Sept. 13, 2011
Duquesne Game Notes 
| Valparaiso Game Notes | | Streaming Video
Game #3 - Dukes host Crusaders in home opener
VALPARAISO (0-2) at DUQUESNE (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 17 at 12:10 p.m.
Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (2,200/Sportexe) • 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 HOST VALPO IN HOME OPENER: Duquesne, coming off a last minute 22-13 win at Dayton last Saturday, returns home to face its second consecutive Pioneer Football League foe when it hosts Valparaiso (0-2) in the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 12:10 p.m. (WMNY-AM 1360). DU, which ended the nation's longest FCS win streak at 10 with the victory at Dayton, will be looking instead to extend a streak against Valpo which enters Saturday's game with the longest losing streak in the FCS at 22 games. The Crusaders, who are coming off a 77-13 loss at Youngstown State, were picked to finish 10th in the 10-team PFL (Dayton was picked to finish second). The Pioneer League is 2-1 against the Northeast Conference this year with a Dayton win at Robert Morris (19-13) and Marist's season-opening victory at Sacred Heart (20-7). Duquesne received 10 points in the "others receiving votes" category in this week's Sports Network FCS Top 25 poll. The 10 pionts are the most of any NEC school.
MORE ON VALPO: Valparaiso is in its second season under veteran head coach Dale Carlson ... Carlson, who came to Valpo from Ohio Dominican, is in his 23rd season as a head coach ... the Crusaders last win was on September 12, 2009 at Concordia (Wis.) 20-17 ... Valpo showed progress in its season-opening 49-35 loss to Franklin ... in that game the Crusaders jumped out to a 28-14 lead only to see Franklin score 35 of the final 42 points ... Valparaiso totaled 463 yards of total offense, including 394 from the arm of redshirt freshman quarterback Eric Hoffman who completed 27-of-42 passes ... Valpo's 35 points were its most since a 47-14 win over Campbell on Nov. 15, 2008 ... Hoffman enters the DU game ranked tied for 25th nationally in total offense at 257 ypg.
DU & VU: This is the first football meeting between Duquesne and Valparaiso.
MINUTE MEN: DU's first two games were both decided in the final minute. In week one at Bucknell, the Dukes saw a 16-3 lead turn into a 17-16 deficit in the last two minutes of the first half. DU regained the lead, only to see the Bison drive 82 yards to win it, 27-26, on a fourth-and-one touchdown and extra point with 57 seconds left. Last week at Dayton, Duquesne drove 52 yards to set up a 24 yard Charlie Leventry field goal to take a 16-13 lead with 30 seconds left. UD drove to its own 33 and set up for a 50 yard field goal attempt with two seconds on the clock when cornerback Jared Williams stormed in from the outside to block the kick. The senior Temple transfer then scooped up the ball an ran 48 yards for a score as time expired.
MORE ON THE DUKES: This is Duquesne's fourth season as a scholarship-granting football program and fourth season as an associate member of the Northeast Conference. 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.
IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: Duquesne is 16-14 in non-conference games under seventh-year head coach Jerry Schmitt with wins over Robert Morris (three times prior to joining the NEC), Dayton (three times), Bucknell (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 6-12 mark. DU snapped a seven-game skid in non-conference road games with a 22-13 win at Dayton on Sept. 3. The Win snapped Dayton's FCS-best win streak at 10. DU is opened 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).
DAYTON LEFTOVERS: The Dukes win ended Dayton's nation-best FCS win streak at 10 ... DU was the last team to defeat the Flyers, winning 35-31 at Pittsburgh on Sept. 11 of last season ... Duquesne has won four of the past five meetings between the two and now leads the all-time series 5-4 ... DU is 2-2 all-time at Dayton, including a 2-1 mark at Welcome Stadium where the Flyers have won 83 percent of their games ... senior cornerback Jared Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry Traditional Academy) had a hand in nine of Duquesne's 22 points ... his 19 yard interception return in the third quarter set up a 40 yard Charlie Leventry field goal that tied the game at 10-10 ... he also blocked and returned a 50 yard Dayton field goal attempt 48 yards for a touchdown on the game's final play to seal the win ... Williams added three tackles on the afternoon ... junior Charlie Leventry (Johnstown, Pa./Richland), DU's starting punter for the past two seasons, kicked field goals of 40, 28 and 24 yards ... the 40-yarder was a career-long and the 24-yarder with 30 seconds left gave the Dukes a 16-13 lead ... he also added a career-long 61-yard punt ... this is Leventry's first season as Duquesne's full-time placekicker ... junior running back Larry McCoy (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) carried 26 times for 113 yards ... it was his eighth 100-yard game in his past 10 outings and 12th of his career ... McCoy topped the 100-yard mark on his 23rd carry which took the ball to the Dayton eight-yard-line with 1:33 left in the game ... senior linebacker Chris Oliver (Washington, D.C./Calvin Coolidge) finished with a team and career-high nine tackles (four solo) ... his previous career best was seven set last year against Monmouth ... junior quarterback Sean Patterson (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) finished with 310 yards of total offense ... Patterson completed 19-of-32 passes for 254 yards and a TD and added 56 yards on nine rushes ... senior Brooks Roorback (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) caught a career high seven passes for 48 yards ... Roorback, who did not have a catch in nine games last season, has 10 catches in two games this season ... Roorback had 13 catches as a freshman and 18 as a sophomore ... senior Isaac Spragg (Westfield, Va./Valley Forge Military Academy) continued his strong start with six catches for 93 yards ... Spragg has a team-high 16 catches for 193 yards in two games ... he entered the season with eight catches in 22 career games ... graduate student receiver Connor Dixon (South Park, Pa./South Park), who was granted a sixth year of eligibility on Sept. 2, caught a 10 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter ... it was his second TD reception in as many weeks ... Dixon, who wasn't able to practice with the team until this week, has caught a pass in 17 consecutive games ... he has caught a pass in every game since moving from quarterback to receiver eight games into the 2009 season ... the Duquesne defense limited Dayton to 124 yards passing on 32 attempts ... safeties Khiry Carter (Philadelphia, Pa./West Philadelphia Catholic) and Serge Kona (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) were credited with three pass break ups each ... the Flyers were able to convert just 3-of-13 third downs.
ITS NICE TO BE NOTICED: Duquesne received 10 points in the "others receiving votes" category of this week's Sports Network FCS Top 25. The 10 points are the most of any Northeast Conference school. Central Connecticut State was the only other NEC team earning points (4) in the poll. Both of DU's first two opponents also appear in others receiving votes: Bucknell (3) and Dayton (1).
A WELCOME ADDITION: Duquesne was informed roughly 30 hours before the season opener that receiver Connor Dixon (South Park, Pa./South Park) was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. The appeal request was based on an illness and injury Dixon suffered in 2006 and 2007 respectively at while Michigan State, which limited his participation during his first two college seasons. A second team All-NEC pick in 2010 who had not practiced with the team since last November, Dixon jumped in a car with his father and met the team in Williamsport, Pa. in time for dinner the night before the opener at Bucknell. The offensive coaches quizzed him on the playbook and Dixon, a former quarterback, passed with flying colors. He entered the game in the second quarter and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-goal on his first play to give DU a 13-3 lead. The 6-5 Dixon, who had 43 catches for 602 yards and five TDs last season, went on to add a second catch of seven yards in limited action. With a week of practice under his belt, Dixon added a 10 yard TD catch at Dayton.
A LITTLE EXPERIENCE: For the first time in recent memory, the Dukes entered a season with an upperclass-laden roster. Of the 88 players on the roster (as of Sept. 3) the class breakdown is as follows: seniors (19) (including grad students), juniors (16), sophomores (13) and freshmen (40) (freshman numbers are skewed due to the inclusion of redshirts). Of the 2011 returnees, 31 started at least once last season. Of the 45 position players listed on the opening-day 2-deep, 16 were are seniors and 13 were juniors. Two true freshmen have seen action so far: back-up cornerback Devin Williams (Concord, Calif./De La Salle) and kick returner David Thomas (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic).
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 (33), 6-3, 274 LG Eric Warning (13), 6-2, 307 C Cameron Downey (24) and 6-2, 268 LG Jamaal Thomas (32).
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 ... junior Matthew Glose moved from fullback to linebacker in week two.
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. He picked up where he left off with 112 yards on 30 carries in the season-opening loss at Bucknell. He added 113 yards in the win at Dayton.
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, is 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 53.8 percent of his career passes. Patterson, who earned NEC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 after amassing 310 yards of total offense in the win at Dayton, ranks 12th nationally with a 127.48 career pass efficiency rating.
SOMETHING TO SPRAGG ABOUT: Senior receiver Isaac Spragg (Westfield, Va./Valley Forge Military Academy), who entered the season with eight catches for 67 yards in 22 career games, exploded for nine catches for 100 yards and at TD (22 yds.) in the season opener at Bucknell. The catches, yards, touchdowns and long catch (the 22-yard TD) were all career bests. He added six receptions for 93 yards at Dayton (including a new career-long 42-yarder). Spragg leads the team with 15 catches for 193 yards.
NO HO: Duquesne suffered a serious loss when sophomore Ryan Ho (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kamehameha Schools) suffered a dislocated ankle on a kickoff return with 1:43 left in the first half at Bucknell. Ho, who entered the year as the backup to Larry McCoy, ranked fourth nationally - and led the NEC - with a 29.4 yard kickoff return average as a true freshman in 2010.
