If nothing else, the Duquesne Dukes football team showed resiliency on Saturday afternoon. Things looked like they were going to get out of hand early on, as University of Buffalo sprinted out to a 14-0 lead at the halfway mark of the first quarter.
In the second, Buffalo extended the lead to 21-0, and all seemed to be lost for Duquesne.
However, right before the half, quarterback Dillon Buechel connected with Devin Rahming for a four-yard strike, which put the Dukes on the board.
After the half, Duquesne continued to claw back into the game, as Randy Morris converted from three yards out to make it a seven-point game. Midway through the third quarter, Buechel hit Chris King for an 88-yard score, evening things up with Buffalo.
After a Buffalo field goal, Buechel hit King again on a much-shorter score from six yards out, which gave Duquesne its first lead of the game.
While Duquesne outscored Buffalo 28-3, Buffalo didn’t quit. The Bulls went on to score at the 9:50 mark of the fourth quarter to take a 31-28 lead over the Dukes. The Bulls put the nail in the coffin as Joe Licata connected with Ron Willoughby for their second score of the game, making the score a final of 38-28.
Buechel put up solid numbers in a losing effort, as he threw for 322 on yards on 18-37 passing for three touchdowns. On the ground, the Dukes ran for 83 yards on 33 carries, as Klartel Claridy ran for a team-high 39 yards.
King was the bright spot for the Dukes offense, as he caught eight passes for 199 yards and two scores, including the 88-yard touchdown.
Duquesne (0-1) will look to rebound in Week 2 of the season as they’ll travel to Youngstown State University next Saturday.
