Sept. 27, 2008

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PITTSBURGH, PA. - Connor Dixon and Tyler Scruggs, former high school teammates nearby South Park High School, came up with a pair of big plays in the fourth quarter to give Duquesne a come-from-behind 24-16 non-conference win over Dayton at Rooney Field.

The loss was the first this season for Dayton (3-1), which entered the game with an FCS-best 10-game win streak. The win, Duquesne's second in a row, upped the Dukes' record to 2-1.

Dixon, who finished 12-of-32 for 230 yards, threw his second touchdown pass with 8:09 to go and Scruggs blocked a punt on the next series to set up a one-yard Dixon plunge with 1:24 left as the Dukes scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 16-10 Dayton lead.

Duquesne struck first when Dixon found Michael Rasky on a short slant and watched as Rasky broke a tackle and outran the Dayton secondary for a 43-yard touchdown.

Dayton answered with a 30-yard Nick Glavin field goal to make it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Duquesne came up empty on a pair of red zone possessions as kicker Mark Troyan, who had made 12-of-13 field goal attempts last season, missed a 40-yard attempt on the final play of first quarter and was wide right on a 32-yard attempt in the second.

Dayton took its first lead of the game following Troyan's second miss as Rob Florian, who completed 27-of-54 passes for 277 yards, found Justin Watkins alone behind the Duquesne secondary for a 57-yard touchdown to make it 10-7.

Duquesne turned a 38-yard Wade Powell kickoff return and 40-yard completion from Dixon to Sean Bunevich into a 31-yard Troyan field goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 4:57 left in the half.

Dayton drove to the Duquesne four-yard line with 13 seconds to go in the half before Bill Poletti stepped in front of a Florian pass and returned it 52 yards to take away a Flyers scoring opportunity and keep the score tied at 10-10 at the half.

The Flyers regained the lead on a 40-yard Glavin field goal mid way through the third quarter. Glavin upped the Dayton lead to 16-10 on a 27-yard kick with 10:38 left in the fourth.

Dixon, who did not complete a pass in the third quarter (0-of-6), led the Dukes on a 72-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard fade to Alex Roberson to give Duquesne a 17-16 lead with 8:09 to go. Dixon was 3-of-4 for 44 yards on the drive.

On Dayton's next possession, Scruggs burst through the Flyers line to block a punt and give the Dukes the ball at the Dayton 43. Seven plays later, Dixon dove in from the one to complete the comeback.

Dayton, which held Duquesne to 124 yards in the second half, outgained the Dukes 405-353. The Flyers, who entered the game ranked first in the nation among FCS schools with 4.7 sacks per game, were only able to get to Dixon once on the afternoon.

Cleo Williams posted his second consecutive 100-yard game with 103 yards on 25 carries for Duquesne. Ben Shappie led Dayton with 94 yards on 16 carries.

Bunevich led all receivers with 92 yards on three catches.

Nathan Totino had his third consecutive double-digit tackle game with 10 stops for the Dukes. Freshmen Chidozie Oparanozie, Wiley Brown and Aaron Fitzpatrick had nine tackles each for DU.

Dayton's Corey Vossler posted a game high 14 tackles.

Duquesne (2-1, 1-0) returns to action next weekend against defending Northeast Conference champion Albany (1-2, 1-2 entering tonight's game at Delaware) at Rooney Field. Game time is 1:00 p.m.

BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4	FINAL
DAYTON	        3	7	3	3	16
DUQUESNE	7	3	0	14	24
LEADERS
Rushing (Att./Yds./TD):  DU - Williams (25-103-0);  UD - Shappie (16-94-0)
Passing (Att./Comp./Int./Yds./TD):  DU - Dixon (32-12-1-230-2);  UD - Florian (54-27-2-277-1)
Receiving (Att./Yds./TD):  DU - Bunevich (3-92-0);  UD - Millo (7-55-0)
Tackles (Tot./Solo):  DU - Totino (10/6);  UD - Vossler (14/7)

GAME NOTES Duquesne's victory snapped Dayton's 10-game win streak, which was the longest current streak in the Football Championship Subdivision ... Dayton, which entered the game leading the nation with 4.7 sacks per game, was only able to reach Duquesne quarterback Connor Dixon once ... the Duquesne offensive line, which entered the game ranked ninth nationally in fewest sacks allowed per game, has surrendered just two sacks on 105 pass attempts this season ... Duquesne has now won the last two meetings with Dayton to tie the all-time series at 3-3 ... junior tailback Cleodis Williams (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) posted his second consecutive 100-yard game with 103 yards on 25 carries ... the last DU running back to run for 100 yards in back-to-back games was Mike Hilliard in 2003 (26-159 at Marist & 36-126 vs. Robert Morris) ... Williams had 129 yards on 23 carries in last week's win over Saint Francis, Pa. ... sophomore Nathan Totino (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle), who had a game- and career-high 16 tackles (10 solo) in the season opener at Bucknell and 11 more in game two against Saint Francis, posted his third-straight double-digit tackle game with 10 stops ... Totino is averaging a team-high 12.3 tackles per game ... placekicker Mark Troyan (Ford City, Pa./Ford City), who made 12-of-13 field goals last season, including all seven attempts inside the 40, missed from 40 and 32 yards before connecting on a 31-yarder in the first half ... tight end Sean Bunevich (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) caught three passes for a career-high 92 yards ... Bunevich is the third different Dukes player to set a new receiving yardage high in three games this year ... Alex Roberson set career-bests for catches (11) and yards (154) in the opener at Bucknell and Conrad Carter caught four passes for a career-high 107 yards last week against Saint Francis ... freshman linebacker Chidozie Oparanozie (Pittsburgh, Pa./The Linsly School (W.Va.)), who was named NEC Rookie of the Week after posting a pair of interceptions and six tackles last week vs. Saint Francis, finished with a season-high nine tackles (all solo) ... fellow freshmen Wiley Brown (Waldorf, Md./Fork Union Military Academy) and Aaron Fitzpatrick (Erie, Pa./McDowell) added nine stops each.