The Duquesne Dukes came into their first conference road game sitting at 0-2 away from Rooney Field. They have been battle tested on the road but needed that experience to result in wins. After losing their last two visits to Loretto, PA, the Dukes knew this was going to be a tough test as well. The Red Flash gave them a test indeed, but the Dukes hung tough, fought back and pulled out a close game 27-20.
The effects of playing in the unfamiliar territory were seen early into the game when Kellon Taylor caught a slant pass and immediately put it on the turf. The first Dukes pass of the game saw the Red Flash in scoring position, as they put in a field goal to go up 3-0.
The Dukes drove back but saw a drive stall in their own territory. After failing to convert on their fourth down response, the Red Flash took advantage of momentum and took a 10-0 lead. Duquesne went into the half 1-9 on third down and put four fumbles on the ground. Fortunately for them, they only lost one of those fumbles, caught an interception of their own and hung tough, trailing just 13-6.
Duquesne clamped down and used the second half to establish some momentum. Without getting anything going on in the air early, the Dukes relied heavily on A.J. Hines on the ground which set up a screen pass to Hines in the air to tie the game at 13.
A costly defensive penalty led to a costly defensive breakdown that allowed St. Francis to take the lead back. However, the Dukes needed less than three minutes to tie the game again when Daniel Parr dropped a dime on Nehari Crawford in the corner of the end zone, making it 20-20.
From there, the Dukes rode A.J. Hines to finish things off. Hines got into the second level, used an unreal spin move and got lose for 37 yards to take a 27-20 lead.
St. Francis drove into Duquesne territory to tie the game, but the Dukes forced multiple incompletions and turned the Red Flash over on downs to seal the game.
Duquesne gets a week off before their next conference road test against Wagner.
Ride Hines
Daniel Parr started the game 2-11 through the air. That helped in digging the Dukes a first-half hole. Considering the circumstances, the team needed to find some life on offense. A.J. Hines came to answer the bell.
The Dukes got Hines loose on a screen pass right before halftime that went for 58 yards. The pass helped in leading a field goal drive right before the half to cut the lead to seven.
At the half, Duquesne made their adjustments. They felt they had the advantage with Hines and rode him hard to get back into the game.
Hines ran the ball 27 times for 169 yards. He also hauled in three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Hines has put up back to back 100-yard games on the ground, today’s game is even more impressive considering the Red Flash have held teams to just 100 yards rushing as a team this season.
Jassir Jordan
With Daquan Worley seeing more time on offense, the Dukes have went to sophomore cornerback Jassir Jordan for a much bigger role on defense.
Jordan played well against Robert Morris and took his performance on the road, for another strong performance. Jordan broke up multiple passes and had a few tackles against the run. Jordan also had a kick off return that set up the Dukes to tie the game at 20.
When asked to step up his role and make a bigger impact on the team, Jassir Jordan came to the call.
Passing game struggles
From the first pass of the game resulting in a turnover throughout the game, the passing attack of Duquesne was in a funk.
Daniel Parr finished the game 12 for 28 for 183 yards and one touchdown. 91 were on screen passes to A.J. Hines.
Parr was under constant pressure from the start of the game and was sacked three times. The pressure led to Parr rushing throws and using off-balance platforms to miss passes.
Nehari Crawford was targeted ten times and only hauled in four passes. There was evident frustration between the two as the game mounted. The two connected on a touchdown but were looking to get on the same page all day. The Dukes have to be hoping that this was just the environment and situation and that these two will stabilize their connection. Unfortunately, today it made life tough for the Dukes.
