Oct. 29, 2016
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PITTSBURGH - A match up of the two top-scoring teams in the Northeast Conference lived up to that billing as Duquesne rallied from a 24-7 second-quarter deficit to defeat Bryant 35-31 on Rooney Field.
Duquesne's Dillon Buechel and Bryant's Dalton Easton, who entered the game leading the NEC with 14 and 15 touchdown passes respectively, threw for four TDs each as the two teams combined for 752 yards. Buechel's four strikes went to Blair Roberts, while Easton's four scores went to Keenan Thompson.
Roberts, who finished with a career-high 153 yards, tied the school record with his four TD receptions.
A.J. Hines added 147 yards and a touchdown rushing as the Dukes amassed 495 yards of total offense.
Roberts caught a seven yard TD pass with 1:58 left in the first half to make it 24-14. The Dukes added a pair of scores in the third quarter - the second a 43 yard pass from Buechel to Roberts - to take their first lead at 28-24. DU followed the fourth Easton-to-Thompson hook-up with a 13 yard Buechel-to-Roberts score with 9:15 left for the final margin.
Hines carried 11 times for 66 yards in the fourth quarter to help the Dukes eat up the clock.
The Dukes outgained the Bulldogs 324-79 in the second half.
Bryant got on the board first, going 97 yards on its opening possession. Easton completed 4-of-5 passes on the drive that ended with a 32 yard touchdown pass to Thompson.
Duquesne answered with a 75 yard drive that finished with a 15 yard pass from Buechel to Roberts.
Bryant put together another 10 play drive, this one ending on a 26 yard Ricky Perez field goal that made it 10-7.
The Bulldogs forced the game's first turnover when Thomas Costigan came off the edge to strip Buechel of the ball and recover it at the DU five. Easton wasted no time converting the miscue into points by hitting Thompson on the next play to give BU a 17-7 lead.
Costigan then picked off a Buechel pass, giving the Bulldogs the ball on the Duquesne 22. Easton again made it a one-play drive, hitting Thompson again to give Bryant its second touchdown in under a minute.
DU cut the lead to 24-14 when Buechel capped a 10 play drive with a seven yard TD pass to Roberts just before the half.
On the Dukes' first possession of the second half, Buechel found Wayne Capers for a 50 yard gain to the Bryant four and Hines punched it in from one yard out to make it 24-21.
DU forced a Bryant fumble on the ensuing kickoff and moved to the Bryant eight, but failed to convert when Austin Crimmins' field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Duquesne took its first lead when Buechel found Roberts for a 43 yard touchdown on a 3rd-and-19 play with two minutes to go in the third quarter.
Easton found Thompson for the fourth time, this one from 14 yards out, to make it 31-28 early in the fourth quarter.
Hines went over the 100-yard mark for the fifth time in six games on a 54-yard run to the Bryant 26. The Dukes faced a 2nd-and-25 following a penalty and converted on a 28 yard shovel pass from Buechel to P.J. Fulmore. Buechel then found Roberts for a fourth score from 13 yards out to re-take the lead.
Jake Radziukinas led the DU defense with 10 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss. Andy Sruttmann added a pair of sacks for the Dukes.
Duquesne heads to Staten Island, N.Y. to face Wagner on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Noon.
LEADERS
Rushing (Att./Yds./TD): DU - Hines (30-147-1); BRY - Femiano (11-42-0)
Passing (Att./Comp./Int./Yds./TD): DU - Buechel (15-23-1-298-4); BRY - Easton (18-33-0-230-4)
Receiving (Att./Yds./TD): DU - Roberts (8-153-4); BRY - Thompson (6-89-4)
Tackles (Tot./Solo): DU - Radziukinas (10/3); BRY - Nemerowicz (11/5)
GAME NOTES
The win snapped a three-game series losing streak ... the two are now tied at 4-4 in NEC play ... DU had a 36:09 to 23:51 advantage in time of possession ... DU, which ran for 197 yards, averaged 4.0 yards per carry ... first-year graduate transfer Blair Roberts (Rochester, N.Y./Old Dominion) caught 8 passes for a career-high 153 yards and a school record-tying four touchdowns (15, 7, 43, 13) ... Roberts previous career high was 104 yards set as a freshman at Old Dominion against Duquesne ... the eight catches were one shy of his career best ... freshman running back A.J. Hines (Wilson, N.C./Fike) carried 30 times for 147 yards and one touchdown ... it was his fifth 100-yard game this season and fifth in DU's past six games ... Hines has seven rushing TDs this season ... senior quarterback Dillon Buechel (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour), the NEC career passing yardage leader, upped his career total to 9,607 ... with his four TDs Buechel (70) pulled with three of Tony Zimmerman (73 TDs from 1998-00) for second place on DU's all-time career list ... Buechel completed 15-of-23 passes to seven receivers ... he finished with 298 yards ... senior defensive lineman Jake Radziukinas (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led the Dukes with 10 tackles (3 solo) including 1.5 sacks ... Andy Struttmann (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) added a pair of sacks.
