PITTSBURGH - Saint Francis U scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to post a 17-10 victory over Duquesne in a Northeast Conference (NEC) contest at Arthur J. Rooney Field. 

The Dukes (4-3, 2-2) got on the board first when Evan Nelson hit Cyrus Holder in the end zone on a 26-yard scoring strike with 4:37 to play in the opening quarter. 

Holder, a Saint Francis U transfer, hauled in the touchdown catch against his former team from Nelson, who was making his first start for the Dukes. Running back Billy Lucas rushed for 34 yards on the Duquesne scoring drive. 

The Dukes held that 7-0 advantage into the second half before the Red Flash answered with a Marques DeShields one-yard touchdown run on Saint Francis' first march of the third quarter. 

After forcing a punt on the Red Flash's next drive, Andrew Smith regained the lead for Duquesne with a 39-yard field goal early in the fourth stanza. 

Saint Francis countered with a five-yard touchdown pass from Justin Sliwoski to Kahtero Summers to give the Red Flash a 14-10 edge. 

The Dukes' defense forced consecutive three-and-outs on Saint Francis' next two possessions, but on a miscue on a punt return on the second drive gave the Red Flash the ball in Duquesne territory with the four-point lead and 3:46 showing on the clock. 

After an Alex Schmoke field goal put Saint Francis ahead 17-10, the Red Flash forced a Duquesne turnover on downs to seal the NEC road win. 

Lucas finished with 22 carries for 99 yards for the Dukes while Garrett Owens had a team-high five receptions for 21 yards to go with 15 rushes for 43 yards on the day. 

Nelson completed 8-of-21 pass attempts for 85 yards and a touchdown in his first start for Duquesne. 

Holder had two catches for 58 yards including the 26-yard touchdown catch. 

Leandro DeBrito registered a team-high 11 tackles (six solo) with a forced fumble to pace the Dukes defense. Shane Stump had two sacks on the day for Duquesne, tallying four total tackles (three solo). 

Temitope Agoro and Kevin Kurzinger each added five tackles while Tim Lowery had four tackles including a tackle for loss. 

AJ Garson recorded four tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pair of quarterback hurries. 

NEXT UP
Duquesne travels to LIU for a Northeast Conference road matchup next Saturday, Nov. 6 at noon.