Oct. 13, 2010
Complete Game Notes
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Game #7 - Dukes return home to face Sacred Heart
SACRED HEART (1-5, 0-4) at DUQUESNE (3-3, 1-2)
Saturday, Oct. 16 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: RedZoneMedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
LIVE VIDEO & GAMETRACKER: GoDuquesne.com
DUKES RETURN HOME TO FACE SACRED HEART: Duquesne (3-3, 1-2), coming off a tough 31-29 loss at Central Connecticut State, returns home to face Sacred Heart (1-5, 0-4) on Sat., Oct. 16 at Noon. DU scored two touchdowns in the final 2:07, but had a potential game-tying two-point conversion disallowed by penalty in the CCSU game. The Dukes pulled to within two on a 5-yard TD pass from Sean Patterson to Dave Williams on the final play of the game. Sacred Heart has had its share of hard luck this season. The Pioneers have lost three games by four or fewer points including a 25-24 setback at Bryant last weekend. Bryant scored 18 unanswered fourth quarter points in the come-from-behind win. Sacred Heart is 1-3 on the road. Duquesne is 3-1 at home.
DUKES AND PIONEERS: This is the sixth meeting between the Dukes and Pioneers with DU leading 3-2 ... in the first game, Sacred Heart defeated Duquesne 31-15 in the 2001 ECAC Classic at Rooney Field ... three of the past four meetings - all Duquesne wins - have been decided on the game's final play ... four years ago, SHU drove to the Duquesne three with three seconds left but was unable to get a field goal snap down as time expired to give Duquesne a dramatic 24-21 win at Rooney Field ... in 2007 at Sacred Heart, Aaron Strader's interception in the end zone in overtime preserved a 30-23 victory for the Dukes ... in 2008, Sacred Heart, down 17-0 midway through the second quarter, scored 29 unanswered points to hand Duquesne a 29-17 Homecoming loss at Rooney Field ... last year, Charlie Leventry kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired to cap a wild fourth quarter and give Duquesne a 45-42 win at Fairfield, Conn. ... Leventry's heroics capped a fourth quarter that saw a total of 45 points scored, and overshadowed outstanding performances by DU RB Larry McCoy, who tied a school record with five TDs, and QB Kevin Rombach who completed a school record 26-of-30 passes (.867) for 252 yards ... SHU QB Dale Fink was also outstanding, throwing for six TDs, including four to wideout Steve Tedesco.
ON THE DUKES: Duquesne has turned it over nine times in its three losses (three at Delaware, six vs. Monmouth and zero at CCSU) ... conversely, DU has turned it over twice in three wins ... the Dukes amassed 326 of total offense in its loss at now-No. 2 Delaware (6-0) on Sept. 18 ... it is the most yards the Blue Hens - whose total defense ranks fourth nationally - have given up this season ... DU also rolled up 461 yards in total offense, including 135 on the ground, in its win over Dayton ... Dayton (5-1) currently ranks No. 1 nationally in rushing defense ... DU ranks 44th nationally in total defense (337.2 ypg.) ... last year - with essentially the same personnel - the Dukes ranked 83rd (376 ypg.) ... sophomore running back Larry McCoy, who ranks ninth nationally in rushing (116 ypg.), has been the model of consistency with 81, 84, 88, 123, 74 and 246 yards rushing in DU's first six games ... McCoy has carried at least 18 times in every game this season ... a pair of Michigan State transfers lead the Dukes in receptions ... senior Connor Dixon, a converted quarterback, has 28 catches for 332 yards and two scores ... Dave Williams, who attended MSU with Dixon, also has 28 catches (for 341 yards and four TDs) ... Williams caught TD passes of nine and five yards in the final 2:07 of last week's 31-29 loss at CCSU.
NOTING SACRED HEART: Senior quarterback Dale Fink is closing in on the NEC career record for TD passes ... his 72 scoring tosses are four shy of tying Tim Levcik's (Robert Morris) mark ... Fink, who has thrown for over 7,000 career yards, has completed 55-of-71 passes (77.5%) for 607 yards and 10 touchdowns in three career games against Duquesne ... he had six TD passes in last year's 45-42 DU win ... SHU has been outscored 112-52 (-60) in the second half and 77-21 (-56) in the fourth quarter this season ... they've outscored opponents 64-59 in the first half.
CCSU LEFTOVERS: Duquesne, which trailed 17-0 two minutes into the second quarter, scored two touchdowns in the final 2:07 to cut the CCSU lead to two at 31-29 with no time left ... QB Sean Patterson completed a 2-point conversion pass to Akeem Moore, but the play was disallowed because Moore stepped out of the back of the end zone seconds before making the catch ... the Dukes are now 0-4 against CCSU ... sophomore running back Larry McCoy (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) who ran for a season "low" 74 yards on 18 carries the previous week vs. Monmouth, finished with a career-high 246 yards on 24 carries in registering his second 100-yard game of the season and sixth of his career ... the rushing total was the fifth-highest in school history and most since Mike Hilliard ran for a school record 323 yards vs. La Salle in 2003 ... the 5-11, 215-pound McCoy, who rushed nine times for 116 yards in the second quarter and eight for 105 in the third, eclipsed his previous career best of 195 yards on 34 carries at Nicholls State last season ... McCoy had runs of 51, t48 and 46 yards ... he was named NEC Offensive Player of the Week for his effort ... senior receiver Dave Williams (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) had a game-high seven catches for 63 yards ... Williams pulled in a nine-yard TD pass with 2:07 left and a 5-yarder on 4th-and-5 on the game's final play ... Williams kept DU's final drive alive with a 27-yard reception on a 4th-and-16 play ... sophomore Eric Duale's (Hinckley, Ohio, Highland) tied the DU school record with three field goals (27, 30, 21) ... Duale, who had never kicked more than one field goal in a game, now shares the school mark with five other players (Mark Troyan was the last with three at Sacred Heart in 2007) ... Duale is now 7-of-9 for the season ... he is 14-of-14 on extra points ... DU's safeties combined for 25 tackles ... junior Khiry Carter (Philadelphia, Pa./West Philadelphia Catholic) finished with a career-high 15 tackles and fellow safety Devin Duggan (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) added a career-best 10 stops.
THE REAL McCOY: Sophomore Larry McCoy (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe), a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week last season, ranks ninth nationally with a 116.0 ypg. rushing average. The 5-11, 215-pound Virginia native has been the model of consistency this season, having rushed for between 74 and 246 yards on no fewer than 18 carries in any game. McCoy, who entered 2010 as the Dukes' top returning rusher, topped the 100-yard mark four times (34-195 at Nicholls State, 14-118 at Dayton, 20-107 vs. Robert Morris and 20-121 at Sacred Heart) in leading all FCS freshman rushers with a 73.4 yards per game average (160 carries for a team-high 807 yards and eight touchdowns) in 2009. McCoy's 246 yards at CCSU on Oct. 9 were the most by a Dukes back since Mike Hilliard rushed for a school record 323 yards against La Salle in 2003. The Virginia native had runs of 51, t48 and 46 yards against the Blue Devils on his way to earning NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Earlier this year, McCoy carried 29 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns (25, 1) in the 28-17 win over Albany. The 25-yard scoring run came on a fourth-and-one play in the first quarter. The one-yard run put the Dukes up 28-14 in the third quarter. McCoy has accounted for nearly 64 percent of the Dukes' carries this season.
