Sept. 30, 2006

Box Score

Duquesne nearly overcame a 21-6 deficit, but could not overcome six turnovers in a 21-19 loss to West Liberty State at Rooney Field.

The loss, which snapped a three-game DU win streak, dropped the Dukes to 3-2 on the season. The win upped West Liberty's record to 3-2.

The Dukes, who trailed by 15 with 12:53 left, scored twice in a 4:44 span to cut the lead to two when quarterback Scott Knapp's two-point conversion pass with 5:48 left was intercepted in the end zone by Marshall O'Brien.

Duquesne retained possession with 2:55 left, but Knapp, who threw for 381 yards, was picked off for the fourth time on the afternoon - this time by Darren Brooks at the West Liberty 19 with 2:33 to go. The Hilltoppers iced the game when Eddie Hills, who finished with a game-high 118 yards on 27 carries, ran around the left end and tightroped the sideline for 27 yards on a third-and-ten play with under a minute to go.

Jay Gullion completed 15-of-25 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns to lead West Liberty. The 6-2 senior found Ron Mitchell from nine yards out to open the scoring. After a pair of Mark Troyan field goals cut the lead to 7-6, Gullion found Almonzo Banks for a 63-yard score with eight seconds left in the half to give the Hilltoppers a 14-6 lead.

Late in the third quarter, Knapp found Bruce Hocker for a 23 yard gain only to see David Williams strip the ball and Jerrell Reeves recover for WLSC at the Duquesne 45. Six plays later, Gullion hit Renard Stevens with a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-6.

Knapp, who completed 20-of-38 passes in amassing the fourth-highest yardage total in school history, dumped a short pass to James Jacobs in the flat and watched the senior tailback turn it into a 37-yard touchdown to make it 21-13 with 10:32 left.

Greg Hough then recovered a Gullion fumble at the West Liberty 38 and on the next play Knapp found Spriggs over the middle for a score to pull the Dukes within two. Knapp went to Spriggs again on the two-point attempt when O'Brien made the pick.

Duquesne, which outgained West Liberty 439-316, saw two first half drives stopped by interceptions at the WLSC 11 and 13 yard lines. The Dukes also failed to put points on the board following a blocked punt that gave them a first-and-goal at the Hilltoppers one-yard-line early in the second quarter.

Hocker saw a career-best 177-yard receiving day overshadowed by a pair of fumbles - both following long gains. Spriggs also posted a career yardage high with 127 on seven catches. The DU ground game managed just 58 yards on 22 rushes. Jacobs led the way with 35 yards on three carries.

Safety Michael Hill recorded five tackles, forced a fumble and blocked a punt to lead the Duquesne defense. John Simmons led everyone with eight tackles in a losing cause.

BY QUARTER              1       2       3       4       FINALWEST LIBERTY STATE      7       7       0       7       21DUQUESNE                3       3       0       13      19
LEADERSRushing (Att./Yds./TD):  DU - Jacobs (3-35-0);  WLSC - Hills (27-118-0)Passing (Att./Comp./Int./Yds./TD):  DU - Knapp (38-20-4-381-2);  WLSC - Gullion (25-15-0-213-3)Receiving (Att./Yds./TD):  DU - Hocker (7-177-0), Spriggs (7-127-1);  WLSC - Stevens (5-45-1), A.Banks (4-82-1)Tackles (Tot./Solo):  DU - Simmons (8/4);  WLSC - D.Banks (7/5), Baynes (7/4)

Head Coach Jerry Schmitt: "We were not sharp on offense. We got a little frustrated and things snowballed. We calmed down a little in the second half, but just made too many mistakes. We knew we'd have to play a good football game to win - I don't want to take anything away from West Liberty. We just didn't play well on the offensive side of the ball. This is definitely a character check to see how we'll stick together as a team."

GAME NOTES

The loss was just the second in the past 24 home games for the Dukes ... sophomore quarterback Scott Knapp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry Traditional Academy), who entered the game with three interceptions in his first four games, was picked off four times ... the interceptions took some of the luster off his career-high 381 yards passing ... the yardage total was the fourth-highest in Duquesne history ... Knapp completed 20-of-38 passes on the afternoon ... junior receiver Bruce Hocker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) also had a career day marred by turnovers ... Hocker, who caught seven passes for a career-high 177 yards was stripped of the ball after gains of 23 and 50 yards ... West Liberty State recovered both fumbles ... this was the first time this season Hocker did post a touchdown catch ... Dan Spriggs (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hill College) caught seven passes for a career-high 127 yards ... it was the first 100-yard game of his career ... Duquesne enjoyed a 439-316 advantage in total yardage and forced 10 West Liberty punts ... the Dukes scored just six points on three consecutive first-half possessions that ended inside the West Liberty 10-yard line.