After playing its first two games against Pitt (FBS) and Lincoln (DII), Duquesne opened up its FCS schedule on Saturday with one of the most exciting matchups that Arthur J. Rooney Field has ever showcased.
Only one ranked opponent has ever visited Rooney Field in its history until Saturday when No. 10 Lehigh made the trip from Bethlehem, Pa. for a road test against Duquesne.
Despite sticking with Lehigh through the first two quarters, Duquesne got worn down by the Mountain Hawks’ rush-heavy offense and stingy defense before eventually falling by the score of 35-21.
In fact, through two games, the Mountain Hawks ranked third in the FCS in total defense and inside of top-10 in rush defense, pass defense, and scoring defense. Offensively, they entered 13th in the FCS, averaging 224.5 rushing yards per game, with five of the team’s seven touchdowns scored on the ground.
“It was a really good football team that we were playing,” Duquesne head coach Jerry Schmitt said. “We knew that they were physical, could run the ball and stop the run, and that is what they showed today.”
“I thought that we battled strong early but we did get banged up,” Schmitt continued. “We just aren’t as deep of a team, so when you get two of your best players, one on each side of the ball hurt, that is going to stress you a little bit. I think we were on the field too long defensively, we got worn down.”
The Dukes lost starting running back Taj Butts and starting linebacker Tyson Meiguez early in the game due to injuries.
After trading punts back-and-forth to start the game, the Mountain Hawks were the first team to take the ball past midfield and into enemy territory.
On the 10th play drive to drive, Lehigh quarterback Hayden Johnson miraculously found tight end Garrett Guess in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.
On the touchdown, Johnson’s pass initially hit a wide receiver, popped up in the air and bounced off of a Dukes’ defensive back Dallas Harper before falling into Guess’ waiting hands.
The Dukes offense woke up after watching the Mountain Hawks’ score as they went on a long, sustained drive that ended up in a score of their own even after it looked like it would not.
On a second-and-long, Duquesne quarterback Tyler Riddell found a wide-open wide receiver Joey Isabella on a pass that looked like it could go 80-plus yards for a touchdown but the graduate pass catcher dropped it.
Riddell went right back to Isabella on the very next play as the two connected on a 35-yard connection.
The Dukes punched it in a handful of plays later when Riddell found tight end Daniel Tarabrella for an 8-yard touchdown.
“He knows next play,” Schmitt said about Isabella. “That is what we preach, that is the way that our players live. It’s wiped, it’s gone and he is ready to make the next play. He knows that he will, he knows that he can, he understands that it is a game of football and things happen sometimes that don’t always go the way that we would like it to.”
Isabella ended the game with a game-high eight catches and 153 yards while hauling in a long touchdown.
Duquesne immediately got the ball back after the defense forced another three-and-out and looked to take a lead just before halftime. A dropped pass on first down derailed the drive and the go-ahead chance.
Lehigh capitalized on the error as they got the ball back with under a minute left in the second quarter and used a quick strike 54-yard touchdown connection between Johnson and wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel to re-claim the lead.
The Dukes received the ball to start the second half but were quickly forced to punt which turned into another Mountain Hawks’ touchdown that extended to lead to 21-7.
Just when things started to look bleak, the Dukes got a long, 66-yard touchdown reception from Isabella that pumped life back into the team and brought it back to a one-score game.
Even after the energy shifted following Isabella’s long touchdown, the Mountain Hawks marched right back down the field and scored again on a 27-yard touchdown run from running back Jaden Green.
While the defense surrounded another touchdown, the Dukes’ offense kept its foot on the gas. After Riddell extended the drive with his legs on a fourth-and-four inside of Mountain Hawks’ territory, backup quarterback Logan Kushner punched in a one-yard touchdown a couple of plays later.
Despite the offense’s second-half success, the Dukes’ defense started to get worn down by the Mountain Hawks’ rushing attack as they used it to go down the field again before scoring again on a one-yard scamper by running back Aaron Crossley.
Desperately needing a score to stay in the game with under eight minutes left, Duquesne drove down the field, converting another fourth-down attempt, and got down to the Mountain Hawks’ 12-yard line before Riddell was hit hard, fumbled and lost possession of the ball which helped seal the Dukes’ fate.
“I am proud of our football team,” Schmitt said. “They fought back and we put ourselves in position, if we made a couple of plays, to make it a close game. We had our ups-and-downs and we talked about there is probably four or five plays that could have made a difference one way or another.”
The Dukes now sit at 1-2 and face another tough, FBS opponent next weekend. Despite the losing record at this point of the season, Schmitt is not worried, in fact, he is encouraged by what he saw from his team through the first few weeks of the season.
“We plan every game to play our best football regardless of who we are playing,” Schmitt said. “Obviously, some of the teams have bigger challenges for us but I think anything that we do that is going to get us reps, work together, learn from of mistakes or failures and keep getting better is going to help us down the stretch.”
“I am proud of this football team,” Schmitt continued. “I am proud of the way that they battled and competed.”
Duquesne will be back at it next weekend when they travel to take on the Akron Zips in the team’s final non-conference game of the season.
