BROOKEVILLE, N.Y. - Brian Bruzdewicz drained a 34-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift the Duquesne University football team to a 31-28 win over LIU in a mutual conference opener at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium Saturday afternoon.

It was the third straight one possession game against the Sharks (0-4) for the Dukes, who improve to 2-2 overall. 

After a high-scoring first half ended 21-21, Duquesne took its first lead of the game on an Edward Robinson run which capped off an 80-yard drive with 1:32 left in the third quarter.  

The Dukes maintained the lead until LIU's Davon Wells bounced off tacklers and broke free for a 90-yard touchdown to tie the game at 28 at the 3:33 mark in the fourth quarter.

The Sharks ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, starting the Dukes drive at the 35-yard line. Duquesne worked its way into LIU territory, then a pass interference penalty moved up DU up to the LIU 28-yard line, then four straight runs set up the Bruzdewicz game-winning field goal from 34 yards out. LIU tried to ice the graduate student kicker, but to no avail as Bruzdewicz split the uprights with plenty of leg. Duquesne shut down LIU's last chance laterals on the following kickoff to secure the win.

DU trailed by as many as 14 early in the second quarter (21-7) but was able to find the endzone on each of its final two first-half drives to tie it up at the break. With less than 30 seconds left before halftime, Darius Perrantes scrambled outside the pocket on a 3rd-and-24 and found Keshawn Brown in the endzone for a 28-yard touchdown to knot the game (21-21), after the PAT. 

Tedy Afful caught the Dukes first two touchdown passes, a 13-yard screen pass which he diced through the middle of the Sharks defense and an incredible toe-tap grab inside the back corner from 17 yards out. 

Jaelen Carson kept the Sharks off the board early with a sack, fumble on QB Chris Howell inside the red zone. Ayden Garnes jumped on the ball for the recovery. 

LIU broke the ice at the 5:31 mark in the first quarter on a 56-yard drive, aided by a DU penalty and finished with a 22-yard touchdown pass. The Dukes were able to respond with a 75-yard march that capped off with Afful in the endzone off a 13-yard screen pass from Perrantes. 

The Sharks came right back out and charted a 75-yard scoring drive of their own to snatch back the lead. 

LIU got a three-and-out then extended its lead to the largest of the afternoon two plays later off a 71-yard run.  

Joey Isabella had a 13-yard catch and 20-yard run to help get the Dukes into the redzone and Afful was able to battle for a tough catch and get a foot down in bounds for his second touchdown of the day at the 7:24 mark. Then, a four-plus minute drive closed out the half with the incredible Perrantes scramble and against-the-grain touchdown throw to Brown for the tie. 

The DU defense opened the second half with a three-and-out, then Garnes and Jayden Johnson wrapped up the Sharks quarterback for an eight-yard loss on 3rd-and-2 on the Dukes side of the field. 

Robinson, a freshman, took the ball on four of the eight plays in the 80-yard touchdown drive, following the defensive stand, late in the third quarter and found the endzone from 13-yards out for his first career touchdown.  

The Sharks put together their longest drive of the day, 14 plays elapsing 7:39 of game time early in the fourth quarter and were as close as the five yard line, but Dayvia Gbor put a screeching halt to the drive coming up with a huge interception off a tipped pass to give the Dukes the ball back. 

GAME NOTES 

• Duquesne held the edge in total offense (436-398) in 21 more plays (70-49) and had a 254-105 advantage in yards through the air.  

• The Dukes defense stopped LIU on 8-of-10 third downs, created two turnovers (one fumble and one INT).  

• DU forced three fumbles in the game with constant pressure on the Sharks QB but was only able to jump on one.  

• Duquesne recorded four sacks, solos from Ryan Lopez, Noah Palmer, and Jaelen Carson, then an assisted sack by Barnes and Johnson.  

• Gianni Rizzo had two tackles for loss, leading the team which racked up eight TFLs. 

• Jayden Johnson (7 tackles) led all five Dukes with five or more stops on the defense, along with Jaelen Carson (6), CJ Barnes (6), Antonio Epps (6), and Ryan Lopez (5). 

• Darius Perrantes finished the game 17-for-29 for 254 yards, three touchdowns and had two interceptions. 

• The Dukes continued their triple-threat option at running back … Edward Robinson paced the trio with 70 yards and a touchdown, all in the second half … Taj Butts carried the ball a game-high 15 times for 67 yards. 

• Keshawn Brown, DJ Powell, and Tedy Afful all had four catches … Brown led the team with 88 yards, Powell charted 82, and Afful had 55 with two scores … Afful's two TDs were a career-high and four catches tied for a career-most. 

• The Dukes are now 13-3 in NEC openers since joining the league in 2008 and 5-2 in road openers. 

• DU improves to 4-1 versus LIU all-time and 2-0 in Brookeville. 

POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Head Coach Jerry Schmitt


Brian Bruzdewicz

 

UP NEXT 
Duquesne heads to nationally ranked Delaware next week to wrap up non-conference play. Kick off from Newark is scheduled for 3 pm. 

FOLLOW THE DUKES
Follow Duquesne football online all season at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqFB).