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Coach Schmitt Post-game Interview

DUQUESNE 39, WEST LIBERTY 13
Oct. 4, Rooney Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Records: Duquesne (3-2), West Liberty (2-3)
light rain, windy (SW16) - 48 degrees

Duquesne's football team played its third straight game on the friendly confines of Rooney Field and extended its home winning streak to eight games with a 39-13 victory over visiting West Liberty on a Homecoming afternoon that displayed high winds throughout and occasional bursts of sun, clouds, rain and even hail.

The Dukes forced the Hilltoppers to punt on each of their first three possessions and capitalized on the first two punts with touchdowns. At the 6:20 mark of the first quarter, Dillon Buechel connected with Dave Thomas on a 25-yard touchdown strike and holder Rich Piekarski ran in the point after try to make it 8-0 at the 6:20 mark of the first quarter.

On its second possession, Wayne Capers scored his first Duquesne touchdown, running the ball in from two yards out to make it 15-0 with 10 ticks left in the first quarter.

The game would go nearly 15 minutes without a score until Marcus Hughes scampered in from five yards out to make it 22-0 with 15 seconds left in the first half.

To open the second half, Duquesne once again scored on a big play as Buechel hit Chris King on a 73-yard touchdown aerial. It was King's sixth touchdown of the season and his fourth of over 50 yards. Eight of Duquesne's 19 touchdowns have come from 50 or more yards.

The Dukes shutout hopes were dashed mid-way through the third quarter as Dakota Conwell connected with Daree Goodwin on a 13-yard scoring strike. The Red and Blue blocked the PAT however to make it 29-6. The Dukes responded on their next drive with an Austin Crimmins 23-yard field goal to make it 32-6 with 5:31 on the third quarter clock.

West Liberty was persistent though, as Anton McCallum received a 13-yard Conwell pass for a score. The Zach Musilli PAT was good and it was 32-13 with 2:24 left in the third. The Dukes would then once again march the ball downfield and ended the day's scoring with a Capers one-yard run on third and goal.

Buechel finished the day 22-34 for 330 yards and two touchdown passes. It was his fourth 300-plus yard passing game of the season. King hauled in seven catches for 142 yards and a score to register his fourth 100-yard plus game of the season. Devin Rahming had eight grabs for 56 yards and Dave Thomas had three recpetions for 87 yards.

Klartel Claridy led the Dukes 172-yard ground attack with 12 rushes for 64 yards as 10 different Dukes were credited with a rush.

DU outgained WLU, 502-235. It marked the first time Duquesne had over 500 yards from scrimmage since a 9/15/12 match-up with Valparaiso (546 yards).

Nathan Stone led the Red and Blue defensively with seven tackles (five solo), a sack, a pass break-up and a hurry. Devin Williams and Anthony Alimenti each recorded interceptions.

The Dukes hit the road on Oct. 11 as they travel to Central Connecticut State for a 1:00 pm kick-off.

BY QUARTER 1 2 3 4 FINAL
WEST LIBERTY 0 0 13 0 13
DUQUESNE 15 7 10 7 39

SCORING SUMMARY
1st 6:20 DU - Thomas 25-yd pass from Buechel (Piekarski run), 10-67 (5:08) 0-8
0:10 DU - Capers 2-yd rush (Crimmins kick), 10-70 (4:21) 0-15
2nd 00:15 DU - Hughes 5-yd rush (Crimmins kick), 7-97 (1:39) 0-22
3rd 12:24 DU - King 73-yd pass from Buechel (Crimmins kick), 5-86 (2:36) 0-29
7:36 WL - Goodwin 5-yd pass from Conwell (kick blocked), 10-60 (4:48) 6-29
5:31 DU - Crimmins 23-yd field goal, 7-35 (1:39) 6-32
2:24 WL - McCallum 13-yd pass from Conwell (Musilli kick), 2-13 (0:21) 13-32
4th 13:28 DU - Capers 1-yd run (Crimmins kick), 9-61 (3:56) 13-39

LEADERS
Rushing (Att./Yds./TD): DU - Claridy (12-64-0); WLU - Moody (14-60-0)
Passing (Att./Comp./Int./Yds./TD): DU - Buechel (22-34-1-330-2); WLU - Conwell (14-34-2-134-2)
Receiving (Att./Yds./TD): DU - King 7-142-1); WLU - McCallum (5-71-1)
Tackles (Tot./Solo): DU - Stone (7/5); WLU - Muhammad (10/6)

GAME NOTES
Duquesne is 3-0 at home this year and now has an eight-game home win streak ... Dillon Buechel had his fourth 300-plus yard passing total of the season with 330 yards ... Chris King had his fourth 100-plus yard receiving outing of the season with 142 yards ,,, this was Duquesne's first 500-yard plus total offense showing since putting up 546 yards at Valparaiso on 9/15/12 ... DU outgained WLU, 502-235 ... Klartel Claridy (12-64-0) led the Dukes in rushing today and became the first Duke to lead the team in rushing twice through five games ... Duquesne has had four different running backs lead the team in rushing this season - game one at Buffalo was Claridy (12-39-0), game two at Youngstown State was Marcus Hughes (8-74-1), game three versus Dayton was Rafiq Douglas (11-69-0), game four versus Monmouth was Ryan Ho (13-43-1) and today was Claridy again ... DU had 10 different rushers on the box score today ... this was the first time this season DU shut out its opponent in the first half ... after losing the top two tacklers from last season to injuries, freshman Nathan Stone has stepped up to lead the team in tackles from his linebacker position this year with 37 (21 solo) ... the Dukes have outscored their opponents, 47-30 in the third quarter ... attendance today for Homecoming was 1,719 (Rooney Field capacity is 2,200).