Nov. 20, 2009
Complete Game Notes
Game #11 - Dukes host Bryant on Senior Day
BRYANT (4-6, 3-4) at DUQUESNE (3-7, 2-5)
Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:00 p.m.
Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (2,200/Sportexe Synthetic Turf) • Pittsburgh, Pa.
RADIO: WMNY-AM 1360 with Alex Panormios (play-by-play) & Tad Maurey (color)
STREAMING AUDIO: www.redzonemedia.com or www.GoDuquesne.com
LIVE VIDEO & GAMETRACKER: www.GoDuquesne.com
DUKES CONCLUDE SEASON AGAINST BRYANT: Duquesne (3-7, 2-5), which snapped a four-game losing streak with a last-second 45-42 win at Sacred Heart last Saturday, concludes the 2009 season at home versus Bryant University (4-6, 3-4) on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:00 p.m. This will be the final home game for 13 DU seniors who will be recognized during a pre-game ceremony. This is the first trip to Duquesne for Bryant which is in year number two of reclassifying from Division II to full-time Division I (FCS in football) for all of its 22 intercollegiate sports. Upon completion of the four-year transition (2012-13), Bryant will become a full-time member of the Northeast Conference. This year, Bryant is included in the NEC standings for all sports and eligible for weekly honors, however, Bryant is not eligible for postseason play in all sports except field hockey and men's lacrosse which will be eligible for postseason play in 2010-11. Bryant enjoyed tremendous success at the Division II level, winning two Northeast-10 Conference Championships in football and earning back-to-back NCAA playoff appearances (2006, 2007) . Bryant, coming off a 35-12 home win over Saint Francis, Pa. on Saturday, is 1-4 on the road with a 20-13 win at Robert Morris on Sept. 26.
DUKES AND BULLDOGS: This is the second meeting between the Duquesne and Bryant ... last year, in the first meeting between the two, Bryant scored nine points in a 16 second span of the fourth quarter to break open a close game in handing Duquesne a 24-10 defeat in a non-conference game at Smithfield, R.I.
RANDOM NOTES: Duquesne is 2-2 on Senior Day under coach Schmitt ... Bryant is looking to end a four-game road losing streak ... Duquesne gained 208 yards and scored 24 points in the fourth quarter last Saturday at Sacred Heart ... the 24 points were equal to or exceeded the Dukes' point total in eight of their previous nine games ... Duquesne opponents have scored a total of 11 touchdowns covering 50 yards or more ... seven have come against the defense ... the others include a 56-yard fumble return (at Albany), a 78-yard punt return (at Albany), a 65-yard interception return (at Monmouth) and a 63-yard run on a fake punt (at Nicholls State) ... converted quarterback Connor Dixon has 17 catches for 254 yards - including a pair of touchdowns - since moving to wide receiver for the Oct. 24 Saint Francis game ... he caught passes of eight and 35 yards on Duquesne's final two plays from scrimmage at Sacred Heart to set up Charlie Leventry's 31-yard field goal on the game's final play ... Duquesne freshman Larry McCoy tied a Duquesne school record with five rushing touchdowns at Sacred Heart ... he was named NEC Rookie of the Week for the third time for his effort ... McCoy leads the Dukes with 770 yards rushing (5.1 ypc.). His 77.0 yards per game average ranks 35th nationally, it is a mark that is the best among the nation's FCS freshmen.
FCS TOP FRESHMEN RUSHERS
TEAM, SCHOOL______________YPG
Larry McCoy, Duquesne______77.0
Nick Doscher, Wagner___________69.1
Justin Thorpe, James Madison_____62.2
Mario Crawford, Old Dominion____57.2
Treaver Scales, Harvard_________56.1
SACRED HEART LEFTOVERS: Duquesne head coach Jerry Schmitt is now 4-1 in five seasons when coming off a bye week ... Duquesne enjoyed a 38:00 to 22:00 advantage in time of possession ... the Dukes were penalized 12 times for 108 yards compared to three for 30 for SHU ... DU was 7-of-7 in the red zone, SHU was 5-of-5 ... freshman Larry McCoy (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) finished with 121 yards on 20 carries including a school record-tying five touchdowns (2, 1, 4, 13, 1) ... McCoy tied the mark set by Mike Hilliard vs. La Salle in 2003 ... it was McCoy's fourth 100-yard game this season ... junior quarterback Kevin Rombach (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) completed a school record 86.7 percent of his passes (26-of-30) for 252 yards ... DU's old single-game record of 81.3 percent was set by Bill Marancel at Gannon in 1989 ... Rombach's .613 career completion percentage is almost guaranteed to break the current school record of .549 set by Scott Knapp from 2005-07 ... starting punter freshman Charlie Leventry (Johnstown, Pa./Richland), who was pressed into plackicking duty when regular kicker Eric Duale was diagnosed with an illness late in the week ... Leventry connected on 1-of-2 field goals and 6-of-6 extra points ... Leventry also punted ... junior Connor Dixon (South Park, Pa./South Park), who has 11 career starts at quarterback, caught six passes for 96 yards - including two for 43 on the game-winning drive ... in three games as a wideout, the 6-5 Dixon has 17 catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns ... junior receiver Jay Spinks (Lanham, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) caught a career high eight passes for 58 yards ... Spinks leads the Dukes with 40 catches.
OUCH!: Three players expected to be the heart-and-soul of the 2009 receiving corps have been lost for the season due to injury. Preseason All-NEC tight end Sean Bunevich (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) saw his season ended before it began with a non-contact knee injury suffered at practice on August 11. Promising sophomore receiver Akeem Moore (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) was sidelined with internal injuries suffered on the first series at Nicholls State on Sept. 12. Moore who started 10 times in the defensive backfield as a freshman, had four catches in two games (20.4 ypc.) prior to the injury. Michigan State transfer Dave Williams (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) went down with a shoulder injury in week five versus Robert Morris. Williams was leading the Dukes with 29 catches for 385 yards at the time. Moore and Williams, who were the Dukes' top two deep threats, combined for 15 catches for 227 yards in the opening day win over Bucknell. In addition to the starters lost, sophomore Brian Layhue (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon), who filled in when Bunevich injured the same knee late last season, was expected to inherit the starting TE spot until he was sidelined with a back injury (he is out for the remainder of the season).
QUICK HITS
• Senior receiver Michael Rasky had a streak of 28 consecutive games with a catch snapped against Wagner.
• A total of 14 starters have missed at least one game due to injury this season. The list includes: TE Sean Bunevich (season/injured in preseason), QB/WR Connor Dixon (one game), CB Aaron Fitzpatrick (four games), TE Brian Layhue (season/played in the opener), CB Justin Melhado (one game), S Willie Milhouse (one game), WR Akeem Moore (season/injured in game two), S Bill Poletti (season/injured in game eight), LB Anthony Rhoades (one game), DL Tyler Scruggs (two games), DL Aldon Sutton (one game), LB Nathan Totino (two games) and WR Dave Williams (season/injured in game five).
• Three different quarterbacks have started at least twice in eight games for the Dukes. Connor Dixon, who has three QB starts this season, made his debut at receiver at Saint Francis.
