PITTSBURGH – Darius Perrantes found Cyrus Holder for a 30-yard touchdown connection with just 29 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to lift Duquesne to a 31-27 comeback Northeast Conference (NEC) win over CCSU on Saturday afternoon at Arthur J. Rooney Field.   

The Dukes win their second-straight contest to improve to 6-3 on the season with a 4-2 mark in NEC play, snapping the Blue Devils' (3-7, 3-3) two-game winning streak.

Duquesne, which trailed by a pair of touchdowns in the first half, took its first lead since the beginning of the second quarter at 24-20 when Billy Lucas trucked his way into the end zone from two yards out with just over 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

A person foul penalty on the Dukes was assessed on the kickoff, which was returned by CCSU's Kyren Pettaway 81 yards for a touchdown to put the Blue Devils back on top, 27-24 just 15 seconds later.

Later in the quarter with CCSU driving into Duquesne territory, Maxi Hradecny stripped Blue Devil quarterback Shon Mitchell and the fumble was recovered by Tim Lowery at the Duquesne 39-yard line.

Facing a third-and-20 from the Dukes' 41-yard line, Perrantes hit Davie Henderson for a 29-yard completion. On the next play, Perrantes' 30-yard touchdown strike to Holder on the left side of the end zone put Duquesne ahead 31-27.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Tyshaun James snagged a 49-yard reception off the hands of a Duquesne defender to give the Blue Devils possession at the Dukes' 17-yard line.

After a four-yard gain and a pair of completions, CCSU had one more chance with three seconds showing on the clock, but Jeremiah Josephs stopped Petteway at the seven-yard line as time expired to seal Duquesne's fourth NEC victory of the season.

Perrantes completed 24-of-48 passes for a career-high 329 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

Holder tallied five receptions for a team-high 114 yards and a score, representing his seventh 100-yard receiving performance.

Henderson hauled in six receptions for 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns, marking his second game this season with multiple touchdown catches.

Wykeen Gill recorded six receptions for a career-high 84 yards while Dominic Thieman posted three catches for three yards.

Lucas paced the Duquesne ground game with 18 carries for 60 yards and his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.

Jahan Worth and Temitope Agoro registered a team-high seven tackles apiece, as Worth had six solo stops with a tackle for loss with Agoro adding four solo tackles and a pass breakup on the day.

Todd Hill and A.J. Ackerman each had six tackles in the win for the Dukes.

Tim Lowery tallied four tackles with three pass breakups and a fumble recovery for Duquesne while Maxi Hradecny had three tackles with two tackles for loss, including the key strip sack for the Dukes which led to the game-winning touchdown.

Duquesne outgained CCSU 410-408 in the win including a 329-276 advantage through the air.

The Dukes were 6-of-14 on third down compared to the Blue Devils going 2-of-11 on third-down attempts.

The two teams traded field goals to open scoring on the afternoon, as Andrew Smith's 31-yard field goal went through the uprights on Duquesne's first drive before Joseph Zoppi hit from 33 yards on the first play of the second quarter to even the score at 3-3.

The Dukes drove deep into Blue Devil territory on their next march, but a Perrantes pass was intercepted in the end zone by Kaiyon Gunn.

This led to three big pass plays for CCSU, the last being a 25-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Theo Zidor.

The Blue Devils would extend their advantage to 17-3 with a 48-yard touchdown reception by James with just under six minutes to go in the first half.

Later in the quarter, Duquesne faced a fourth-and-three from its own 27-yard line and set up in punt formation when Michael Berarducci took off up the right sideline for a 19-yard gain.

This led to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Perrantes to Henderson to shrink the deficit to 17-10 heading into the locker room.

The Dukes would force a turnover-on-downs on the Blue Devils' first march of the second half, as Hradecny stopped Mitchell on the keeper for no gain on fourth-and-one near midfield.

Duquesne's fourth-down stand set up Henderson and Perrantes' second touchdown connection of the game to knot the contest at 17-17.

A 21-yard completion from Perrantes to Gill on third down kept the drive alive for the Dukes.

The two teams traded punts before CCSU regained the lead with a 35-yard field goal by Zoppi with 40 seconds to play in the third quarter.

Following a good kick return by Gill, a 15-yard reception by Bill O'Malley and 25 rushing yards by Lucas on the drive set up the reigning NEC Player of the Week's go-ahead touchdown to put the Dukes on top, 24-20.
 

NEXT UP

Duquesne wraps up the 2021 season next Saturday, Nov. 20 on the road at Wagner. Kickoff is set for noon from Staten Island, N.Y.

The Dukes can clinch a share of the NEC Championship with a win over the Seahawks and a Sacred Heart loss at LIU.

GAME NOTES

• Duquesne evened the all-time series with CCSU at 7-7. The Dukes are now 4-3 against the Blue Devils in Pittsburgh and 7-6 vs. CCSU in the NEC era.
• Perrantes has now eclipsed 300 passing yards twice in his career. He bested his previous career high of 316 yards set in a 39-34 victory over Bryant earlier this season.
• Perrantes, a Rhode Island transfer, is now 6-3 as a starter all-time. He has thrown for at least three touchdowns in four of his last five starts. 
• Holder finished with over 100 receiving yards for the seventh time in his career and second time this season. 
• Henderson hauled in a pair of touchdowns for the second time this season. He also recorded two touchdown catches in the Dukes' victory over Bryant. The Winter Haven, Fla. native now has five touchdowns on the year. 
• Gill registered a career-high 84 receiving yards in the win for Duquesne. He topped his previous high of 70 yards set against Texas Tech in 2019 while at Kansas State. 
• Over the last two games, Jahan Worth has tallied 15 tackles with 3.5 TFL.