On Sean Doherty

I never had the pleasure of meeting Sean Doherty in person but I feel like I had known him for years. As Sports Editor at WDUQ and color commentator with Ray Goss, he shared my love of Duquesne Athletics specifically and sports in general. The man proved that with the right attitude, nothing could ever stop you from enjoying life with a passion and pursuing your goals no matter what the odds.

The man is a continuing inspiration to all of us and perhaps belongs in the Duquesne Sports Hall of Fame.

See:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_542110.html

Dukes Bite Back Over Albany 28-17

It is a rewarding experience for this Duquesne Football team and their fans to tame the big dog that had bitten them a few times in the past.

Beginning with the most painful bite this team has suffered in recent memory, the Albany Great Danes beat a seemingly unstoppable 11-0 Duquesne team that was one of the few non-scholarship teams ever ranked in the national 1-AA/FCB Ranking systems. Going into the 2002 ECAC Bowl Game, the Dukes were entertaining thoughts of being the first “mid-major” to have a legitimate chance to gain an invitation to the NCAA 1-AA Tournament. That dream ended in the cold slush at a field in Albany where the weather and the Danes grounded a powerful Duquesne aerial attack 22-0 and pushed the Dukes back out of the national rankings.

The next meeting came during Duquesne’s first season in the NEC when the Dukes and Albany played a fantastic game that seemed to be a preview of what could become a classic NEC rivalry. Duquesne won the battle of the statistics in that one while the Danes won the battle on the scoreboard 33-23.

Last year was one game of a season of injuries that the Dukes are trying to forget as Albany dominated 55-10.

But this year, you can just see this team's confidence and experience building as the Dukes downed NEC power Albany for the first time in 4 tries. There are many kudos to go around on both offense and defense.

Sean Patterson and Conner Dixon who last year were competing for time as starting quarterback are now cooperating as members of a passing attack that is starting to wake up echoes of the traditional Duquesne style offense. Dixon threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns while Dixon brought in 7 catches. Other teams remember Dixon as a passer, but Delaware fans (who should know) commented numerous times that Dixon may be good enough to turn pro as a receiver. Dave Williams caught 3 for 106 yards to keep pace with Dixon as Akeem Moore came back after injury to pull in a key 45 yard reception to set up one of Duquesne’s scores. The Dixon/Moore story should be the subject of a Newman/Redford movie some day.

But one thing that the Dukes now have is a powerful runner to balance and free up the passing game. Larry McCoy had his first 100 yard game of the year running for 123 yards. It was that running game that the Dukes needed back in 2002 when Josh Rue (later with AZ Cardinals) was declared ineligible for that season. The line play on both sides showed that Duquesne has caught up with the two year head start that the other NEC teams had in granting scholarships, Blocking back Marek Lapinski’s first carry of the year went for a well deserved touchdown.

On defense, Serge Kona forced a Dane fumble that was recovered by Alex Inda at the Albany 34. McCoy took the ball on a forth down carry 24 yards to put the Dukes on the board first. Kona later picked off a Dan Di Lella pass as did Dionte Wade which set up Duquesne’s final score. Kona actually tied tackling machine Nathan Totino with 7 stops each.

Eric Dule converted on all PAT’s but missed a 34 yard attempt that had the distance. Duquesne seemed to be making progress with their punting and kicking game last week at Delaware, but their punting game slid back again.

Next week, October 2, is Homecoming for the Dukes at Rooney Field at 1:00 on WMNY and Redzone Media.

Road Warriors? The Dukes will face their toughest remaining four opponents all on the road.

Duquesne/Albany: Expect a Close One

I don't see a replay of last year's game.

Dukes on offense: Even though the score didn't indicate it, Duquesne moved the ball well on offense against one of the CAA's best defenses. They racked up considerably more yardage than Top Twenty South Dakota did on Delaware; moving the ball within Delaware's 15 three times and down to the 1 on a team that hasn't given up a TD since last year. Albany's defense will not be easy, but Duquesne should score enough with a balanced attack. Patterson is not your average soph QB and seems to be coming into his own. Dixon shouldn't be throwing up on the sidelines and Moore should be able to go to give Sean plenty to throw to. McCoy, if he get 22 carries could go over 100 yards and Bair is developing into a real alternative out of the backfield to compliment the receiving corps. Duquesne must establish the run to set up room for them.

Dukes on Defense: The Dukes gave up 30 points two weeks in a row, but shouldn't do so again. Albany is certainly better on offense than the inexperienced Bison Team from week one and will get their due, but I don't see them wearing out a much deeper defense as they have done before to the Dukes. Mike P. has proven to be a force in the middle with some added muscle which has not slowed him down. The Duke's linebackers should be the key in this one.

Special Teams: Duquesne needs to continue to show progress here as they did against Delaware. This will not be a strength this year, but we can't give up too much field position. The "Mule", Eric Dule pleasantly surprised me with his 41 yard field goal last week.

Prediction: Duquesne 27, Albany 19 with a late Duquesne TD to salt it away.

Dukes Get Hen Pecked: 30-6

The box score reads that the Delaware Blue Hens beat the Duquesne Dukes 30-6.

Sometimes the final score is not the most important outcome in a game.

Yes, the objective in any game should be to win. And yes, this may sound like a Mr. Rodgers’ feel good way of comforting a loser. However, nobody can accuse the Duquesne football team of being losers in the game taking on one of the best FCS teams in the nation in one of the best FCS facilities this level of football will ever produce.

This game wasn’t the normal measuring stick that the Dukes have used to evaluate their program. Just a few years ago, the Dukes’ biggest game was playing a Patriot League team from the middle of the pack. In their first game of the season, the Dukes proved again this year they have cleared that hurdle by beating Bucknell for the second consecutive year.

Their second game was against the best program in the “”non-scholarship” sector of FCS. Again, Duquesne has shown they can win at that level by beating a very good Dayton team that technically is non-scholarship, but has a well funded endowment that bypasses traditional school-funded scholarships. In these games, winning was the only acceptable objective.

In Duquesne’s third game of the season, the objective was to prove to themselves that they are a legitimate FCS team that has outgrown the patronizing title of being a “mid-major”. Given the quality of opponent and traveling to their turf, the Dukes can say that they did just that.

By all national ranking systems, Delaware is the legitimate peer of fellow CAA members Massachusetts, Villanova, Richmond and James Madison. Massachusetts gave 20th Ranked BCS Michigan all they could handle at Michigan. James Madison beat a BCS Virginia Tech team that had aspirations of a national championship going into the season. Villanova, recently invited to join the BCS Big East, won the FCS Championship last year while another CAA member, Richmond won it all the year before. Delaware got all the way to the championship game the year before that before being stopped in their quest for a second FCS Championship in 5 years.

This wasn’t St. Peter’s, Canisius and Fairfield the Dukes were playing. Still the Dukes accomplished the following;

• The Dukes gained an impressive 326 total yards on the vaunted Delaware defense, considerably more than nationally ranked South Dakota state was able to manufacture. SDSU had only 25 on 17 carries. Delaware is ranked #1 in the nation in scoring defense and
• The Dukes not only moved the ball, they showed some ball control by actually possessing the ball longer than the Blue Hens 32:19 to 27:41. This was not due to Delaware getting quick scores through the air. They ground out the game with only 9 passes.
• Duquesne would drive to within the Hens 15 three times and to within a yard of scoring the first touchdown of the season against Delaware. Delaware entered the Duquesne Red Zone three times as well, but was able to finish their drives.
• The Dukes outgained Delaware in the first quarter 109-27 but trailed due to a tipped pick for six.
• The Dukes gained 140 yards rushing and averaged over 4.5 yards per carry against a large and talented defensive line. Delaware had given up only 1.3 yards per carry at 64 yards on 48 attempts in their first two games.
• Duquesne converted on 7 of 18 third downs.
• Duquesne generated 5 more first downs (16) than did nationally ranked South Dakota State against the Blue Hens.
• The Duquesne kicking game showed the improvement it needed when Eric Dule converted a career long 41 yard field goal as well as improving their punting average per kick.

Most of all, the Dukes seemed to believe that they had a good chance to compete at this level. Although the Dukes didn’t win, their progress as measured against a team that will challenge for the FCS Title in front of the biggest hostile crowd the Dukes have faced since the 1950’s shows that they belong.

Duquesne's first two series in this game dictated the extent of the win for Delaware. First, Tyrone Grant took in a tipped pass off the hands of Conner Dixon as Duquesne was moving the ball well and returned it for a 45 yard touchdown. Next, Duquesne failed to ram the ball in from Delaware’s 1 yard line on repeated attempts. This would have been the first touchdown Delaware allowed this year. This extended back for 13 quarters. There was a third important stop when Delaware ended another Duquesne drive with an interception 2 yards from the goal line.

NOTES: Delaware is ranked #1 in the Nation in Scoring Defense and Total Defense. They were also ranked 8th in the Nation in Running Offense. They returned 8 offensive and 8 defensive starters from last year. Conner Dixon caught 8 passes for 118 yards, both career highs. Akeem Moore missed the game with a sprained ankle.

NEXT WEEK: Albany at Noon at Rooney Field on WMNY.

The Delaware Game Prediction

Delaware will probably keep the ball on the ground for most of the game since their starting quarterback has a broken wrist (non-throwing hand). They probably will take Payton Award Nominee Pat Devlin out if they get a sizable lead.

The Dukes will try to mix it up more, but expect Sean Patterson to have at least 40 attempts with considerable play action and runs from their mobile quarterback. The Delaware run defense is just that good and proved it against a ranked opponent last week. They have yet to face a mobile quarterback and the Dukes may see what they can do to keep the Delaware pocket contain honest. The Duquesne wide outs and tight end are are good but will miss Akeem More if he isn't ready to play. Look for more of Billy Bair out of the backfield.

The Duke's defense was not tested in the Bucknell game due to the lack of Bison experience, but faced another Payton Award candidate last week vs Dayton and did well enough to win. They will probably try to stack the line in anticipation of Delaware not wanting Devlin to take any hits in the pocket. Duquesne did put pressure on Dayton last week with a couple of sacks.

The Dukes would have a better chance if they can improve their special team play. Duquesne gave away too much filed position to both Bucknell and Dayton. they will not be able to get away with this against the Blue Hens. The return game is one of Delaware's strengths.

This is Duquesne's first road game of the season... and what a road game! They will probably play in front of the biggest crowd to witness a Duquesne game since the 1950's.

Prediction- Duquesne will show some early game jitters and give up two quick scores but will remember how to come back as they did against Dayton as Delaware takes its foot off the gas a bit. The home crowd and talent of Delaware will prevail but the Dukes will surprise.

I hope I'm wrong about the winner, but... Delaware 34, Duquesne 20.

Delaware Fans Rock!

I have been running the Duquesne Football Forum and Blog for a while now and I can't ever recall having more interaction between our fans and those of the opposition. They have at time been gracious, cocky (but not obnoxious), and most of all passionate about their football. Take a look at some of the pictures of the Delaware games posted on the Forum.

I hope that this game is competitive and leads to many others as Duquesne expands its program.

Heady Thoughts on the Delaware Game

I know that Duquesne has had a history of holding its own as it is "playing up" against programs with better facilities and higher rated scholarship players. I remember beating teams like Lafayette, VMI, Bucknell and others.

This game against Delaware is different. It is a sign that we are now where we have been pushing to for quite some time. Delaware is a member of the CAA, the best FCS Conference in the nation. Not only that, they rank second by Sagarin in their conference only to James Madison who defeated Virginia Tech this weekend. The same Virginia Tech team that had thoughts of a BCS national championship coming into the season.

Delaware is ranked ahead of New Hampshire, the same CAA team that held its own against Pitt on Saturday... The same Pitt team that hopes to win the Big East... The same Pitt team that also scheduled Delaware twice in the next few years.

Albany has led the way for the NEC in playing teams from the CAA and has held its own. They are scheduled to play Cincinnati soon. Other NEC members have followed and have not been embarrassed. Monmouth was leading Maine, another CAA team on Saturday. I was listening the the Maine announcers who agreed that the NEC has done themselves proud in how far they have come.

Dorothy, we aren't in Kansas anymore...

One last comment- As a sign of how far we have come- It is now Sunday, 9/12 at 10:30 a.m. There have been more hits to this blog today since midnight by far than any other day since the Football Blog started. Thanks for reading!

Reprinted from the Duquesne Football Forum

Healthy Dukes Dump Dayton 35-31

Perhaps no one except the coach from Duquesne could predict whether Duquesne or Dayton would emerge as the last one standing in one of the most entertaining counter-punching games ever at Rooney Field.

Duquesne Coach Jerry Schmitt revealed his clue to the outcome in a thoughtful comment going into the game. He asserted that what had ruined last year’s season may provide the key to being strong enough to come back and beat a very good Dayton team. His point was dramatically proven by the Duke’s last touchdown from Sean Patterson to TE Sean Bunevich with only 21 seconds remaining in the game after Dayton had just taken the lead less than a minute before.

Bunevich, you see, had to sit out last season with injuries. Patterson, last year’s third string quarterback was pressed into starting two games which may have given him the savvy to bring the Dukes back twice when Dayton appeared to be about ready to pull away from them.

Patterson stood toe to toe with Dayton’s Senior Walter Payton Award Candidate, QB Steve Valentino. The Payton Award is the FCS equivalent to the Heisman. Valentino didn’t disappoint the large contingent of Flyer fans making the 3 hour trip from Dayton, going 22 for 32 for 248 yards. Patterson did even better with his game winning toss completing a 27 for 40, 326 yard performance.

Schmitt was proven correct again by making a decision to move Conner Dixon from quarterback to flanker. Dixon, who many picked to be the next record setting quarterback for Duquesne pulled in 7 catches for 77 yards. Fellow Michigan State transfer, Dave Williams kept pace with Dixon with 7 catches as well for 63 yards. Both Dixon and Williams joined more than half of last year’s starters in missing playing time due to injuries. The Dukes at full strength are proving that they have learned to overcome adversity and challenge.

The first big challenge of the game came after Dayton’s potent offense jumped out to a 21-7 lead just before the end of the first half. Patterson led the Dukes for two quick touchdowns to pull Duquesne back into the game. Running back Larry McCoy gained 84 yards and ran for two touchdowns to balance Duquesne’s attack. Nothing equaled the last challenge met by this Duquesne team in their last drive to win the game as the clock wound down. Coach Schmitt and the Dukes have learned that past adversity can sometimes be a blessing.

Duquesne’s defense actually played well against the potent Flyer offense led, as usual by Nathan Totino’s 8 stops and a fumble recovery.

NOTES: Duquesne visits Nationally Ranked Delaware next week at 6:00 p.m. Delaware has scheduled Pitt twice in the next few seasons. Dayton is the favorite to win the Pioneer Conference this year and came into the game as the highest ranked opponent according to the College Football RPI.

FCS Football

The Bucknell game was a great example of the fantastic product FCS Football can be. I've been to countless high school, college and pro games in my life and I can honestly say I enjoy the FCS college level the best. There is a particular "smell" of spoiled and pampered pro or even FBS athlete that I don't like. High school ball can be exciting, but even Quad A ball shows a limited playbook and level of competition.

As Duquesne and the NEC develop, the area now has a legitimate level of football it didn't have before. Like the bowls of porridge, FCS football is "just right".

Dukes Open 2010: Down Bucknell 17-13

Duquesne opened its 2010 Season well, scoring on its first possession and holding Bucknell to three and out on theirs. Sophomore QB Patterson’s 8 yard touchdown run and their following drive from their own 15 to the Bison 25 brought back memories of the past high scoring contests that typified Duquesne’s openers with Bucknell. The two teams had begun up 9 of the past 14 years against each other averaging 30 points apiece in high scoring back and forth affairs with Bucknell mostly coming out on top. This year’s game would be different. Patterson threw his only interception of the game to end the drive as the two teams settled down into a more controlled defensive game. The Duquesne defense held the young Bucknell offense to two field goals with their only touchdown coming on an 89 yard kickoff return by Tyler Smith in the 3rd quarter.

Bucknell's best drive of the game came on a long 10 minute grinding drive to start the second quarter. The Bison converted on a fourth down to get within the Duquesne 10 yard line but the Duquesne defense batted away two passes from there to hold the Bison to a 22 yard field goal.

The second half also could have started well for the Dukes as they came close to recovering the ball inside the Bucknell 5 yard line on a vicious hit on the Bucknell punt returner. The hit was ruled a split second too early and Bucknell held onto the ball with a 15 yard penalty against the Dukes for not letting the returner have a fair chance to catch the ball. Bucknell could not move the ball from there with Alex Inda forcing a fumble at the Bison 20. Larry McCoy ran three times to Bucknell 11 and Duquesne elected to send in Eric Dule to convert a 29 yard field goal putting the Dukes up 10-3.

That is when Tyler Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to even the score 10-10. Duquesne seemed to have all of the lanes filled as Smith repeated kept emerging from being boxed in.

Patterson quickly led the Dukes back hitting Dave Williams and Akeem Moore on a 76 yard drive ending with a 9 yard toss to Williams to put the Dukes back up by 7 at 17-10. Duquesne Coach Jerry Schmidt said after the game that”Patterson has worked hard and prepared well to gain command of the offense.”

The Duquesne defense pressured the Bison all game with a frenzied defensive formation with most of the linebackers and defensive line jockeying in and out without going down into a three point stance before the snap.

Bucknell’s fourth quarter drive into Duquesne’s was pushed down field by 30 yards by two ill advised hits by Duquesne. Brice Robertson was hit well before he could catch a fourth quarter punt and a Bucknell receiver after he went out of bounds. Unlike the earlier hit on a Bucknell punt returner for catching interference, the hit on Robertson was well before he had a chance to pull in the punt.

Duquesne’s defense finished extremely well as the game came down to a final Bucknell drive with just over three minutes left. They stood strong stopping the Bison at the Duquesne 39 yard line on a fourth and 2 roll out by Bison QB Burke Battan.

Notes: -Since 1992, the Dukes have won all of their season openers except for the six losses against the Bison.

-Rooney Field was filled with standing room only with an announced crowd of 2240. There could have been more that saw the game as fans filled the edges of the field beyond the designated seating areas.

-The Duquesne/Bucknell game was broadcast across the nation as the Sirius Satellite Radio FCS Game of the Week. Gino Communications had the game giving Dave Saba the job of setting up for three radio broadcasts from the press box.

-Long time Duquesne radio voice Alex Panormious showed up in great shape for the opener looking like he did some pre-season conditioning.

-Next week the Dukes play at home again at Noon against the tough Dayton Flyers who downed Robert Morris yesterday 28-14.