PITTSBURGH – A.J. Hines (Wilson, N.C./Fike) and Daquan Worley (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville/Penn State) combined for 278 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while Duquesne forced three turnovers in a 48-24 Northeast Conference (NEC) victory over visiting local foe Robert Morris on Saturday night at Arthur J. Rooney Field.

All told, the Dukes (4-3, 1-1), who snapped a two-game skid with the win, finished with 321 rushing yards in the contest, their first 300-yard performance since tallying 373 yards in a 47-7 triumph over Kentucky Christian on Sept. 15, 2015

Hines matched a career-high with three rushing scores, registering 27 carries for a season-best 182 yards on the ground.

Worley, a defensive back, logged his first career touches on the offensive side of the ball, finding the end zone twice. He totaled seven carries for 96 yards on the night for Duquesne.

After the Colonials (1-5, 0-3) jumped out to a 7-0 lead following a DU turnover, the Dukes responded with 24 straight points, including two touchdown runs by Hines to grab a 24-7 advantage in the second quarter.

Hines evened the matchup at 7-7 with a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, after recording six carries for 30 yards on the scoring drive.

Duquesne would gain its first advantage of the night when Daniel Parr (Jupiter, Fla./William T. Dwyer (FAU) hit Nehari Crawford (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Central) on a 43-yard touchdown connection with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half, putting the Dukes on top 14-7.

DU secured its second takeway on Robert Morris' next drive when Tom Jurkovec picked off a Colonial pass which was deflected at the line of scrimmage by Kam Carter (Germantown, Md./Gaithersburg/Pittsburgh).

That set up a 10-yard Hines rushing score five plays later, giving the Dukes a 21-7 edge.  

On the very first play of the next RMU march, Jonathant Istache (Belle Glade, Fla./Glades Central) recorded his third interception of the season, this time with Jurkovec tipping the pass at the line. The Dukes' second forced miscue in as many offense plays led to a 30-yard field goal by Mitch MacZura (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic/Ohio State) to extend the Duquesne advantage to 24-7.

Robert Morris ended the Dukes' scoring run when quarterback Jimmy Walker found Matt Gonzalez in the end zone for the second time on the game, shrinking the deficit to 24-14 late in the opening half.   

With just 39 seconds remaining in the stanza, Duquesne would march 69 yards in just 35 seconds, as Hines scored his third touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run to give the Dukes a 31-14 halftime lead.

On DU's first drive of the second half, Worley took just his fourth career carry through the middle 23 yards for the score, putting the Dukes ahead 38-14.

MacZura added a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter, before Worley broke off a 52-yard fourth quarter touchdown rush up the Duquesne sideline to cap scoring for the night.

Parr completed 17-of-23 pass attempts (73.9 pct) for 192 yards and a touchdown to go with nine carries for 43 rushing yards.

Crawford finished with four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown. Aidan Cain (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) chipped in four catches for 44 yards.

Spencer DeMedal (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington) tallied a career-high 11 tackles (10 solo) with a fumble recovery to lead Duquesne followed by Brandon Stanback (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt/Buffalo) with eight tackles (seven solo) with a forced fumble.

Istache posted four tackles (two solo) with the interception and three pass breakups.

Worley made an impact on all three parts of the game on Saturday night with his rushing performance to go with a quarterback hurry as well as a 32-yard kick return.

Duquesne recorded 513 total yards of offense, its first 500-yard output since registering 542 yards in a win at Valparaiso last season.

The Dukes travel to Loretto, Pa. to take on Saint Francis U next Saturday, Oct. 20 at noon ET. The Red Flash dropped a 23-22 decision at Wagner earlier today.

Game Notes

• Saturday marks Duquesne's first game with five rushing touchdowns since a 45-42 win at Sacred Heart on Nov. 14, 2009.
• The Dukes improve to 13-7 all-time against the Colonials including a 9-2 mark on the Bluff. Duquesne has won nine straight over RMU at Rooney Field.
• The Dukes move to 16-4 in night games at Rooney Field.
•  A.J. Hines rushed for three touchdowns for the fourth time in his career. He now has 32 career rushing touchdowns which is tied for third in school history. Hines is fifth in program history with 2,918 career rushing yards. He now has 15 career 100-yard games, as well.
• Crawford moved into third in program history with 161 career receptions, passing Joe Rosato (1994-97) who totaled 159 career catches.
• MacZura is now 5-for-5 on the season on field goals.
• The Dukes wore Pittsburgh Steelers decals on the left side of their helmets during Saturday's game. The helmet was to pay tribute to Marquis "Jaylen" Brown as the Steelers have offered their prayers and support to the family of JB as well as his teammates and friends.