Dukes nearly reach peak in 4th NEC season

After four years in the Northeast Conference, with four recruiting classes on athletic scholarships, the Duquesne Dukes football team is right where it planned to be: on top.

The Dukes (9-2, 7-1) finished with their best record since joining the conference in 2008, a record good enough to become co-champions with the University of Albany. 

The red and blue defended Rooney Field by finishing an untarnished 5-0, extending their home win streak to seven games.

Following a final minute loss to Bucknell on the first Saturday of the season, the Dukes rolled off four straight wins before falling to Albany in New York Oct. 8. The Dukes bounced back, winning their last five to complete their best season since 2002.

Coach Jerry Schmitt said the loss to Albany, who through a tie-breaker represented the NEC in the Football Championship Series playoffs, doesn't keep him up at night.

"You always look back on your season and look at what you could have done better, even in the games that you won. I don't think it's haunting us," Schmitt said. "From my perspective, we're going to learn from it as a program, and the younger guys are going to learn from it, because it's hard to anticipate early in the season how a potential loss is going to affect you down the stretch. Every single one counts."

Schmitt's veteran laden squad was no letdown in 2011, earning 11 NEC All-Conference honors, including six first-team players. Three of Duquesne's four defensive secondary members were named to the first-team including NEC Defensive Player of the Year, Serge Kona who had two picks, 28 tackles, including four for loss and three forced fumbles.

Kona and cornerbacks Aaron Fitzpatrick (26 tackles, three passes defended) and Jared Williams (30 tackles, five interceptions) led a staunch Duquesne defense that gave up just 139.9 yards and 18.3 points per game.

Not to be outshone, fellow first-teamers running back Larry McCoy and receiver Connor Dixon led an offense that seemed to become more and more efficient as the season rolled on, racking up 30.4 points and almost 400 yards of total offense per game.

McCoy finished the year ranked ninth in FCS with 1,381 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns and managed a school-recrord nine 100-yard games.

"I'm proud to be recognized as one of the first-team players," McCoy said. "We have a lot of good backs in this conference."

Dixon, a sixth-year eligible grad student, became quarterback Sean Patterson's go-to in the red zone, pulling in 16 touchdowns on 40 receptions. The 6-foot-5 receiver caught a pass in 26 straight games since moving from quarterback eight games into the 2009 season. Unfortunately for the Dukes, the NCAA doesn't grant seven years of eligibility, and Dixon will need to be replaced.

"I think me and Sean [Patterson], knowing we're losing some great senior receivers, we'll have to step it up another notch," McCoy said. The backfield tandem has played together since 2008 on the practice squad. "It's a lot of years of work here."

Patterson had the most efficient season of his career, throwing for 2,011 yards and 23 touchdowns to only 8 interceptions. Patterson made plays not only with his arm, but also with his legs. He gained 552 yards on the ground and scored four times for the Dukes, including the game winner against CCSU the week following the Albany loss.

"I'd like to think I play with the same amount of focus game-to-game. We have a really talented group of seniors here, and I wanted to play hard for the seniors," Patterson said. "Down the stretch, we played well as a team."

Schmitt knows his seniors, including an offensive line that returned four of five starters from last season and first-team tackle Ron Dunn who started 42 consecutive games, would be key in this year's success. He said next year's squad will have big shoes to fill.

"There's no doubt we have a lot of work to do, because we won't have the playing experience at positions. We'll never be able to replace these guys as who they are and what they've done. We're going to forge our own team for 2012," Schmitt said. "These seniors were once freshmen and sophomores and grinding through the transition, and they learned from that."

Schmitt will have to replace six offensive starters and seven defensive starters in 2012. Schmitt said it was obvious the impact his seniors had on the team's approach to every adverse situation, with the older players helping the younger players keep "level heads."

McCoy and Patterson will return and continue to build what they both call the "high level of play" that Duquesne is now recognized for.

"I know there will be a little extra, they'll want to go to the playoffs, to earn that outright," Schmitt said. "We're going to celebrate this past season, but we're going to approach this as a new season."