Pictured Above: Senior tight end
Chris Woodard (photo by Dave Saffran)
Box Score
Staten Island, NY – Wagner took an early 6-0 lead on a five-yard interception return for a touchdown by redshirt junior linebacker
Santoni Graham and led 23-21 at halftime before Duquesne rallied late for a 47-30 victory, spoiling the Seahawks' Senior Day at blustery Hameline Field on Saturday.
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 2-7 on the season and 1-3 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play while the Dukes improve to 6-3 overall, 3-1 in league play.
Graduate student
T.J. Linta completed 20-of-43 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns for the Seahawls. In a game that featured 77 combined points and 802 combined yards, it was Duquesne's staunch brand of run defense on preseason All-American senior running back
Ryan Fulse, however, that was the pivotal factor in the game. Entering the game as the nation's leading FCS rusher, with 1,209 yards, Fulse was a marked man on all afternoon as few running lanes limited him to 54 hard-fought yards on 20 carries.
Fulse did have a career-high seven receptions for 38 yards, while senior tight end
Chris Woodard had a career-high five catches for 69 yards, and senior wide receiver
D'Erren Wilson snared three passes for 70 yards as Linta spread the ball to six different receivers on the afternoon.
For Duquesne, senior running back A.J. Hines rushed for 232 yards on 33 carries with one touchdown while Daquan Worley added 89 yards on six rushing attempts. Dukes' quarterback Daniel Parr completed 9-of-15 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns with Nehari Crawford leading the way in the receiving department with four grabs for 87 yards.
Linta threw first-half TD passes of eight and 16 yards to Fulse and Woodard, respectively, sandwiched around a 35-yard field goal by sophomore
Eric Silvester, in building a 23-14 lead. The Dukes put some important points on the board late in the first half, moving 54 yards on eight plays, capped by a Hines one-yard TD run just 48 seconds before the intermission in in narrowing their deficit to 23-21 at the break.
A four-yard touchdown run by Parr, followed by a 37-yard scoring run by Crawford on a reverse, staked the Dukes to a 33-23 lead one minute into the fourth quarter. On Wagner's next offensive series, Duquesne defensive back Leandro Debrito stepped in front of a pass intended for Woodard and raced 68 yards for a touchdown that made it a 40-23 lead.
The Seahawks fought back with a well-executed eight-play, 69-yard drive, keyed by a 23-yard reception by junior tight end
Adam Giordano that set up a first-and-goal for Wagner at the Duquesne one. On the next play, Linta plunged for a touchdown, drawing the Seahawks to within 10 at 40-30 9:47 left.
This is as close as Wagner would get, however, as Duquesne recorded a nine-yard touchdown reception on fourth down by tight end Stew Allen with just 2:06 left, sealing the 47-23 Dukes' win.
Defensively for Wagner, the Seahawks were led by safety
Anthony Watkins who recorded a career-high 10 tackles while the inside linebacker tandem of Graham and graduate student
Justin Osuji finished with nine stops apiece. Junior outside linebacker
Cam Gill, who entered the game ranked No. 4 nationally with nine sacks, added to that total by one this afternoon during a seven-tackle effort.
Wagner is next in action on Saturday, November 10 when the Seahawks travel to Bryant before closing out the 2018 campaign with a November 17 road test vs. Robert Morris.
SENIOR DAY
Prior to kickoff of Saturday's game, the Seahawks honor their seniors in a pre-game ceremony at midfield.
2018 Seahawk Seniors
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