PITTSBURGH – Darius Perrantes tied a Rooney Field record with five touchdown passes and rushed in another to lead the Duquesne University football team to a 47-21, conference-opening win on Homecoming and Family Weekend at Rooney Field.
 
The Dukes (3-2, 1-0 NEC) scored on each of their first three drives to take control early and never looked back in front of a near capacity crowd. Duquesne led 26-0 with 7:38 to play in the first half, owned a 33-7 advantage at halftime and extended its lead to as many as 33 twice (40-7 at the 12:55 mark in the third and 47-14 with 11:40 remaining).
 
Perrantes, who returned after missing last game due to an injury, accounted for six of the seven DU touchdowns with the only other being a fumble (of his own on the half-yard line) recovered by Daniel Tarabrella in the endzone. With an 18-yard TD pass on the opening drive of the game, Perrantes - a senior out of Los Angeles, Calif. - moved into fifth place all-time in career passing touchdowns at Duquesne. His six touchdowns responsible for tied a single-game program record.
 
Graduate student Joey Isabella and senior Tedy Afful each caught two touchdowns, while grad transfer John Erby snagged his first in the Red and Blue on an acrobatic grab in the fourth quarter to cap off the DU scoring.
 
Nell Davis ripped away his first career interception, which was followed by a 44-yard touchdown catch by Afful to give DU its first largest lead just over two minutes back from halftime.
 
JaMario Clements racked up 147 yards on the ground for his second game above the century mark this season, 134 of which came in the first half, to pace a rushing attack that outgained LIU 248-140.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duquesne marched right down the field on each of its three first-quarter possessions, while posting a pair of three-and-outs defensively. Perrantes was 7-for-9 with two passing touchdowns middled by a nine-yard rushing score in the opening stanza. Afful capped off an eight-play, 74-yard drive with an 18-yard grab for the first points, while Isabella had three catches for 55 yards including a 45-yard touchdown on DU's third-straight scoring drive to go up 19-0 in the final seconds of the first frame.
 
Antonio Epps and Davis combined for a defensive stand on fourth-and-one near midfield to start the second quarter, but a pair of punts by both sides followed – the only one of the day for Duquesne.
 
Bolstered by a 29-yard rush to begin a drive that started in LIU territory, the Dukes got back in the endzone and pushed their lead to 26-0 with 7:38 to play in the second quarter. Tarabrella pounced on a loose ball for the touchdown after it came loose on a third-and-one quarterback keeper at the goal line.
 
The Sharks got on the board with a deep ball two plays later, but the DU offense went right back to work and cruised 76 yards on 11 plays finished by another Isabella touchdown, this time from 19 yards out with 1:06 left before the break.
 
LIU made a late first-half push for points, but was stopped short at the four-yard line and time expired.
 
Out of the locker room, Davis flipped the field with a hard-fought interception ripped from the LIU receiver's hands. Three plays later, Afful had a 44-yard catch-and-run for his second touchdown of the game to go up 40-7 early in the third.
 
Erby's first DU touchdown completed the Dukes' scoring and longest drive of the day, as the Dukes ate up nearly nine minutes of game time over 13 plays and 75 yards. Shawn Solomon, Jr. had a pair of 20+ yard runs and Perrantes connected with Isabella on a 4th-and-9 during the drive.
 
NOTES

• Duquesne improves to 14-3 in NEC openers all-time and 9-1 when opening at home … Now 5-1 vs. LIU … 26-point victory is largest margin vs. LIU in series history and largest margin in a conference opener since 38-0 win over Wagner in 2017.
• 47 points is the most scored by DU in an NEC opener since joining the league in 2008.
• The Dukes held LIU to 1-of-9 on third downs, while converting 10-of-15 on the offensive end.
• Darius Perrantes passes Dave Loya (1994-97) to sit alone in fifth place all-time in career touchdown passes at Duquesne … Perrantes' five TD passes were a career high and bring his total to 52 in his fourth season as a Duke … He finished the game 15-for-23 with 212 yards passing … Six touchdowns responsible for tie a program record with Dillon Buechel (6 passing vs. Jacksonville in 2016), Joe Mischler (5 passing / 1 rushing vs. LIU in 2022) and Sean Patterson (5 passing / 1 rushing vs. Saint Francis in 2010) … Five touchdown passes ties Dillon Buechel (2015 vs. Alderson Broaddus), Sean Patterson (2010 vs. Saint Francis) and Niel Loebig (twice – 2004 vs. Morehead State and 2002 vs. Iona) for most in a game at Rooney Field.
• Tedy Afful and Joey Isabella both recorded their third two-touchdown game of their careers and second time vs. LIU … Afful caught two touchdowns for the second time in a game this season (at YSU), his other multi-score game in his career was at LIU last season … Isabella also caught two TDs in the last LIU meeting at Rooney Field in 2022 ... It was the first time DU had two receivers catch multiple touchdowns since 2022 vs. LIU.
• Afful's touchdowns came from 18 yards and 44 yards, while Isabella caught a 45-yard and 19-yard touchdown … Perrantes threw eight of his 15 completions for 10+ yards, including five for 18-or-more yards ... The 45-yard connection to Isabella is the longest completion of the season ... Isabella (85 yards) and Afful (84 yards) each had five catches on the day with season-high yards.
• John Erby's touchdown catch was his first as a Duke.
• Daniel Tarabrella's touchdown on a fumble recovery in the endzone in the second quarter was the first score of his career.
• JaMario Clements had a career-high 20 carries in his third career 100-yard rushing game and second of the season (204 at YSU), where he also had 100+ in the first half … Shawn Solomon, Jr. carried the ball 20 times as well, an early career-high, and finished with 67 yards.
• Nell Davis recorded his first career interception and tied a career-high with three tackles … Ty Howard led the defense with five tackles (three solos) and had the lone sack in the game for Duquesne.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES
Head Coach Jerry Schmitt


JaMario Clements & Darius Perrantes
 

UP NEXT
Duquesne travels to Saint Francis next Saturday (Oct. 12) for an NEC showcase game on ESPN+. Kick off from Loretto is slated for 12 pm.

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