G2 | DUQUESNE at WAGNER
Sun., March 14, 2021 • 12:00 pm ET • Staten Island, N.Y. • Hameline Field 

TELEVISION: NEC Front Row with Keith Raad
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Alex Panormios & Tad Maurey

OPENING KICKOFF
- The Dukes continue the 2021 spring season on Sunday with their first road game of the season at Wagner. 
- Duquesne won its spring season opener last Sunday with a 30-27 victory over visiting Sacred Heart at Rooney Field. 
- Wagner opens its season on Sunday against the Dukes after the Seahawks' season opener against Merrimack originally scheduled for last Sunday was postponed. 
- Despite 10 new starters on offense, the Dukes racked up 434 total yards including 231 yards through the air and 203 on the ground. 
- In his first start under center on The Bluff, Joe Mischler finished with 294 yards of total offense and three touchdown. 
- Running back Garrett Owens also made his Duquesne debut, registering 172 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on the day. 
- Duquesne is coming off a 2019 season in which the Dukes posted a 6-5 overall record with a 4-3mark in NEC play. 
- The Dukes 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
- The Dukes are 24-8 in NEC action since the beginning of the 2015 campaign, including a 13-3 mark at Rooney Field.
- DU has recorded 66 wins since 2011, at least 10 more victories than any other NEC team. In addition, the Dukes' 40 conference wins in that time span are the most in the league. The closest teams to either of those figures are Sacred Heart with 56 overall wins and Bryant with 32 conference victories. 
- Head coach Jerry Schmitt is in his 16th 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 enters Sunday's matchup with the Seahawks with 99 wins at Duquesne. He can become one of nine active FCS coaches with 100 FCS wins at their current schools:

ACTIVE FCS COACHES WINS AT CURRENT SCHOOL

Coach	School	Seasons	Record
Tim Murphy	Harvard	26	178-81
John Stiegelmeier	South Dakota St.	24	168-106
Kevin Callahan	Monmouth	27	163-124
Mark Farley	Northern Iowa	20	161-84
Sean McDonnell	New Hampshire	21	154-96
Jim Parady	Marist	28	142-152
Buddy Pough	South Carolina St.	19	133-74
Buddy Teevens	Dartmouth	20	105-93-2
Jerry Schmitt	Duquesne	16	99-67

- Schmitt currently sits 16th among active FCS head coaches with 127 career wins. 
- Duquesne has won 13 home openers in a row following Sunday's victory over Sacred Heart. 
- The Dukes were playing their first game in 470 days against Sacred Heart. Wagner will be playing its first game in 477 days when the Seahawks kick off the 2021 spring season against Duquesne. 

THE SERIES
- Sunday's matchup on Grymes Hill will be the 16th meeting between the Dukes and Wagner, with Duquesne holding a 10-5 edge in the all-time series. 
- The Dukes have won five straight over the Seahawks, including two in a row at Hameline Field.  
-  Duquesne owns a slim 4-3 advantage in games in Staten Island. 

LAST TIME OUT
Duquesne 30, Sacred Heart 27 - 3.7.21
- The Dukes opened the 2021 spring season with a 30-27 victory over Sacred Heart at Rooney Field, earning their sixth consecutive win over the Pioneers. 
- Both quarterback Joe Mischler and running back Garrett Owens impressed in their debuts on The Bluff, as Mischler finished with 294 yards of total offense and three touchdowns while Owens registered 172 yards from scrimmage and a score on the day. 
- Mischler completed 18-of-26 passes for 231 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. He added 63 yards on the ground and a rushing score. 
- Owens rushed 26 times for 105 yards while recording four receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. 
- Davie Henderson caught four passes for 67 yards and Cyrus Holder finished with three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown catch.
- Leandro DeBrito led the Duquesne defense with nine tackles (seven solo) while Todd Hill recorded eight tackles (four solo) with a sack. Spenecer DeMedal tallied six tackles (four solo) and an interception. 
- Duquesne's 434 yards of total offense were its most in a Northeast Conference game since a 47-30 win at Wagner on Nov. 2, 2018. 
- Mischler's 34-yd touchdown rush was the longest run by a Duquesne quarterback since Sean Patterson recorded a 44-yard touchdown run vs. Sacred Heart on Oct. 12, 2012.
- Mischler's 63 rushing yards were the most by a 
quarterback since Tommy Stuart had 72 yards on 12 attempts against Central Connecticut on Nov. 11, 2017. 
- Tallying 105 yards on the ground on 26 carries, Owens now has 12 career 100-yard rushing performances.

LAST MEETING
Duquesne 28, Wagner 24 - 10.26.19
- Duquesne erased a 14-0 deficit and held off a late Wagner surge in a 28-24 victory over the visiting Seahawks in a rainy homecoming game at Rooney Field.
- A.J. Hines rushed for over 100 yards for the third consecutive game with 113 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown to pace the DU offense. 
- After a scoreless first quarter, the Seahawks pulled out to a 14-0 lead with a pair of rushing scores by quarterback Christian Alexander-Stevens.
- Duquesne would score 28 straight points on touchdowns by Davie Henderson, A.J. Hines as well as a rushing score and a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown from Mark Allen. 
- Wagner answered with a touchdown and a field goal to cut the deficit to 28-24. 
- After the two teams traded punts, a Duquesne fumble and personal foul penalty gave the Seahawks possession at the Dukes' 33-yard line with a chance to take the lead with 1:55 showing on the fourth quarter clock.
- However, the Duquesne defense came up with a crucial turnover, as Mason Williams' interception sealed the victory for the Dukes.

SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
- Wagner is set to open the spring season against the Dukes after the Seahawks' game against Merrimack last week was postponed due to positive COVID-19 results among their Tier 1 personnel. 
- The Seahawks are led by first-year head coach Tom Masella, who most recently served as defensive coordinator at Bryant. Masella is a 1981 Wagner graduate and previously served as a head coach at Boston, CCSU and Fordham. 
- Quarterback Ryan Yost is slated to start under center for the Seahawks after completing 19-of-34 pass attempts for 194 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions in Wagner's backup role to Christian Alexander-Stevens in 2019. 
- The Seahawks return their top receiver in Josh DeCambre, who tallied 46 receptions for 675 yards and six touchdowns last season. 
- Wagner graduated two-time NEC Defensive Player of the year Cam Gill. The defensive lineman won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, recording a sack in the win over the Chiefs. 

BRUZDEWICZ NAMED NEC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Duquesne kicker Brian Bruzdewicz has earned Northeast Conference (NEC) Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his performance in the Dukes' 30-27 victory over Sacred Heart, conference officials announced on Monday afternoon. 
- Bruzdewicz finished with 12 points in the win, connecting on 3-of-3 field goal attempts and was 3-for-3 on PATs. 
- Bruzdewicz is the first Duquesne kicker to earn NEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors since Austin Crimmins on Sept. 12, 2016. His 12 points were the most by a Dukes kicker since Mitch MacZura registered 12 points (2-2 FG, 6-6 PAT) in a 48-24 win over Robert 
Morris on Oct. 13, 2018. 
- Bruzdewicz is in his first season with the Duquesne football team after competing for the Dukes' soccer team as a freshman in 2019. He appeared in 12 games with three starts on the pitch for Duquesne. 

NEXT UP
Duquesne returns home to host LIU on Sunday, March 21 at noon ET at Arthur J. Rooney Field.