PITTSBURGH – The No. 22/21 Duquesne University football team clinched at least a share of the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title with a commanding, 42-21 victory over Wagner on Saturday at Rooney Field. 

The Dukes (8-2, 5-0 NEC) extended their win streak to eight games — the longest as NEC members — and tied last year's team for the best NEC start since joining the conference in 2008. Duquesne finishes 2024 with an unbeaten, 5-0 record at Rooney Field — the first undefeated home slate since 2015.

The victory also secured the Dukes' NEC-record seventh regular season title and their second back-to-back championship run (previously in 2015 and 2016).

Senior quarterback Darius Perrantes delivered a career-best performance in his final game at Rooney Field, tying the program's single-game record and setting a Rooney Field record with six touchdown passes to four different receivers. He completed 27 of 46 passes for 393 yards.

Tedy Afful became the first Duke in four seasons to eclipse 200 receiving yards, recording a career-best 10 catches for 208 yards, including the final touchdown of the game.

Joey Isabella and John Erby each hauled in two touchdown passes, with Isabella extending his touchdown streak to seven consecutive games. Steven Mahar added a touchdown reception to help fuel a 21-point second quarter.

After an early 7-0 deficit, the Dukes blanked Wagner 21-0 in the second frame, taking a two-score lead into halftime. Back-to-back touchdown grabs by Isabella and Erby to start the second half put the game firmly in Duquesne's control.

On defense, Jack Dunkley forced a fumble recovered by Jaelen Carson, while Khatavian Franks intercepted the Seahawks in the DU-dominated second quarter to extend the Dukes' takeaway streak to nine straight games.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Seahawks struck first with an 80-yard trick play, as running back Rickey Spruill caught a backwards pass and launched it to an open Teree McDonald, giving Wagner an early 7-0 lead with 4:24 remaining in the first quarter.

Duquesne responded with a 10-play, 61-yard scoring drive. The series included a fourth-down conversion by Joey Isabella and ended with John Erby hauling in a 24-yard touchdown pass to ignite the Dukes' assertive second quarter.

Darius Perrantes then connected with Tedy Afful for a 61-yard reception before finding Isabella for a 14-yard touchdown just two plays later, giving the Dukes their first lead of the game (14-7) with 5:09 left in the first half.

The Dukes' defense stepped up shortly after a Wagner interception, as Jack Dunkley punched the ball loose and Jaelen Carson recovered the fumble at the Seahawks' 23-yard line. Perrantes capitalized, throwing his third touchdown of the half — a 23-yard strike to Steven Mahar — with 30 seconds remaining to send Duquesne into halftime up 21-7.

Duquesne continued to roll in the second half with back-to-back scoring drives out of the break. An eight-play, 70-yard drive ended with a contested 28-yard touchdown catch by Isabella on fourth-and-eight. This was followed by a five-play, 60-yard drive capped by a stunning one-handed 12-yard touchdown grab by Erby, extending the Dukes' lead to 35-14 — their largest of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Duquesne sealed the victory with a nearly nine-minute drive. The possession included two third-down conversions by Afful and a fourth-down run by Perrantes before Afful capped it off with a 13-yard touchdown catch.

NOTES

• Duquesne sets a conference record with seven Northeast Conference (NEC) championships, all since 2011.
• The eight-game win streak is the longest since 2002 and longest as an NEC member.
• Undefeated home season (5-0) is ninth in 32 seasons at Rooney Field and first since 2015.
• The Dukes now have won 10 in a row against Wagner and extend all-time lead to 15-5 in the series.
• Duquesne racked up 492 yards of total offense and scored at least 30 points for the seventh straight game … Improved to 12-0 when reaching the 30-point mark over the past two seasons.
• Darius Perrantes has now thrown multiple touchdowns in seven straight games with a career-high six … Six TD passes ties a single-game program record and becomes third Duke to ever throw six in a game (Dillon Buechel twice – 2015 at William & Mary and 2016 at Jacksonville // Connor Dixon – 2008 at Bucknell) … Six TD passes is also a Rooney Field record and tied for the most by an FCS quarterback this season … Second game this season above 300 yards, finishing with 393, and season-high 27 completions ... Moved into fourth in career completions (456) and fifth in career passing yards (6,525) in Duquesne history surpassing Tony Zimmerman (1998-00) in completions and Dave Loya (1994-97) in yards.
• Tedy Afful becomes the ninth Duquesne receiver in program history to have a 200-yard receiving game … 208 yards is most in the NEC this season ... Accounted for six of DU's seven third down conversions … Career-high 10 receptions is most by a Duke since Kareem Coles, Jr. with 10 in 2019 at Robert Morris.
• Joey Isabella extended his touchdown streak to seven straight games with two … Fourth career multi-score game and second this season … Totaled five catches for 67 yards … John Erby back-to-back games with multiple touchdowns and third such outing in last four games.
• Taj Butts took the ball 21 times for a season-high 76 yards on the ground.
• Antonio Epps led a balanced tackling attack with six, all of which solos, and one tackle for loss … Ty Howard added Duquesne's lone sack of the day and had two TFLs with five solo tackles.
• Defense had a takeaway for the ninth straight game (Jack Dunkley forced / Jaelen Carson recovered fumble & Khatavian Franks interception) … Was second straight year Franks had an interception versus Wagner ... Dunkley now has three forced fumbles on the season.
• Dukes entered the game No. 1 in the FCS in fourth down conversions and was 5-for-6 today … Also went 7-for-18 on third downs, while holding Wagner to 5-for-14 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth.
• The Duquesne offensive line did not allow a sack for the fifth game this season.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES
Head Coach Jerry Schmitt


Tedy Afful, Darius Perrantes, Joey Isabella


UP NEXT
Duquesne will travel to Central Connecticut State (6-5, 4-1 NEC) for a winner-take-all matchup for the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. Kick off from Arute Field in New Britain, Conn. is scheduled for noon. Fans can watch live on NEC Front Row or listen on Fox Sports PGH.

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