PITTSBURGH – Duquesne earned its fourth straight victory as Jerry Schmitt became the program's all-time winningest coach with a 30-21 Northeast Conference (NEC) triumph over Saint Francis U on Saturday afternoon at Arthur J. Rooney Field.

Schmitt collects his 98th win at Duquesne, passing Greg Gattuso for the most wins in program history.

The Dukes' (6-2, 4-0) defense forced three Red Flash (4-5, 2-3) turnovers while Daniel Parr (Jupiter, Fla. / William T. Dwyer / FAU)finished with three total touchdowns en route to the win. Duquesne finished with a 37:41-22:19 advantage in time of possession in the victory.

Kellon Taylor (Landover, Md. / DeMatha Catholic) recorded eight receptions for a career-high 101 yards and a touchdown for the Dukes, as well.

The Red Flash got on the board first with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jason Brown to Ra'Shaun Henry.

The Dukes knotted it up at 7-7 when Parr hit Taylor on a 15-yard scoring strike with 34 seconds to play in the opening quarter. Parr connected with Dominic Thieman (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / St. Thomas Aquinas / Illinois) on the first play of the drive to set up the score.

Midway through the second quarter, a 28-yard field goal by Mitch MacZura (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic /Ohio State) gave Duquesne its first lead of the afternoon.

On the first play of the ensuing Red Flash drive, Brendan Thompson (Germantown, Md. / Northwest / Millersville) forced and recovered a Saint Francis fumble, giving the Dukes possession at the Red Flash 36-yard line. This led to a two-yard touchdown rush by Parr to extend the Duquesne advantage to 17-7 with 4:27 showing on the first half clock.

Saint Francis would answer right back with a 71-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Henry, their second scoring connection of the day to shrink the Dukes' edge to 17-14 with 3:32 to go in the second quarter.

Duquesne would double its lead to six heading into the locker room as Jacob Gill's (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) 41-yard field goal went through the uprights to put the Dukes on top 20-14 at the half.

The Red Flash countered on its first drive of the third quarter as Brown's seven-yard touchdown pass to EJ Jenkins gave Saint Francis its first lead since the first quarter at 21-20.

Duquesne would respond as Kareem Coles Jr. (San Diego, Calif. / Madison / Idaho) hauled in a leaping 16-yard touchdown reception from Parr, putting the Dukes ahead once again at 27-21 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the quarter.

A 32-yard Michael Daure (Castle Shannon, Pa. / Keystone Oaks) kickoff return followed by a pair of catches by both Thieman and Taylor set up the Duquesne touchdown.

The Dukes forced Saint Francis to punt on its next march, leading to a 27-yard field goal by MacZura to push the Duquesne advantage to 30-21 with 3:28 to play in the third quarter.

The Dukes would force turnovers on each of the Red Flash's final two drives, as Reid Harrison-Ducros (Colleyville, Texas / Colleyville Heritage / Boise State) forced a Saint Francis fumble which was recovered by Mike O'Malley (Lakewood, Ohio / St. Edward) before Harvey Clayton Jr. (Miami, Fla. / Coral Reef / Illinois) picked off Brown with 6:23 to play in the contest.

Duquesne drained 4:38 off the clock with 18 rushing yards by A.J. Hines (Wilson, N.C. / Fike), a 15-yard run by Thieman and 15 yards on the ground by Lentivone Lesane (Hialeah, Fla. / Mater Academy Charter).

A MacZura punt pinned Saint Francis at the six-yard line, before the Dukes forced a turnover on downs to seal Duquesne's fourth consecutive win.

Parr completed 16-of-31 for 203 yards and two touchdowns to go with four rushes for 34 yards and a score.

Hines tallied a team-high 85 rushing yards for the Dukes.  

Thieman registered three catches for 70 yards while Coles Jr. tallied five receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.

Thompson and Daivon Ellison (Linden, N.J. / Don Bosco Prep / Syracuse) recorded six tackles apiece to pace the Duquesne defense. Ellison had five solo tackles including a tackle for loss while Thompson finished with four solo stops, forcing and recovering a fumble for the Dukes.

Duquesne outgained the Red Flash 389-301, including a 168-23 advantage on the ground. The Dukes finished with 24 first downs compared to Saint Francis' 15.

  
NEXT UP
Duquesne heads to Moon Township next Saturday, Nov. 9 for a matchup against Robert Morris at 1 p.m. at Joe Walton Stadium. Both the Dukes and the Colonials enter with 4-0 marks in NEC play after Robert Morris picked up a 28-17 win over LIU on Saturday.

Duquesne, the Colonials and 19th-ranked Central Connecticut are tied atop the NEC standings with 4-0 records in conference action.