AMHERST, Mass. – Playing in the first NCAA football game of the 2018 season on Saturday evening, Duquesne dropped a 63-15 decision to FBS Massachusetts at Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

The Minutemen jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead before junior Mitch MacZura's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic/Ohio State) first career field goal got the Dukes on the board late in the opening period.

A stop at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-one on the previous UMass drive by senior safety Brandon Stanback (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt/Buffalo) gave Duquesne possession at the Minutemen 42-yard line to set up the first scoring drive of the year for the Dukes.

UMass would extend its advantage to 35-3 before junior quarterback Daniel Parr (Jupiter, Fla./William T. Dwyer/FAU), who made his Duquesne debut on Saturday, found senior wide receiver Nehari Crawford (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Central) on a five-yard touchdown connection.

Duquesne's two-point attempt failed but the Dukes minimized the deficit to 35-9 in the closing seconds of the first half on Parr's first touchdown pass for Duquesne.

Junior running back A.J. Hines (Wilson, N.C./Fike) rushed for 52 yards on five carries on the Dukes' scoring drive.

The host Minutemen added three third-quarter touchdowns to push their lead to 56-9 heading into the final period.

On the Dukes' first drive of the fourth quarter, Parr trotted into the end zone from two yards out to cap a 15-play, 71-yard scoring drive for Duquesne which cut the UMass advantage to 56-15.

The Minutemen would close out the 63-15 victory with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ross Comis to Zak Simon with just under eight minutes to play in the contest.

Crawford tallied five receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown while Hines paced the Dukes on the ground with nine carries for 57 yards.

Parr was 16-of-29 for 123 yards and a touchdown to go with eight rushes for 32 yards and a score on the ground, as well.

Freshman running back Ky'ren Cunningham (West Bloomfield, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep) recorded 10 carries for 46 yards in his first collegiate game.

Sophomore safety Spencer DeMedal (New Wilmington, Pa./New Wilmington) finished with a team-high ten tackles (four solo) followed by Stanback and junior Reid Harrison-Ducros (Colleyville, Texas/Colleyville/Boise State) with six stops apiece.

Saturday's game marked Duquesne's second matchup with an FBS opponent after facing Buffalo in 2014 and is the first of two contests against FBS foes this season as the Dukes will also travel to Hawaii on Sept. 22.

Duquesne opens the home portion of the 2018 campaign next Saturday at 2 p.m. against Lock Haven at Arthur J. Rooney Field.

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