FINAL STATS

Pittsburgh, PA – At the end of three quarters of play, Wagner trailed by a scant 10-7 margin but Duquesne erupted for 24 unanswered points in the game's final quarter to come away with a 34-7 Northeast Conference (NEC) win on Homecoming Day at Rooney Field.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 2-5 on the season, 2-1 in the NEC while the Dukes move to 3-2 overall, 1-0 in league play.

Senior Kramer Berg (Plymouth, MN/Wayzata/Rochester CC) gained the first start of his Wagner career and completed 13-of-29 passes for 87 yards. He threw one interception and was sacked twice. Redshirt freshman Chris Andrews (Queens, NY/St. Joseph's/Valley Forge Academy) also saw action, completing 1-of-2 passes for five yards.

Fifth-year senior running back Dominique Williams (Bridgeton, NJ/Bridgeton/Milford Academy) rushed for a game-high 92 yards on 21 carries with a long gain of 26. The 5-9, 205-pound Williams lost an opportunity to rush for his 26^th career 100-yard game when Wagner was forced to throw almost exclusively late in the game due to the widening deficit. Williams added 18 receiving yards on two receptions.

The Dukes took an early 10-0 lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Dillon Buechel to wide receiver Chris King midway through the first quarter, followed by a 47-yard Austin Crimmins field goal at the outset of the second quarter.

The Seahawks made it 10-7 on a four-play, 44-yard drive, a march that began following redshirt junior cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne's first of two interceptions. On a third-and 10 from the Wagner 36, Dieudonne stepped in front of a pass thrown by freshman quarterback Dillon Buechel at the Seahawk 20 and returned it 36 yards to the Duquesne 44.

On 3^rd-and-7 from the Dukes' 41, Williams ripped off a 26-yard run up the middle to the 15. On the very next play, freshman running back Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn/Jireh Prep) took an inside handoff and burst free for a 15-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, with 9:35 left in the half.

Neither team could muster any sustained offense the rest of the half as the Dukes took that 10-7 lead into intermission. Redshirt sophomore Deangelo James (Miami, FL/American Senior) returned the opening kickoff from the goal line out to the Wagner 28 to give the Seahawks comfortable working room. Berg then led the Green & White 39 yards in 11 plays before the drive stalled at the Duquesne 34.

On came junior kicker Bryan Maley (Eagle River, Alaska/Chugiak), who won last week's game at Sacred Heart on a 45-yard boot with four seconds to play. The reigning NEC Special Teams Player of the Week had plenty of leg on his 51-yard game-tying attempt but the ball missed just wide of the left crossbar as the score remained 10-7.

Following an exchange of punts, Dieudonne came up with his second pick of the game, when he intercepted a Dillon pass at the Seahawk 29. Wagner was unable to take advantage of the turnover, however, as the Seahawks went three and out on their ensuing possession. The defensive nature of the game continued as the teams went on to play a scoreless third quarter.

The fourth quarter began with Duquesne in the midst of a good-looking drive that began on the Dukes' 36. Dillon completed his final four passes of the third quarter for 36 yards as the final period opened with a 2^nd-and-8 at the Seahawk 16. After losting two yards on first down, Dillon hit wide receiver Devin Rahming for 16 yards along the right sideline to set up a two-yard TD run by halfback Ryan Ho that made it17- 7 with 13:59 remaining in the game.

Following yet another Seahawk three and out, Dillon marched the Dukes from his own 43 to the Wagner 6. After redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Daevonte Barnett (Riviera Beach, FL/ J.T. Dwyer) stuffed Ho on third down, Crimmins came on to boot a 23-yard field goal to extend the Duquesne lead to 20-7 with 8:04 left.

After the Dukes shut down the Wagner offense once again, they put the game away with a gem of a special teams play. The play was encouraging for Wagner at its outset when redshirt junior #A.J. Firestone# (Mercersburg, PA/Mercersburg Academy/Penn State) came on in replace of redshirt junior Matt Misley (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) to launch a 52-yard boot from his own end zone.

Rahming made an over-the-shoulder catch at his own 38, reversed direction, juked a pair of Seahawks, and took off on what would become a back-breaking 62-yard punt return that put the Dukes on top by a 27-7 count with just 6:38 to go.

Fullback Ethan Dorsey completed the day's scoring by racing 40 yards up the middle on a quick-hitter with 1:38 left to fashion the final score at 34-7.

Duquesne outgained Wagner 316-233 and held a 21-15 edge in first downs. Dillon, who led all freshman Football Championship Subdivision quarterbacks in passing yardage entering the game, completed 25-of-37 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His favorite target was Gianni Carter who had eight receptions for 51 yards. Jason Douglas led Duquesne in rushing with 51 yards on 13 carries.

Punter Aaron Fleck had a major impact on the game for the Dukes. His six punts went for a 41.8-yard average with a long of 48 but, more importantly, five of his boots were downed inside the Seahawks 20, including one that was downed at the one-yard line and another at the two-yard line.

Duquesne was led defensively by safety Chris Johnson, a transfer from the University of Florida, and Sam Martello, who finished with eight tackles apiece.

Senior linebacker Max Wassel (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) paced the Seahawks with a career-high nine tackles while redshirt junior linebacker Yamir Ortiz (Riverdale, NJ/Pascack Valley) came up with seven stops.

Following a bye, Wagner is next in action on Saturday, October 26 when the Green & White entertain Robert Morris in a 1:00 pm tilt.

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