NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Duquesne recorded four interceptions and Garrett Owens hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions to lead the Dukes to a 37-14 road victory over Merrimack in DU's Northeast Conference (NEC) opener on Saturday afternoon at Duane Stadium.

Duquesne, which held the Warriors scoreless in the second half, wins its third straight game to improve to 3-1, capturing a victory in its first NEC game of the year for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. Merrimack falls to 3-2 on the season with the loss. 
 
The Warriors got on the board first when Westin Elliott found Jacari Carter in the end zone on a 16-yard connection on their first drive of the game.
 
The Dukes responded when Cyrus Holder went up and grabbed a three-yard touchdown pass from Darius Perrantes on the first play of the second quarter.
 
On the Warriors' next drive, Jeremiah Josephs picked off a pass over the middle from Elliott, returning it to the Warriors' five-yard line. Billy Lucas then took a hand off five yards to pay dirt to give the Dukes a 14-7 lead.
 
Later in the quarter, Josephs recorded his second interception on the day, taking it 62 yards deep inside Merrimack territory to the 10-yard line. Brian Bruzdewicz would put the Dukes ahead by 10 points with a 25-yard field goal with 4:13 showing on the second quarter clock.
 
Elliott and Carter connected on another 16-yard scoring play late in the half for the Warriors, shrinking the Duquesne advantage of 17-14 heading into the half.
 
On the Dukes' opening march of the third period, Perrantes hit Wykeen Gill in the back right corner of the end zone with a five-yard touchdown strike to extend the Dukes' lead to 23-14. Gill's first touchdown reception in a Duquesne uniform was set up by a 23-yard gain by Garrett Owens on a screen play earlier in the drive.
 
After the DU defense forced a Merrimack three-and-out, Owens hauled in a 33-yard touchdown catch down the sideline from Perrantes to push the Dukes' edge to 30-14.

Duquesne would record its fourth interception of the afternoon when Jahan Worth picked off an Elliott pass across the middle early in the fourth stanza. Owens then again went up and snagged a touchdown reception from Perrantes over a Merrimack defender, this time from 12 yards out to give Duquesne a 37-14 advantage. A pair of 13-yard rushes by Billy Lucas set up Owens' second touchdown reception of the day. 

Owens finished with 129 all-purpose yards and two scores, tallying five receptions for 82 yards to go with 15 carries for 47 yards on the ground. Lucas added 20 rushes for 92 yards and a touchdown for the Dukes. 

Perrantes completed 12-of-20 passes for 126 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. He is the first Duquesne quarterback to throw for four touchdowns since Tommy Stuart threw for five scores in a 51-14 triumph over Robert Morris on Oct. 14, 2017. 

Worth paced the Duquesne defense with seven tackles (six solo) with a tackle for loss and an interception. Josephs registered five tackles (four solo) with a tackle for loss, two interceptions and two more pass breakups, all in the first half of action. 

Donovan Stanley and Shane Stump each chipped in five tackles apiece, while Leandro DeBrito had three tackles to go with an interception. 

Duquesne recorded four interceptions in the win for the first time since a 38-0 victory over La Salle on Nov. 4, 2006. Josephs is the first Duke to register two interceptions in a game since Reid Harrison-Ducros had two picks in a 20-6 victory over Sacred Heart on Oct. 19, 2019.

Elliott, who came into the game averaging 319.5 passing yards per game, was held to 203 yards with the four interceptions. The Dukes limited the Warriors to 68 rushing yards in the contest. 

Game Notes

• Gill recorded his first touchdown reception in a Duquesne uniform and third of his career. Gill's last touchdown came while at Kansas State against Texas on Nov. 9, 2019. He also scored a touchdown against TCU that season on Oct. 19, 2019.
• Owens hauled in his sixth career receiving touchdown and second of his Duquesne career. He also caught a touchdown pass in the Dukes' 30-27 season-opening win over Sacred Heart on March 7, 2021.
• Worth and Josephs each recorded their first career interceptions on the day while DeBrito tallied his fourth career pick and second of the season. 

NEXT UP
Duquesne welcomes Bryant to Arthur J. Rooney Field next Saturday, Oct. 9 at noon. The game will air live on NEC Front Row.