G10 | DUQUESNE at WAGNER*
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 20
TIME: 12:00 pm ET
LOCATION: Staten Island, N.Y. • Hameline Field
TELEVISION: NEC Front Row with Marc Ernay
RADIO: BIG 104.7 FM HD2 / ESPN 970 AM / iHeart Radio with Josh Taylor (pxp) and Tad Maurey (analyst)

OPENING KICKOFF

• Duquesne closes out the 2021 campaign with a road matchup at Wagner. This will be the Dukes' second trip to Staten Island in the calendar year, as Duquesne defeated the Seahawks 17-0 on March 14, 2021 in the second game of the 2020-21 spring season.
• The Dukes have won two-straight games following a 31-27 victory over Central Connecticut last Saturday at Rooney Field and a 34-28 triumph on the road at LIU on Nov. 6. Wagner seeks its first victory of the season after a 27-0 loss at Sacred Heart last week.
• Duquesne holds an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series with Wagner and the Dukes have won six consecutive games over the Seahawks. Duquesne is 5-3 against Wagner on Staten Island and 10-3 versus the Seahawks in the NEC era. The all-time series between the two teams dates back to the 1992 season.
• The Dukes pace the NEC in scoring averaging 27.9 points per game. Duquesne has scored at least 28 points in all six of its wins this season. The Dukes are 6-0 on the season when scoring at least 14 points. - Duquesne quarterback Darius Perrantes leads the conference in pass efficiency (130.6) on the season while also leading the league in points responsible for per game (12.0).
• The Dukes, led by 17th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, have enjoyed a great deal of success in NEC play, claiming five conference titles since 2011. Duquesne won a share of the league crown in 2011, '13, '16 and '18 while capturing the outright title in 2015. Duquesne earned the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in both 2015 and '18.

DUQUESNE NOTABLES
- Over the past 10 seasons, the Dukes have won 47 conference games and 75 overall games, both figures representing league highs.
DU is first in the FCS in red zone offense, scoring on 32 of 33 (17 TD, 15 FG) inside opponents' 20-yard line. The Dukes were kept off the scoreboard in the red zone for the first time all season last week against Central Connecticut. 

- Duquesne also paces the conference in third down conversion percentage at 42.1 percent, good for 27th in the country as well.  

- Duquesne is first in the league and seventh in the nation with just nine turnovers on the year, as the Dukes have thrown seven interceptions to go with just two fumbles surrendered, the ladder figure ranking second in the FCS. 

- Duquesne has limited four opponents to one-or-fewer passing touchdown while the Dukes have not allowed more than two passing touchdowns in a game all season. The Dukes have held opponents to one sack-or-fewer in seven of nine games this season, leading the conference in sacks allowed. 

- DU running backs Garrett Owens and Billy Lucas have combined for 1,105 yards on the ground with eight rushing touchdowns on the year. Lucas, the reigning NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year, leads Duquesne with 121 carries for 594 yards and five touchdowns while Owens has tallied 117 rushes for 511 yards and five total scores. 

- Quarterback Darius Perrantes has completed 123-of-209 pass attempts for 1,379 yards with 14 touchdowns compared to six interceptions for the Dukes. Perrantes, a Rhode Island transfer, entered the TCU game when First Team All-NEC quarterback Joe Mischler left the contest in the first quarter with an injury. Perrantes earned a pair of NEC Player of the Week honors in his first four starts for Duquesne, including after helping the Dukes to a victory over FBS Ohio. 

- Evan Nelson made his first start for Duquesne against Saint Francis as Perrantes was sidelined with an injury. Nelson had a 26-yard touchdown pass to Cyrus Holder in the first quarter of action for the Dukes. 

- Twelve different receivers have caught a pass for Duquesne in the first nine games of the year. Holder has registered 31 receptions for a team-high 504 yards and six touchdowns while Owens has hauled in 26 receptions for 239 yards and two receiving scores. 

- Holder eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the seventh time in his career and fourth occasion in his DU career with a five-catch, 114-yard performance in the Dukes' win over CCSU. The Long Island native registered a Duquesne NEC-record 211 receiving yards with a pair of touchdowns against LIU last season before snagging two touchdown catches in the Dukes win on Long Island on Nov. 6.  

- Wykeen Gill hauled in a career-high seven receptions in the victory over the Bulldogs and finished with 179 all-purpose yards. He tallied a career-best 84 receiving yards on six catches last week against the Blue Devils. 

- On the offensive line, AFCA Second Team All-American Jake Dixon highlights a group of four all-conference returners including Michael Dorundo, Vincent Lumia and Roman Macek in addition to All-NEC tight end Bill O'Malley. Duquesne added Lehigh transfer Matt Fest to the offensive front this past offseason, as well. 

- The DU o-line has paved the way for eight 100-yard individual rushing performances to go with four 300-yard passing games since the start of last season. They limited opponents to one-or-fewer sacks in 10 of 14 games in that span. 

- Defensive back Leandro DeBrito has been Duquesne's leading tackler with 51 stops (37 solo) on the year to go with two interceptions. 

- Fellow defensive back Jeremiah Josephs has also posted two picks on the season for Duquesne with 32 tackles and a pair of pass breakups.

- Defensive lineman Kevin Kurzinger has recorded a team-high four sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss while All-NEC defensive lineman Maxi Hradecny is tied for the team lead with four sacks and has registered a team-high 7.5 tackles for loss for the Dukes. 

- The Dukes returned a pair of All-NEC linebackers in Jahan Worth and Todd Hill. Worth is second on the team with 45 tackles with 5.5 TFL while Hill has posted 34 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss. 

- Brian Bruzdewicz is a perfect 9-of-9 on field goals on the season while connecting on 10-of-12 PATs while Andrew Smith is 6-of-8 on field goals and 12-of-12 on PATs. Michael Berarducci is averaging 39.9 yards per punt.

THE COACH 
Duquesne: Jerry Schmitt (17th season / 108-71)  
- Head coach Jerry Schmitt is in his 17th season at the helm of the Duquesne program. He became the Dukes' all-time winningest coach in 2019 with a 30-21 victory over Saint Francis U for his 98th win as Duquesne's head
coach. Schmitt passed Greg Gattuso (1993-2004) for the most wins in program history.

- Schmitt posted his 100th win at Duquesne with the Dukes' victory at Wagner last season. He became one of nine active coaches with 100 FCS wins at their current schools.

- Schmitt currently sits 15th among active FCS head coaches with 134 career wins, recently passing Gattuso who has posted 131 career victories between Duquesne and Albany. 

LAST TIME OUT 
Duquesne 31, Central Connecticut 27 - 11/13/21
- 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 NEC win over CCSU last Saturday afternoon at Arthur J. Rooney Field.   

- 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.

- Lucas paced the Duquesne ground game with 18 carries for 60 yards and his five 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 over the Dukes.

- 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 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' two-game winning streak.

LAST MEETING
Duquesne 17, Wagner 0 - 03/14/21
- Duquesne held Wagner to just 44 second-half yards and Garrett Owens rushed for a pair of touchdowns as the Dukes blanked the Seahawks 17-0. 

- Head coach Jerry Schmitt collected his 100th win at Duquesne with the victory as the Dukes improved to 2-0 on the season. 

- On the Dukes' opening drive of the game, Owens bounced off a tackle to the right side for a seven-yard touchdown rush, putting Duquesne on the board.

- The Seahawks moved inside Duquesne territory on their first drive, but the Dukes forced a turnover on downs to end the Wagner threat.

- Despite committing two turnovers in the opening half, the Dukes limited the Seahawks to just 30 yards of offense the rest of the half, holding that 7-0 lead at the break.

- Owens would again find the end zone on Duquesne's first drive of the third stanza, this time from three yards out to extend the Dukes' advantage to 14-0.

- On the ensuing kickoff, Donovan Stanley recovered a muffed kick return attempt for the Dukes, giving Duquesne possession at the Wagner 38-yard line.

- This set up a 33-yard field goal by Brian Bruzdewicz to put the Dukes on top, 17-0.  

- Duquesne would not allow the Seahawks past midfield for the remainder of the contest, sealing the shutout victory.

- All told, the Dukes limited Wagner to just 136 total yards including 73 passing yards and 63 rushing yards.

- Leandro DeBrito and Anthony Dellovade each tallied seven tackles to pace the Duquesne defense. Jahan Worth, Todd Hill and Nathan Proctor Jr. each registered six tackles with Worth and Hill notching a tackle for loss apiece, as well.

- Spencer DeMedal chipped in five tackles (four solo) on the day with a team-high two tackles for loss. AJ Garson and Lucas D'Orazio also recorded tackles for loss in the win for the Dukes.

- Mischler was 19-of-27 for 174 yards with an interception.

- Owens rushed 20 times for 89 yards and the two rushing touchdowns. Ky'ren Cunningham toted the ball six times for 59 yards, including a game-long 48-yard rush deep into Wagner territory.

THE SERIES 
- Saturday's game marks the 17th matchup between Duquesne and Wagner in the series which dates back to the 1992 season. The Dukes own an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series, including a 5-3 mark on Staten Island. 

- This will be the teams' second meeting at Hameline Field in the 2021 calendar year as the Dukes defeated the Seahawks 17-0 on March 14. 

- Duquesne has won six in a row over Wagner. The Seahawks' last victory against the Dukes came in a 23-13 triumph on Nov. 15, 2014 at Hameline Field. 

- Head coach Jerry Schmitt is 10-3 all-time against Wagner including a 5-2 mark on Staten Island. 

- The Dukes have posted a pair of shutout wins over the Seahawks over the teams' last four meetings, inclduing a 38-0 victory on Oct. 7, 2017 at Rooney Field and the 17-0 win earlier this year. 

- Duquesne's current six-game winning streak against the Seahawks is the Dukes' longest against an NEC opponent at the moment. 

SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
- Wagner is seeking its first win since a 24-14 victory over LIU on Sept. 28, 2019. 

- In their first five games of the season, the Seahawks dropped a pair of one-score decisions to CCSU and Delaware State in addition to playing against two FBS opponents. 

- Wagner features reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year Titus Leo, who paces the conference and ranks fifth in the FCS with 18.5 tackles for loss on the while while sitting third in the league with seven sacks. 

- Freshman running back Rickey Spruill paces the Seahawks with 87 carries for 426 yards and a trio of touchdowns on the season.