PITTSBURGH – Duquesne erased a 14-0 deficit and held off a late Wagner surge in a 28-24 victory over the visiting Seahawks on a rainy homecoming game on Saturday afternoon at Arthur J. Rooney Field.
The Dukes win their third straight to improve to 5-2 on the season and 3-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) action while Wagner moves to 1-7 on the year and 1-2 in league play.
A.J. Hines (Wilson, N.C. / Fike) rushed for over 100 yards for the third consecutive game with 113 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown to pace the DU offense. With his 42nd career rushing touchdown, he shattered the 35-year old Duquesne school record for rushing touchdowns previously held by Pedro Bowman (1981-84).
In addition, with the victory, 15th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt earned his 97th win at Duquesne tying Greg Gattuso for the most wins in program history.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Seahawks pulled out to a 14-0 lead with a pair of rushing scores by quarterback Christian Alexander-Stevens.
With just under two minutes remaining in the half, Daniel Parr (Jupiter, Fla. / William T. Dwyer / FAU) hit Davie Henderson (Winter Haven, Fla. / Winter Haven) in the back of the end zone on a 16-yard completion to put the Dukes on the board.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jake Dixon (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Bethel Park) forced a fumble on the return which was recovered by Connor Barrett (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Chartiers Valley) at the Wagner 24-yard line.
As time expired in the second quarter, Hines crossed the goal line on a one-yard rush to set the Duquesne record and also knot the game at 14 apiece heading into the locker room.
Mark Allen (Hyattsville, Md. / DeMatha Catholic / Penn State) would give the Dukes their first lead of the game with a two-yard rushing score on the opening drive of the second half. Allen gained 66 of the 77 yards on the eight-play scoring march for Duquesne.
The Dukes would take that lead into the fourth quarter before they extended their advantage on just the second play of the stanza when Allen returned a Wagner punt 65 yards to pay dirt, putting Duquesne on top 28-14.
The Seahawks responded with 10 straight points to shrink the Dukes' advantage to 28-24 with another rushing score by Alexander-Stevens and an Eric Silvester field goal with just under eight minutes to play.
After the two teams traded punts, a Duquesne fumble and personal foul penalty gave the Seahawks possession at the Dukes' 33-yard line with a chance to take the lead with 1:55 showing on the fourth quarter clock.
However, the Duquesne defense came up with a crucial turnover, as Mason Williams (Pasadena, Calif. / St. Francis / Duke) picked off the Alexander-Stevens pass after deflections by both Lucas D'Orazio (Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio / Cuyahoga Heights) and Kam Carter (Germantown, Md. / Gaithersburg / Pittsburgh), sealing the victory for the Dukes.
Brendan Thompson (Germantown, Md. / Northwest / Millersville) led the Duquesne defense in tackles for the second straight game, tallying six stops (five solo) on the afternoon. Carter added five tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss for the Dukes.
With his third 100-yard rushing game in a row and fourth of the season, Hines now has 24 100-yard rushing performances in his career, matching the Duquesne career record set by Larry McCoy (2009-12). Hines now has 4,384 career rushing yards, trailing the school's all-time leading rusher McCoy by just 165 yards.
Allen finished with 156 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns on the day. His 65-yard punt return for a touchdown was the first for the Dukes since Nehari Crawford's 44-yard punt return for a score in last year's season opener against Walsh.
Duquesne outgained the Seahawks 290-268, including a 218-77 advantage on the ground.
The Dukes were 10-of-18 on third down and held Wagner to convert just 2-of-9 third-down attempts.
NEXT UP
Duquesne plays its second game in as many weeks at Rooney Field next week, hosting Saint Francis U on Saturday, Nov. 2 at noon ET on ESPN3. The Red Flash dropped a 36-33 decision to Sacred Heart in overtime on Saturday.
