PITTSBURGH - After Duquesne took a 39-34 lead on a Davie Henderson touchdown reception from Darius Perrantes with just 31 seconds to play, the Dukes stopped Bryant receiver David Zorrilla inches from the end zone on a Hail Mary completion as time expired to secure the Northeast Conference (NEC) victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Arthur J. Rooney Field. 

Duquesne picks up its fourth-straight win to improve to 4-1 on the season with a 2-0 ledger in NEC action. The Bulldogs move to 3-3 and 1-1, respectively. 

Bryant gained a 34-33 advantage with under two minutes remaining with a Daniel Adeboboye two-yard touchdown rush to cap a 73-yard scoring drive. 

Duquesne answered when Perrantes found Henderson in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown strike, after marching down the field in just a minute and 23 seconds. Duquesne held the 39-34 edge after the Dukes' two-point attempt was no good. 

With just two seconds showing on the clock and the ball on the Duquesne 46-yard line, Zevi Eckhaus heaved a pass downfield which was caught by Zorrilla at the Dukes' one-yard line, but a slew of Duquesne defenders was able to keep him out of the end zone as time expired. An official review confirmed the ruling on the field, as Duquesne sealed the conference triumph. 

Perrantes completed 29-of-41 passes for 316 yards and a trio of touchdowns on the day compared to just one interception. The sophomore added seven rushes for 38 yards and a score. 

Cyrus Holder finished with seven receptions for a team-high 103 yards and a touchdown while Henderson posted six receptions for 42 yards and a pair of touchdown grabs. 

Wykeen Gill registered 179 all-purpose yards (69 kick return, 59 receiving and 51 punt return) in the win. He had a career-high seven receptions for 59 yards and added a big 30-yard completion on a trick play. 

Garrett Owens tallied five receptions for 70 yards to go with 15 rushes for 47 yards and a touchdown on the day. 

Billy Lucas paced the Duquesne ground game with 11 rushes for 50 yards. Dominic Thieman chipped in three catches for 45 yards while Bill O'Malley had two receptions for 27 yards for the Dukes. 

On defense, Leandro DeBrito registered a team-high seven tackles (six solo) with a pass breakup. Temitipe Agoro recorded six tackles (four solo) with a tackle for loss while Kevin Kurzinger had six tackles (two solo) with 1.5 TFL and a half sack. Todd Hill finished with six tackles (two solo) with a half tackle for loss for Duquesne. Jahan Worth tallied five tackles (two solo) with a team-high three pass breakups while reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Week Jeremiah Josephs had five tackles (three solo) in the win. 

The Dukes got on the board first when Owens punched it into the end zone from two yards out just over two minutes into the contest before Bryant responded with a Macklin Kortebein five-yard touchdown reception.

Special teams played a big role in the opening half for both teams, setting up a combined 21 points in the NEC tilt.

Late in the first quarter, Duquesne attempted a fake punt run, but the Bulldogs stopped Michael Berarducci short of the sticks to give them possession at the Dukes' 23-yard line.

Three plays later, Fabrice Mukendi ran 23 yards for a score to put Bryant ahead 14-7.

In the second quarter, Gill returned a punt 50 yards deep into Bulldog territory to the six-yard line. The Dukes took advantage of the great field position, as Perrantes kept it himself for a four-yard touchdown trot to tie the ballgame at 14-14.

On Bryant's ensuing march, the Bulldogs drove down the field and set up for a 37-yard field goal, but defensive back TJ Johnson got a hand on the attempt for Duquesne.

The Dukes then regained the lead when Perrantes connected with Holder in the back of the end zone on the six-yard scoring strike, giving Duquesne a 21-14 advantage heading into the break. Holder grabbed a 26-yard catch while Thieman posted a 33-yard reception on the scoring march for the Dukes.

On the Bulldogs' opening drive of the second half, Daniel Adeboboye took a handoff 47 yards for the Bryant touchdown, knotting the contest at 21-21.

Brian Bruzdewicz helped Duquesne retake the lead with a 28-yard field goal with just over 10 minutes to play in the third stanza. A trick play with Gill catching a pass and then finding Owens across the middle for a 30-yard gain set up the score for the Dukes.

After the Duquesne defense came up with the stop, Perrantes recorded his second touchdown pass of the day, hitting Henderson for the seven-yard score to push the Duquesne lead to 30-21 with 2:48 to play in the quarter.

A Bruzdewicz 20-yard field goal would extend the Dukes' edge to 33-21 with 10:22 to play.

The Bulldogs countered with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Eckhaus to Adeboboye on a fourth-down play, shrinking the deficit to 33-28 with 6:30 remaining.

Bryant forced a Duquesne punt before regaining the lead for the first time since the opening quarter with Adeboboye's second touchdown of the afternoon. 

The Dukes took the lead for good with the Henderson 26-yard touchdown catch to finish off the seven-play, 75 yard scoring drive. Completions to Thieman (eight yards, four yards), Owens (19 yards) and Holder (10 yards) along with a pair of Perrantes scrambles (nine yards, four yards) set up the game-winning score. 

The Bulldogs outgained the Dukes 487-477 with a 176-131 advantage on the ground. Duquesne finished with 346 passing yards in the win compared to Bryant's 311 yards through the air. The Dukes held a slim 30:19 - 29:41 edge in time of possession. 

Duquesne converted 5-of-12 third down attempts and the Dukes were a perfect 6-of-6 in the red zone. 

The Bulldogs were 5-of-6 on fourth down conversions and 3-of-4 inside the red zone on the day. 

GAME NOTES 

• Perrantes' 29 completions are tied for the fourth-most in a single game in school history and were the most by a Duquesne quarterback since Dillon Buechel completed 33 passes in the Dukes' FCS Playoff game at William & Mary on Nov. 28, 2015. His 316 passing yards represent a career high, as well. He finished with four total touchdowns for the second-consecutive week. 
• Holder eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the sixth time in his career and third occasion in his Duquesne career. 
• Gill hauled in a career-high seven receptions in the victory. His previous career best was five catches earlier this season in the win at Ohio. 
• Owens tallied over 100 all-purpose yards and found the end zone for the third-straight game. 
• Duquesne has now put together a four-game winning streak in eight-straight seasons.
• The Dukes are 2-0 in NEC action for the seventh time since joining the league in 2008. 

NEXT UP
The Dukes have next week off before heading to Sacred Heart on Saturday, Oct. 23 to take on the Pioneers in a rematch of the spring NEC Championship. Kickoff is set for noon in Fairfield, Conn.