Dukes bounce back on home field

Being dominated in time of possession and tirelessly fighting to hold the Blue Devils to only one score in more than 24 minutes in the second half, Coach Jerry Schmitt feared his team would give up the big play.

Instead, his worn down defense made the big play, with Jared Williams forcing a fumble on Central Connecticut State's Raul Debenendittis's catch at the Duquesne 10-yard-line, which was recovered by linebacker Chris Oliver.

"They had a little momentum, were controlling the ball and the clock at the time because they wanted to score with little time left for our offense," Schmitt said.  "And for them to turn it over, and for our guys to make them turn it over, was a huge play in the game."

Even with the big turnover, the game remained tied at 21, and the Dukes still needed a score with 5:01 left to leave Rooney Field with the win. But Sean Patterson and an offense that sputtered the entire second half didn't fail their coach. They drove 90 yards in eight plays, including a third-and-seven deep in their own territory, which Patterson kept and ran for 42 yards to the CCSU 32.

"The difference between me and Larry [McCoy] running is, when he's running the ball, they have 11 guys keying on him. When I get a chance to run, sometimes nobody even knows I have it, so I sneak out of there," said Patterson, who outgained McCoy on the ground with 111 yards.

Patterson eventually put the Dukes up for good with a four-yard run off the left side. And with one last defensive stand, the Dukes sealed it 28-21 to improve to 5-2, 3-1.

The win wasn't the prettiest for the Dukes, who were topped in time of possession 38:16 to 21:44, and watched the Blue Devils control the ball for more than 20 minutes in the second half. The Blue Devils' offense relied on the running of quarterback Gunnar Jespersen (79 yards) and running backs Chris Tolbert (70) and Brian Fowler (46) and picked away at the Dukes defense which bent, but did not break.

"They actually had four or five guys that could carry the ball, so three is way better for us," said linebacker Chris Oliver, who had 12 tackles and was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week. "We knew we had struggles, but we knew our offense was going to keep fighting, so we just had to get through it."

Schmitt expected that kind of attack from the team picked to win the NEC in the preseason polls.

"Their quarterback's a gutsy kid, very talented and runs that offense really well. They do have a group of guys that are very talented, and our defense did prepare that way. We gave up some yards but contained them enough to get the win," Schmitt said.

The Dukes seemed like the stronger team early, scoring on their first drive with McCoy's 10-yard touchdown. He would score again in the third quarter with a 5-yard scramble, his sixth of the year.

But McCoy would be held under 100 yards rushing for the second straight week, gaining just 97 after entering the game averaging 128.3.

Patterson also had two scores, his game winner and another coming on an impressive 32-yard run scramble in the second quarter in which he outran the Blue Devil defensive backs as he slanted from the right to left sideline. The veteran quarterback, who finished with more than 100 rushing yards for the first time this season, felt antsy on the sideline for much of the second half.

"If you're an offensive player you always want to be on the field and have the opportunity to make plays and their offense did a good job of keeping us off the field," Patterson said. "But we adjusted well and we did what we had to do to get the win today. We did whatever it took."

Schmitt was pleased to see his team's effort a week after getting handled in Albany for their first loss of the season.

"We got kids responding after that loss as we did after the first loss of the season. I'm proud of them," Schmitt said.

The Dukes will defend their 3-0 home record next Saturday against Wagner at 12:10 p.m.