LORETTO, Pa. – The Duquesne University football team used a dominating defensive effort to power its way past Saint Francis, 38-7, on Saturday at DeGol Field to improve to 2-0 in Northeast Conference play.
 
The commanding Dukes defense scored twice, did not allow a third-down conversion (0-for-13) and had a pair of fourth-down stops. Duquesne recorded four sacks, seven three-and-outs and held the Red Flash to just 29 rushing yards and 172 yards of total offense.
 
Ty Howard snagged his first career interception, a pick-six for 40 yards, in the first quarter to break the ice, while Malichi Lowery forced and recovered a fumble and took it back 40 yards into the endzone to cap off the scoring in the fourth quarter.
 
The Dukes (4-2) have now won four in a row and are 2-0 in league play for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
 
Duquesne led 17-0 at the half and the 38-7 final was largest win over Saint Francis (2-4, 0-2 NEC) as NEC members.
 
Joey Isabella led the way offensively with six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Darius Perrantes finished 15-for-30 with 185 yards and two touchdowns, also connecting with Steven Mahar Jr. for his first career touchdown. JaMario Clements added a two-yard score and ran the ball a career-high 21 times for 87 yards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Just two plays into the game, Saint Francis made its way down to the DU two-yard line. The Dukes defense stood strong with four straight run stops, capped by a Jack Dunkley and Jason Patterson tag-team tackle in the backfield on fourth and goal at the one-yard line. The Red Flash had their second chance to take an early lead spoiled with a missed 27-yard field goal at the 8:43 mark in the first quarter.
 
Duquesne junior linebacker Ty Howard opened the scoring with a 40-yard pick six off a tipped pass with 5:44 to play in the first quarter, then Brian Bruzdewicz extended the DU lead on a 33-yard field goal early in the second to finish a 14-play, 70-yard drive that featured three third-down conversions.
 
Kevin Kurzinger and Nico Pate combined for a sack for the Dukes' second fourth-down stop of the first half following the Bruzdewicz field goal.
 
After an SFU muffed punt approaching three minutes to play in the first half, Jermaine Johnson hauled in a difficult, 33-yard reception on 3^rd-and-19. JaMario Clements punched it in from two-yards out to put Duquesne up 17-0 at the break.
 
The Red Flash flipped the script and took advantage of a muffed punt to open the second half and got on the board one play later. However, the Dukes offense responded with an 80-yard drive – the longest of the day by either team – and made it 24-7 via a 12-yard touchdown catch by Steven Mahar Jr. Joey Isabella sparked the drive early with a 38-yard completion on 3^rd-and-6.
 
Isabella recorded his fourth touchdown of the season with a 22-yard grab early in the fourth quarter to make it 31-7. The graduate student wide receiver made three catches on the seven-play drive.
 
Duquesne's defense forced a pair of three-and-outs after SFU's first score and four straight punts before Malichi Lowery put the final stamp on the game with a 40-yard fumble return for touchdown with 10 seconds left.
 
NOTES

• Duquesne improves to 2-0 in conference play for the second straight year and fifth time in six seasons.
• The Dukes are now 40-10 all-time versus Saint Francis with a 17-7 mark in Loretto … The 31-point margin was the largest win for DU over SFU as NEC members.
• Ty Howard's interception was the first of his career and the fifth INT by the Dukes in the past four games … All five have been by different players.
• Khatavian Franks had a career-high eight tackles with one sack to pace the DU defense … Gianni Rizzo had five tackles (four solos) with a game-high 2.0 TFLs ... Nico Pate (career high), CJ Barnes and DJ Cerisier (career high) all had four tackles.
• Duquesne recorded four sacks with six different Dukes contributing - Carlos Ramirez (first of career) and Franks with one each, while Clemente Ojinnaka, Kevin Kurzinger, Jason Patterson and A.J. Ackerman all had half a sack.
• Malichi Lowery's forced fumble, recovery and touchdown were all career firsts.
• Quarterback Darius Perrantes threw at least two touchdowns for his third straight game and 17^th time in his career, finishing 15-for-30 for 185 yards and two scores ... 30 pass attempts was a season-high.
• JaMario Clements took the ball a career-high 21 times and totaled 87 yards on the ground with one touchdown.
• Joey Isabella led all players with six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown … Four of the six receptions went for 10+ yards (long of 38) … Isabella also had a 13-yard run in the third quarter … In the past two seasons versus SFU, Isabella has 10 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns (4 rec – 116 yd – 1 td in 2023).
• Steven Mahar Jr. caught his first career touchdown.
• Duquesne was 10-for-20 on third downs, 1-for-1 on fourth down and 3-for-3 scoring in the red zone ... Saint Francis was 0-for-13 on third down, 0-for-2 on fourth down and 1-for-3 scoring in the red zone.
• The DU offensive line did not allow a sack for the second straight game, while the Dukes defense charted four.
• Duquesne outgained SFU, 311-172 overall and 126-29 on the ground.

POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Jerry Schmitt


JaMario Clements (on ESPN+)


Ty Howard and Joey Isabella


UP NEXT
Duquesne will be off for its second bye week of the season next weekend, then return to action on October 26 at Stonehill … The Dukes will be back at Rooney Field for three straight games Nov. 2 (vs. Mercyhurst), 9 (vs. Robert Morris) and 16 (vs. Wagner), click here for TICKETS.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
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