at 6:00 p.m.
McCarthy Stadium (7,500/Sprinturf) -- Philadelphia, Pa.
Ranking listed is from The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10

DUKES FOOTBALL INTERNET-ONLY THIS SEASON
Alex Panormios (play-by-play) & Bob Healy (color)
*Bob Healy & Brad Salvatore will call the La Salle game*
On the internet at: www.redzonemedia.com

Complete Release in PDF Format
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DUKES CLOSE SEASON AT LA SALLE

Duquesne (6-3, 2-1), which saw its 39-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League win streak snapped with a 17-13 home loss to Iona last weekend, closes out the 2006 season at La Salle (2-6, 0-3) at 6:00 on Saturday (internet-only at redzonemedia.com). Duquesne, winner of nine league championships in the past 11 seasons (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005) - including the past seven in a row - must win to have a chance at a share of the 2006 title.

THE TITLE CHASE

Duquesne's hopes for an outright 2006 MAAC title rest with a win at La Salle, combined with Iona losses at home vs. Saint Peter's (Nov. 4) and at Marist (Nov. 11). In that scenario, DU and Marist would finish with 3-1 records with Duquesne winning the tiebreaker by virtue of its 40-10 win over the Red Foxes on Oct. 12. If Iona wins out, the Gaels would be outright champs. If Iona loses to Saint Peter's and defeats Marist leaving Duquesne, Iona and Marist with 3-1 league records, Iona would be champion by virtue of wins over DU and Marist. If Iona should defeat Saint Peter's but lose at Marist - once again leaving all three with 3-1 records - the league champion would be the highest rated team in USA Today Sagarin ratings posted following play on Nov. 11. The Sagarin ratings through Oct. 28 have Duquesne at 213, Iona at 229 and Marist at 234.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne, which is coming off its lowest offensive output of the season (266 yards vs. Iona) leads the nation in passing offense at 293.33 ypg

• Sophomore quarterback Scott Knapp, who has completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 2,630 yards and 24 TDs (15 to junior receiver Bruce Hocker), leads all NCAA Division I-AA quarterbacks in yards and touchdown passes ... Knapp is the only I-AA QB with over 2,500 yards passing this season ... he is also just the third quarterback in DU history (joining Niel Loebig and Tony Zimmerman) to throw for 2,000 yards and 20 TDs in a season ... Knapp ranks fourth nationally in total offense (286.11 ypg.) and 16th in passing efficiency (144.38) ... eight of Knapp's 12 interceptions this season have come in DU's three losses

• senior receiver Dan Spriggs, who caught eight passes last weekend vs. Iona, has 38 receptions in DU's past five games ... he has three 100-yard games in DU's past five outings

• Junior Bruce Hocker leads the nation in TD receptions with 15 and yards receiving (979) ... he needs two more TD receptions to break the school record of 16 set by Reggie Harris in 2000

THE SERIES

Duquesne leads the overall series 7-0 - including a 3-0 mark at McCarthy Field ... DU, which has scored a total of 174 points in the last three meetings, is averaging 45.1 points per game all-time vs. La Salle ... the Dukes, who are averaging 27.4 points per game this season, have never scored fewer than 30 vs. the Explorers ... two year's ago, Duquesne, down 28-14 in the second quarter, rallied for five second half touchdowns to defeat La Salle, 56-35, at Philadelphia ... last year the Dukes clinched the MAAC title with a 56-14 win at home. (Game recaps may be found in the full release (see above link.)

RECORD WATCH

Quarterback Scott Knapp needs 12 completions to break the single-season record of 207 set by Niel Loebig in 2003 ... Knapp's .599 completion percentage is also on pace to break Loebig's single-season mark (.590 in 2003) ... Knapp would need 457 yards passing and six TD passes to break the school single-season marks of 3,086 passing yards and 29 touchdown passes set by Loebig in 2003 and 2002 respectively ... with a more reasonable 56 yards, Knapp would move up to No. 2 on the single-season yardage list, passing Loebig's 2,685 yards in 2002 ... Bruce Hocker needs two touchdowns receptions to break the school single-season record of 16 set by Reggie Harris in 2000 ... Hocker also needs 21 yards to become DU's fifth all-time 1,000-yard receiver ... Mark Troyan needs two field goals to break the single-season record of 10 he set last season.

NOTES FROM IONA

• The loss ended Duquesne's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League winning streak at 39 games, tying the Dukes for the second-longest league winning streak in NCAA I-A and I-AA history (Nebraska won 39 Big Eight/Big 12 games from 1992-98 and Oklahoma won 44 Big Eight games from 1952-59) ... Duquesne's previous conference loss was by a 62-50 score at Iona on Oct. 23, 1999 ... the win was just the second by Iona in 12 meetings with Duquesne

• Junior receiver Bruce Hocker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) caught touchdown passes of 10 and 29 yards giving him 15 TD receptions on the season ... he needs two touchdown receptions at La Salle to break the school single-season record of 16 set by Reggie Harris in 2000 ... Hocker, who caught a career-high 11 passes for 131 yards against Iona, has caught at least one TD pass in eight of Duquesne's nine games

• Senior receiver Dan Spriggs (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hill College) caught eight passes for 69 yards to move into the fifth spot on DU's single-season receptions list with 58 ... Spriggs has caught 38 passes in DU's past five games

• Sophomore quarterback Scott Knapp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry Traditional Academy) completed 25 of a career-high 55 attempts for 268 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions ... Knapp, who has thrown for multiple touchdowns in all nine games, has 24 TD tosses this season - good for fifth on the all-time single-season list

• DU was held to a season-low 266 yards ( including 16 rushes for minus two net yards) by the Gaels

• The game was delayed for 40 minutes with 5:06 left in the third quarter when lightning was spotted in the area

A DANGEROUS COMBINATION

The pass-catch duo of Scott Knapp and Bruce Hocker has proven to be one of the most effective in the nation. Entering this weekend's games, Knapp and Hocker lead their respective postions in total touchdowns & total yards:

I-AA MOST TD PASSES

24      Scott Knapp, Duquesne, So.24      Josh Johnson, San Diego, Jr.20      Jason Murrietta, Northern Ariz., Sr.

I-AA MOST TD CATCHES

15      Bruce Hocker, Duquesne13      Marquay McDaniel, Hampton10      Jerome Simpson, Coastal Carolina10      Alex Watson, Northern Ariz.10      Michael Jefferson, Montana St.

I-AA MOST PASSING YARDS

2,630   Scott Knapp, DUQUESNE, So.2,213   Sean Schaefer, Towson, So.2,150   Tyler Thigpen, Coastal Carolina, Sr.

I-AA MOST RECEIVING YARDS

979     Bruce Hocker, Duquesne868     Terrell Hudgins, Elon866     Steve Ogden, Valparaiso