Aug. 30, 2011

Duquesne Game Notes

Game #1 - Dukes open under the lights at Bucknell
DUQUESNE (0-0) at BUCKNELL (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 3 at 6:00 p.m.
Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium (13,100/FieldTurf) • Lewisburg, Pa.

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

DUKES OPEN WITH BUCKNELL ... AGAIN: Duquesne kicks off its 85th season of football under the lights at Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 6:00 p.m. (WMNY-AM 1360). Overall, the Dukes are 49-21-3 in season openers (records available since 1902, DU fielded its first team in 1891), including a 3-3 mark under seventh-year head coach Jerry Schmitt. This marks the tenth time in the past 15 years Duquesne has faced Bucknell in the season-opener (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010 are the others). The Dukes are 13-6 in season-openers since 1992 with all six losses coming to Bucknell. Last year, DU finished 7-4 in its third season in the Northeast Conference (5-3, 3rd in 2010). This is Duquesne's fourth season as a scholarship-granting football program. With the move to the NEC, Duquesne offered 18 scholarships in February of 2008. That number has increased to 28 this season. Duquesne granted only need-based financial aid for football playing student-athletes as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League from 1994 through 2007. The NEC competed as a non-scholarship member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision until 2006 when the conference adopted an athletics-based aid model. This is the second season the NEC regular season champion will be an automatic qualifier for the Division I Football Championship. Duquesne returns 14 position starters from last year's team.

DUKES AND BISON: Bucknell leads the overall series 9-5 ... this is the 13th meeting between the two schools in the past 15 years ... the two times BU and DU did not meet over that span were 2001 & 2005 ... Duquesne ended a four-game series losing streak with a 35-14 win over Bucknell at Pittsburgh on Sept. 7, 2002 and snapped a five game skid with a 24-19 win on Rooney Field in the 2009 opener ... DU defeated the Bison again in last season's opener 17-13 marking the first time since 1933 & 1934 that Duquesne has beaten Bucknell twice in a row ... in the last meeting at Lewisburg (Sept. 6, 2008), Bucknell scored on five consecutive possessions to take a 42-7 halftime lead and survived a spirited second half Duquesne rally to post a 48-42 season-opening win over the fast-closing Dukes at BU's Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium ... DU quarterback-turned-receiver Connor Dixon, who was 2-of-6 for nine yards in the first quarter, rallied to complete 30-of-47 passes for 429 yards and a school record six touchdowns for Duquesne, which rallied to score 35 points in the second half ... Dixon's 429 yards were nine shy of the school record of 438 set by Tony Zimmerman in 2000 ... the game was the first at Duquesne for Dixon who had transferred in from Michigan State ... last year, sophomore quarterback Sean Patterson ran for a touchdown and threw for another and the Duquesne defense held Bucknell to 70 second-half yards as the Dukes defeated the Bison 17-13 at Rooney Field ... Patterson completed 13-of-24 passes for 159 yards and added 30 more on the ground in his third career start ... Larry McCoy ran for 81 yards on 20 carries for Duquesne which outgained Bucknell 267-178.

SERIES BITS
• In five meetings under current head coach Jerry Schmitt (2-3), Duquesne is averaging 26.0 points and 419 yards per game vs. Bucknell ... the Bison have averaged 27.8 points and 364 ypg. over that same span.
• Duquesne has posted 10 wins over Patriot League schools since 1999. No current or former MAAC, Pioneer League or Northeast Conference school has won more than five games versus teams from the Patriot League.

YOU AGAIN?: This is the third consecutive season Duquesne will open with Bucknell. Last year, the Dukes posted their second-straight win over the Bison for the first time since 1933 & 1934. DU has never defeated Bucknell three consecutive times in the 14-game series.

IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: Duquesne is 15-13 in non-conference games under seventh-year head coach Jerry Schmitt with wins over Robert Morris (three times prior to joining the NEC), Bucknell (twice), Dayton (twice) and Fordham (twice). At home, the Dukes are 10-2 in non-league play, while on the road Schmitt's Dukes have fashioned a 5-11 mark. DU is looking to end a six-game skid in non-conference road games. The Dukes' last non-conference road win was on Oct. 13, 2007 at Saint Francis, Pa. (24-17). DU, which plays at Dayton next Saturday, is opening with back-to-back road games for the first time since 2006 (at Bucknell and at Robert Morris). The last time the Dukes opened with two games outside of the greater Pittsburgh area was in 2000 (at VMI and at La Salle).

A LITTLE EXPERIENCE FOR A CHANGE: For the first time in recent memory, the Dukes will enter a season with an upperclass-laden roster. Of the 87 players on the roster (as of Aug. 29) the class breakdown is as follows: seniors (18), juniors (16), sophomores (13) and freshmen (40) (freshman numbers are skewed due to the includsion of redshirts). Of the 2011 returnees, 30 started at least once last season. Of the 45 position players listed on the opening-day 2-deep, 16 are seniors and 13 are juniors. There is only one true freshman on the opening day 2-deep, back-up cornerback Devin Williams (Concord, Calif./De La Salle).

IN THE TRENCHES: DU's experience is best reflected in the offensive line, where four starters return from last season (the fifth starter, Brian Layhue, moved from offensive tackle to tight end). The o-line started intact for all 11 games last season. Here are the returning starters with number of consecutive starts in parentheses: 6-5, 305, LT Ron Dunn (31), 6-3, 274 LG Eric Warning (11), 6-2, 307 C Cameron Downey (22) and 6-2, 268 LG Jamaal Thomas (30).

ON THE MOVE: Key position changes from last season: junior Serge Kona, a starter in all 11 games last season at inside linebacker, has moved to safety ... senior Brian Layhue, who started all 11 games at right tackle last season, moved to tight end in the spring ... Layhue played tight end in 2008 & 2009 ... redshirt freshman Rich Piekarski, who reshirted as a quarterback in 2010, has moved to safety.

THE REAL McCOY: Junior Larry McCoy (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe), the nation's 11th-leading rusher last season (117.4 ypg.), posted all six of his 100-yard games in DU's final eight outings of 2010. The 5-10, 220-pound Virginia native was a model of consistency last season, rushing for between 74 and 246 yards on no fewer than 18 carries in any game. McCoy is the top returning junior career rusher (95.4 ypg.) in the FCS.

POWER SERGE: Junior Serge Kona (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg), the Dukes' leading returning tackler (64 stops, 36 solo) made the move from linebacker to safety in the spring. The 5-10, 215-pounder - who has established himself as one of the NEC's hardest hitters, has shown a nose for the football in his first two seasons on the Bluff. In two seasons, the Maryland native has amassed 17 tackles for loss, broken up four passes, forced three fumbles and recovered two. Kona, who will also be returning kickoffs and punts in 2011, was named to the preseason All-NEC team.

A PAT ON THE BACK: Junior Sean Patterson (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit), who threw for 2,050 yards in 20 touchdowns in his first season as a starter, will be back under center for the Dukes. The 6-2, 210-pounder is the fifth player in school history to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season. Patterson, a two-time NEC Offensive Player of the Week last season, has completed 53.2 percent of his career passes.


QUICK HITS

• Duquesne, which returns 14 starters, won four of its final five games in 2010 - including road wins at Wagner and Bryant - to finish 7-4. Quarterback Sean Patterson threw for 13 touchdowns with just three interceptions in 118 pass attempts over that five-game span. Running back Larry McCoy averaged 119.0 rushing yards per game over that same span.

• DU's 5-3 conference record and third place finish were its best in its first three seasons of Northeast Conference play. The Dukes' five wins were one more than they had in their first two NEC seasons combined: DU went 2-5 (6th) in the NEC in 2008 and 2-6 (t7th) in 2009.

• DU's first scholarship class, signed in February of 2008, makes up the majority of this year's junior class. Duquesne offered 18 scholarships to the first class. That number has been increased to the current number of 28.

• A major renovation of the home locker room as well as coaches offices located in the fieldhouse located off the east end of Rooney Field was completed over the summer. The newly named Keller Fieldhouse project comes on the heels of a renovation of Rooney Field which was completed in 2009.

• Duquesne returns 98.5 percent of its rushing yards mainly in the legs of junior running back Larry McCoy. McCoy carried 252 times for 1,291 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore (ranked 11th nationally). McCoy topped 100 yards six times with all six coming in an eight-game span of NEC play.

• On the other hand, DU will have to replace 70.2 percent of its receiving yardage which came primarily in the form of Dave Williams (55-788-10), Connor Dixon (43-602-5) and Sean Bunevich (13-165-3). Williams, who led the NEC in receptions (5.0) and receiving yards (71.6) per game, was a first team All-NEC pick, while Dixon, a converted quarterback, was a second team All-NEC pick. Both Williams and Dixon transferred back to their hometown after beginning their careers at Michigan State. In all, five departed receivers (including Jay Spinks and fullback Marek Lapinski) accounted for 1,567 yards and 19 of 23 touchdown catches in 2010. Junior Akeem Moore is DU's top returning receiver with 22 catches for 322 yards and two TDs last season.

• DU will also have to find a replacement for kicker Eric Duale who chose not to return in 2011. Duale was one of the most improved players in the NEC last year with a team-high 73 points. The junior-to-be converted 14-of-18 field goal attempts and 31-of-32 extra points last season. Charlie Leventry, who has handled punting duties for the past two seasons, is the early favorite to handle placekicking duties.

• The Dukes return four of five members of the 2010 offensive line: left tackle Ron Dunn, left guard Eric Warning, center Cameron Downey and left guard Jamaal Thomas. The fifth starter, Brian Layhue has moved from right tackle to tight end - a position he played in his first two seasons at DU. Jeremy Summers (6-2, 293), a JC transfer from Laney College in Oakland, Calif. has taken over Layhue's vacated spot. Summers is the brother of San Diego Chargers fullback Frank Summers.

• Junior Serge Kona, DU's top returning tackler (64 tackles/36 solo), made the move from linebacker to safety in the spring. The 5-11, 223-pound Maryland native, who has established himself as one of the Dukes' hardest hitters, led DU in both tackles for loss (12) and fumbles forced (3) in 2010.

• Pittsburgh native Gary Dunn, who spent the previous 14 years at Morehead State, is in his first season as DU's offensive coordinator. Dunn replaces former DU quarterback Niel Loebig who moved with his wife to Florida. Loebig was on the staff for five seasons including the last two as offensive coordinator. Dunn, who was the OC at Morehead for his final 11 seasons, regularly recruited the western Pennsylvania area for the Eagles.