Dukes Comeback Falls Short Against Hawks
Oct. 27, 2012
PITTSBURGH - Larry McCoy became Duquesne's all-time rushing leader, but it wasn't enough as Monmouth ended Duquesne's 10 game home winning streak with a 28-27 victory on Rooney Field. Julian Hayes ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns to help the Hawks (4-4, 3-2) end a three-game losing streak. The loss - DU's first at home since a 44-17 setback to Monmouth on Oct. 2, 2010 - dropped the Dukes (5-3, 3-2) two full games behind Northeast Conference leading Albany (7-1, 5-0). McCoy, who passed Donte Small (4,260 yards from 1998-01) on a 22 yard run in the fourth quarter, finished with 116 yards on 29 carries. Sean Patterson connected on 22 of a career-high 43 attempts for three touchdowns for the Dukes. Sean Brady had seven catches for a career-high 110 yards for DU. Kyle Frazier completed 15-of-23 passes for 141 yards and one score for Monmouth. Duquesne, which outgained the Hawks 389-313, scored touchdowns on three of five red zone possessions, settling for field goals on two. The Hawks turned all four of their red zone possessions into TDs. Duquesne forced a three-and-out on Monmouth's first possession, but gave the Hawks a short field when Dave Thomas fumbled the ensuing punt at the DU 31. Kwabena Asante punched it in from 2 yards out to give Monmouth an early 7-0 lead. The Hawks drove 93 yards in 18 plays to take a 14-0 led on a 10 yard run by Hayes on the first play of the second quarter. Monmouth controlled the line of scrimmage, running 26 plays to seven for Duquesne in outgaining the Dukes 127-17 in the opening 15 minutes. Duquesne got on the board when Patterson found Thomas with an 8 yard touchdown pass to cap a 75 yard drive. A 31 yard pass from Patterson to Brady on 3rd-and-10 and a Monmouth holding penalty on a 4th-and-2 play deep in MU territory kept the drive alive. The Hawks answered with another long drive that ended with an 8 yard pass from Frazier to Neal Sterling. Hayes, who carried eight times for 46 yards on the 12 play drive, went over the 100 yard mark on the series. Monmouth, behind 108 yards from Hayes, outgained the Dukes 217-155 in the first half. The second half was a different story. DU pulled within seven when Patterson found Gianni Carter with a 15 yard touchdown pass on the Dukes' first possesion. Charlie Leventry capped a 48 yard drive with a 29 yard field goal that made it 21-17 as the Dukes held the Hawks to eight yards on 12 plays in the third quarter. Monmouth fumbled a punt snap, giving the Dukes the ball at the MU 17 with just over 13 minutes left. Patterson hit Brady, who had six catches for 79 yards in the second half, with a 6 yard strike to give the Dukes their first lead at 24-21. The Hawks came right back to go up 28-24 on a 2 yard Hayes run. McCoy, who briefly passed Small before being thrown for a loss late in the third quarter, broke Small's record for good on a 22 yard run with 8:32 left. McCoy's run set up a 25 yard Leventry field goal to cut the lead to one. Duquesne, which took over on its 34 with 3:22 to go, moved to the MU 40 before being unable to convert on 4th-and-12 when Patterson - under heavy pressure - saw a pass sail over Thomas' head. Hayes iced the game with a 23 yard run on 3rd-and-18 in the game's final minute. Dorian Bell led the DU defense with 14 tackles including 1.5 sacks. Reggie Eiland (13), Horvin Latimer (12) and Chidozie Oparanozie (10) also had double digit tackles for DU. Eiland and Latimer had one sack each. Duquesne heads across town to face Robert Morris (2-6, 1-4) next Saturday in an NEC-TV game. The game, set for a 3:30 kickoff, will air locally on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh as well as on Fox College Sports and ESPN3. Scoring by Quarters
|
