Oct. 6, 2010

Complete Game Notes

Game #6 - Dukes to play first NEC road game at CCSU
DUQUESNE (3-2, 1-1) at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE(3-2, 2-0)
Saturday, Oct. 9 at 12:00 p.m.
Arute Field (3,000/FieldTurf) • New Britain, Conn.

RADIO: WMNY-AM 1360 with Alex Panormios (play-by-play) & Tad Maurey (color)
STREAMING AUDIO: RedZoneMedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
LIVE VIDEO & GAMETRACKER: CCSUBlueDevils.com

DUKES AT CCSU FOR FIRST NEC ROAD GAME: Duquesne (3-2, 1-1), which saw its Northeast Conference record evened at 1-1 with a 44-17 home loss to Monmouth last weekend, heads to New Britain, Conn. for its first NEC road game at Central Connecticut State (3-2, 2-0) on Sat., Oct. 6 at Noon. CCSU is coming off a 24-14 NEC win at Sacred Heart. The Blue Devils, who have won 11 consecutive home games, are 2-0 on Arute Field this season with a 45-14 win over Bentley and a 41-24 NEC victory over Bryant. Since the start of the 2004 season, CCSU is 28-3 at home and has outscored opponents by an average of 31.0 to 16.0 over that span. The Blue Devils will be looking to break the existing school record of 11 straight home wins set from 2005-07. Duquesne is 2-5 all-time in NEC road games with wins at Wagner in 2008 and at Sacred Heart in 2009. DU is 0-1 on the road this season (a 30-6 loss at nationally ranked Delaware). This is CCSU's Homecoming game.

DUKES AND BLUE DEVILS: Duquesne and Central Connecticut State have met three times, with the Blue Devils holding a 3-0 series advantage ... two years ago, in the inaugural NEC meeting between the two, James Mallory ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns to give CCSU enough cushion to hold off a late Duquesne rally in a 35-23 Blue Devils win at New Britain, Conn. ... DU cut a 28-10 deficit to 11 midway through the fourth quarter and was on the doorstep to cut further into that lead when Alex Roberson fumbled into the end zone following a 43 yard catch-and-run ... CCSU scored on its next possession to ice the game ... Central Connecticut State, which entered the game ranked 10th nationally in rushing offense, gained 286 yards on the ground, including 150 in jumping out to a 21-10 halftime lead ... the first meeting between the two was on Nov. 13, 1993 ... in that game, the Dukes, in their first season at the I-AA non-scholarship level, jumped out to a 16-0 second quarter lead only to see CCSU reel off 27 consecutive points on the way to a 41-22 win in front of 880 fans ... the `93 Dukes finished 4-6 in their first season under head coach Greg Gattuso ... last year, Hunter Wanket threw for a career-high 233 yards and three second-half touchdowns as CCSU rallied from a 21-10 third quarter deficit to defeat Duquesne 31-24 at Rooney Field ... DU redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Patterson threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start.

ON THE DUKES: Duquesne has turned it over nine times in its two losses (three at Delaware and six vs. Monmouth) ... 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 on Sept. 18 ... it is the most yards the Blue Hens - whose total defense ranks third 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 currently ranks No. 1 nationally in rushing defense ... DU ranks 37th nationally in total defense (329.6 ypg.) ... last year - with essentially the same personnel - the Dukes ranked 83rd (376 ypg.) ... sophomore running back Larry McCoy, who ranks 33rd nationally in rushing, has been the model of consistency with 81, 84, 88, 123 and 74 yards rushing in DU's first five games ... McCoy has carrried at least 18 times in every game this season ... senior receiver Connor Dixon, a converted quarterback, leads the Dukes with 26 catches for 309 yards ... 25 of the receptions have come in the past four games.

NOTING CCSU: Central Connecticut State senior running back Everette Benjamin ranks 13th nationally with a 109.6 ypg. rushing average ... Banjamin ran for 188 yards and three TDs in the win over Bryant and added 127 yards and another score in last week's win at Sacred Heart ... as a team CCSU is averaging 226.4 ypg. on the ground, good for 15th in ths nation ... Central Connecticut was the preseason favorite to repeat as NEC champs ... last year CCSU won four NEC games by two or fewer points in posting a 7-1 conference mark ... preseason all-NEC receiver Josue Paul (55-836-5 last season), who has been suspended for a violation of team and athletic department rules, is eligible to return to action for the Duquesne game ... since the start of the 2004 season, CCSU is 16-0 when scoring first, 19-0 when leading at the half and 22-0 when leading after three quarters at home.

MONMOUTH LEFTOVERS: The win extended Monmouth's streak to four in a row over Duquesne ... MU converted six Dukes interceptions into 21 points ... the Hawks were 5-of-6 in the red zone with four touchdowns and a field goal ... true freshman Marty Mitchell (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child) came off the bench to throw for 135 yards and two touchdowns ... Mitchell came on in relief of starter Sean Patterson (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) who missed the majority of practice during the week with an ankle injury suffered in the win over Albany ... Mitchell completed 10-of-18 passes, but was intercepted four times in his first extensive action in a Duquesne uniform ... Mitchell entered the game having played one snap ... Patterson completed 6-of-9 passes for 28 yards, but was intercepted twice in just under two quarters of action ... fellow true freshman Ryan Ho (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools) averaged 47.3 yards on four kickoff returns ... he returned the second half kickoff 85 yards to the Monmouth one to set up a field goal ... he added a 71 yard return to set up a 21-yard Mitchell touchdown pass in the third quarter ... his 189 kickoff return yards were four shy of tying the school record of 193 set by Jason Briscoe vs. Bethany in 1991 ... Ho finished the game with 205 all-purpose yards ... a third true freshman, punter Aaron Fleck (Oakdale, Pa./West Allegheny), punted five times for a 38.4 yard average ... it was Fleck's first full game as the starting punter ... sophomore linebacker Serge Kona (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) led Duquesne with eight tackles (7 solo) ... sophomore running back Larry McCoy (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) ran for a season "low" 74 yards on 18 carries ... McCoy's lows for yards and carries entering the game were 81 (vs. Bucknell) and 20 (two times).