Sometimes it’s not how you start, but how you finish.
That was the case Saturday afternoon for the Duquesne Dukes, who for three quarters couldn’t get anything going offensively against the Dayton Flyers. But the Dukes’ offense came alive- scoring on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter to come away with a 17-7 win.
It was the 2012 home opener for Jerry Schmitt’s Dukes, but even though it took a while, Schmitt was happy with the way Duquesne (1-1) responded after a tough Week 1 that saw the Dukes give up 723 total yards in a 57-23 loss to Old Dominion.
“We played a pair of very tough football teams to open the season,” said Schmitt. “After last week it was nice to come home and play well in the fourth quarter and get our first win.”
That win almost didn’t happen for the Dukes as for three quarters the Duquesne offense showed no ability to move the ball effectively or sustain drives, despite a fantastic effort from the defense.
But having a pair of seniors in quarterback Sean Patterson and running back Larry McCoy paid off for the Dukes in the end.
With Duquesne trailing 7-3 in the fourth quarter, Patterson got going with both his arm and his legs and finally got the Dukes into the end zone with an 18-yard scoring strike to Gianni Carter. On the drive, Patterson went 5 for 5, including a 23-yard completion to Noel Oduho to get the Dukes moving.
Patterson also added an 11-yard run to convert a third-down and on the touchdown pass stayed in the pocket and took a big hit like a veteran quarterback should.
“I just hung in there until the last second and threw it to where Gianni was supposed to be,” said Patterson. “Our defense kept us in the game and as a leader I knew I had to make some plays for us.”
The Dukes got the ball back quickly and then the ground game took over.
Duquesne marched 80-yards on nine plays as McCoy extended the Dukes lead to 17-7 with a seven-yard touchdown run.
On the drive McCoy carried the ball seven times for 46 yards and Patterson ran once for 22 yards. The drive not only gave Duquesne a two possession lead, but effectively ran close to five minutes off the clock.
In the process, McCoy went over the 100-yard mark on the ground for the 20th time in a Dukes’ uniform, finishing with 125 yards on 27 carries. That moves McCoy to within one game of the school record for 100-yard performances (Donte Small).
“It was all about us wanting it as an offense,” said McCoy, who has gone over the 100-yard mark in all four meetings against the Flyers. “We just kept plugging along and we knew we could get things going. Once we got the lead it’s nice to get your number called to help win the game.”
The Dukes finished with 345 yards of total offense, but gained 174 of those in the fourth quarter as the Flyers limited Duquesne to only 171 yards of offense through three quarters.
“With a young team like we are, it’s great to have a couple of experienced veterans to lean on like Sean and Larry,” said Schmitt. “Our defense kept us in the game and as a coach you hope your leaders can make plays in the fourth quarter and that’s what they did.”
However, none of that would have been possible if it weren’t for the effort of the Duquesne defense, which a week after allowing seven touchdowns, limited Dayton (0-2) to only one and shutout the Flyers over the game’s final three quarters.
This was a game that the Dukes probably shouldn’t have won, but the Dukes defense wouldn’t allow Dayton into the end zone, despite allowing the Flyers numerous opportunities.
They struggled with Dayton quarterback Will Bardo early on, as the Flyers’ signal caller had success both through the air and on the ground, finishing with 296 combined yards (232 passing).
Bardo scored on a two-yard run to put Dayton ahead 7-3 late in the first quarter, but the Dukes did a good job of bending and not breaking the entire game.
It helped some that Dayton shot themselves in the foot with penalties all game long and had trouble kicking the ball. Dayton kicker Pat Sankovich missed a pair of field goals and the Flyers took themselves out of field goal range twice with penalties.
The biggest drive of the game for the Duquesne defense came after Patterson was intercepted by Howard Savage late in the third quarter.
The Flyers started with the ball at the Duquesne 23 and had a touchdown pass from Bardo to Branden Johnson wiped out by a personal foul penalty. The Dukes defense ended up forcing a punt and the offense got going the next possession.
“That was a momentum builder,” added Schmitt. “The guys on the defensive side of the ball played an outstanding game. They bent but didn’t break and stepped up to make plays when they had to. They kept us in the game long enough that our offense could get going and get us a lead.”
Duquesne will try and build off the momentum next week when they head to Valparaiso, before beginning Northeast Conference play the following week.
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
DUQ- Charlie Leventry 26-yard field goal 6:08, 3-0
DAY- Will Bardo two-yard run (Pat Sankovich kick) 2:10, 3-7
Fourth Quarter
DUQ- Gianni Carter 18-yard pass from Sean Patterson (Leventry kick) 10:01, 10-7
DUQ- Larry McCoy seven-yard run (Leventry kick) 3:03, 17-7
Photo Credit : Duquesne
