October 22, 2022
Football Falls at Home to Duquesne
Nas Smith had a 132 all-purpose yards on Saturday for the Blue Devils
The Central Connecticut football team fell 30-6 against Duquesne on Saturday afternoon in Northeast Conference action at Arute Field.
The Blue Devils would be in position to tie the game at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Dukes would force a turnover en route to scoring 17 unanswered points.
Nasir Smith had 132 total yards and scored CCSU's only touchdown.
The Blue Devils close out their three-game homestand against Wagner on Saturday, Oct. 29, at Noon.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Duquesne 30, CCSU 6
Records: CCSU (0-7; 0-3 NEC); Duquesne (2-5, 1-2 NEC)
Location: Arute Field | New Britain, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- Duquesne opened the scoring with a 20-play, 73 yard drive late in the first quarter. The Dukes converted a pair of fourth downs on the drive and would run six plays inside the CCSU five-yardline, but the Blue Devils limited Duquesne to a 23-yard field goal by Brian Bruzdewicz.
- The Dukes would pad their lead with 10 points in the second quarter. Duquesne doubled its lead with a 40-yard kick by Bruzdewicz to cap a 10-play drive early in the second period. A four-play, 91-yard drive was capped off by the only touchdown of the first half. The drivewas highlighted by a 45-yard catch by Dwayne Menders and a 37-yard grab by Joey Isabella to set up a short scoring pass from Darius Perrantes to Abdul Janneh.
- The Blue Devils put together a 13-play drive late in the half, advancing to the Duquesne 21. CCSU, which was set to receive the second half kickoff, would come away empty after an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the drive deep in Duquesne territory.
- Central would find the endzone on its second drive after halftime. Shon Mitchell completed three passes on the drive and ran for 11 yards, while Nas Smith capped the seven-play, 72 yard drive with a 19-yard run to make it 13-6 after the PAT was blocked.
- CCSU would drive to the Duquesne eight in search of a tying score early in the fourth quarter, but the Dukes picked off a pass in the endzone. The drive would stall at the CCSU two-yard line and Bruzdewicz would kick his third field goal to make it 16-6.
- Duquesne would convert a 4th and 11 with just over one minute to play and stretched its lead to 23-6 on a 24-yard pass to Jalin Cooper. On the ensuing CCSU possession, Ezekiel Daure returned an interception 30 yards for the Dukes to round out the scoring.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Smith had 91 yards on the ground on 20 carries. He added 41 yards through the air on three catches.
- Chizi Umunakwe, who ranks fifth nationally in tackles per game, had 11 total stops. Umunakwe has five games of 10+ stops.
- Isaiah Greene made a season-high nine tackles.
- Aidan Clark averaged 37.4 yards on five punts on the day. He had a long of 49 yards.
- Ethan Haberman had CCSU's only sack of the game at the end of the first half for a 14 yard loss.
NUMBER TO KNOW
11 - Umunakwe has made 10 or more tackles in three consecutive games.
