FINAL STATS

STATEN ISLAND, NY - In a game played in a steady rain and dense fog, the Wagner defense held Duquesne in check virtually throughout but the Seahawks were unable to come up with a big offensive play in dropping a 14-0 Northeast Conference (NEC) decision to Duquesne at Wagner College Stadium.

As stout as the Wagner defense was, the Dukes' defense was even better, holding Wagner to 118 total yards in snapping a five-game losing streak. The Seahawks have now lost four straight games and are 3-7 overall, 2-4 in the NEC. The win improved the Dukes record to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the NEC.

Injuries have taken a major toll on Wagner. Among the many Seahawks unavailable were leading rusher Shane Smith (Susquehanna, PA/ Honesdale), leading wide receiver Lon Woods (St. Petersburg, PA/ J.P. Taravella) starting left tackle Zach Johnson (Locust Grove. VA/ Fork Union) and middle linebacker and captain Jeremy Spinks (Tampa, FL/ Chamberlain).

The teams combined for 10 punts in a scoreless first half played in a steady rain and fog that made it difficult to even see the scoreboard at times. Junior Kyle Muir (Spencerport, NY/ Syracuse, Univ.) twice pinned Duquesne inside its own five-yard with punts. On its final possession of the opening half, the Dukes advanced to the Wagner 17-yard line before junior DE Patrick Abdul (Brooklyn, NY/ Bay Shore) and freshman DE Julian Stanford (Bloomfield, CT/ Bloomfield) came up with sacks of Duquesne QB Kevin Rombach to quell the drive.

Duquesne broke the scoreless tie on its first possession of the second half when Rombach's 38 yard completion to WR Alex Roberson set up a 12-yard TD strike from Rombach to TE Brian Layhue. The drive covered 62 yards in six plays and took just 2:16. Later in the third quarter, Duquesne's defense came up with a big play when Tyler Scruggs forced a fumble that was recovered by Ashton Burno at the Duquesne 27. Four plays later, on a second-and-goal from the 13, Williams broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage before scoring to put the Dukes up 14-0.

Sophomore safety Stefen Gage (Syracuse, NY/ Henninger) led the Seahawks with 14 tackles and one forced fumble. True freshman LB Justin McKillop (Saugus, CA/ Saugus) added a career-high eight stops as did senior LB Jason Haskins (Cliffwood, Beach, NJ/ Kean Univ.). Wagner had a season-high four sacks in the game. In addition to the sacks recorded by Abdul and Stanford, senior DE Robert Brown (Rome, NY/ Rome Free Academy) and junior DT Joe Johnson (Fort Myers, FL/ Mariner) added sacks for the Seahawks.

Farnsworth, who was sacked six times, completed 9-of-19 passes for 92 yards while freshman RB Prince Young (Neptune, NJ/ Fork Union) added 45 yards rushing on 17 carries.

For Duquesne, RB Cleodis Williams carried a career-high 28 times for 114 yards. Rombach, in his first start of the season, completed 10-of-20 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown.

The Duquesne defense, which entered the game giving up an average of 208 rushing yards per game, thanks largely to minus 42 yards in sacks, held Wagner to 26 yards on 29 carries.

Duquesne's defense was dominating in the third quarter, holding Wagner to two yards on 12 plays.

The Dukes finished with a season-high six sacks - led by 2.5 from Scruggs - in holding Wagner quarterbacks Farnsworth and Matt Abbey (La Canada, CA/ St. Francis) to a combined 9-of-25 for 92 yards.

Freshman LB Chidozie Oparanozie led the Dukes with 13 tackles. Scruggs finished with six stops and two forced fumbles as DU posted its first shutout since a 38-0 win at La Salle on Nov. 4, 2006. Wagner endured its first shutout since dropping a 34-0 decision at Albany on Oct. 28, 2006.

Wagner will conclude its 2008 season at first-place Albany on Sat., Nov. 15 in a 1:00 pm kickoff.

NOTES – In a pre-game ceremony, a statue was unveiled near the main entrance to Wagner College Stadium in honor of Lieutenant Nick Lia, captain of the 1965 Seahawk football team, who lost his life in Vietnam. It was Senior Day on Grymes Hill as 16 Seahawk seniors were honored in a pre-game ceremony.