Football Falls at Duquesne in Final Minute

Central Connecticut dropped a 31-27 thriller at Duquesne in Northeast Conference football action at Rooney Field on Saturday. The Blue Devils led for much of the day before the Dukes took the lead with 0:29 to play. CCSU's drive to comeback would advance to the Duquesne seven yard line before running out of time.

Senior Tyshaun James compiled 169 yards on seven catches with a touchdown, while graduate Shon Mitchell came off the bench to throw for 276 yards and a pair of scores. Sophomore Jonathan Cabral-Martin had a team-high seven tackles to lead the defense, while freshman Kaiyon Gunn had an interception for Central's only turnover of the day.

The Central special teams also had a standout day with sophomore Kyren Petteway taking a kickoff 81 yards for a score to give the Blue Devils a lead late in the fourth quarter. Junior Joe Zoppi went 2-for-2 on field goals and hit 3-of-3 extra points, while freshman Aidan Clark averaged 41.3 yards on punts.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Central Connecticut 27, Duquesne 31
Records: CCSU (3-7, 3-3 NEC), DUQ (6-3, 4-2 NEC)
Location: Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, PA

KEY MOMENTS

• After Duquesne took a 3-0 lead with a field goal on their opening drive of the game, CCSU would open the second quarter with 17 straight points. Zoppi capped a 13-play drive to open the second with a 33-yard field goal to tie the game. Gunn would end the Dukes' next drive with an interception in CCSU's endzone and the Blue Devils responded by going 80 yards in three plays. Back-to-back catches by James covered 55 yards before Mitchell hit junior Theo Zidor for a 25-yard strike to make it 10-3. The Blue Devils would get it back after forcing a punt and would promptly cover 71 yards in just five plays. The drive was capped off with a 48-yard receiving touchdown by James to extend the lead to two touchdowns.
• The Dukes would end the half with momentum after covering 80 yards in 12 plays over just 1:42 to cut the Central lead to 17-10. A Davie Henderson touchdown came with just 0:10 to go in the half. Duquesne would tie the game on their opening drive of the second half after stopping CCSU on fourth down. Henderson would get his second receiving touchdown of the day midway through the third quarter to tie it at 17-all.
• Central would regain the lead  after a nearly-five minute drive seup another Zoppi field goal. His 35-yard kick with 0:31 to play in the third quarter made it 20-17 to set up an exciting final quarter.
• Duquesne would open the fourth quarter by covering 43 yards. Billy Lucas would cash in a 2-yard run for a touchdown to make it 24-20 with 10:14 to go in the game.
• On the ensuing kickoff, Petteway would take the kick 81 yards to paydirt to give Central the lead again 27-24.
• The defenses would keep the score unchanged until Duquesne took over at its own 39 with 1:51 to play. The Dukes would face a third and 20 before a 29-yard catch by Henderson kept the drive alive. On the next play, Cyrus Holder scored on a 30-yard reception to make it 31-27 with 0:29 remaining.
• The Blue Devils would take over on their own 34 after a short kickoff by the Dukes. On first down Mitchell connected with James for 49 yards to put it at the Duquesne 17 with 0:19 to play. After a short pass gained four yards, the Blue Devils faced a fourth-and-six and would get a first down completion, but time would expire to end the comeback.

NUMBER TO KNOW

169 - Senior Tyshaun James became the first player in the Northeast Conference to top 150 receiving yards in a game this season.

GAME NOTES

• The all-time series is tied 7-7 and Duquesne defeated CCSU at home for the first time in three tries.
• Petteway's kickoff return for a score was the first by CCSU since Tajik Bagley had a 95-yard return on Sept. 9, 2017.
• James topped 100 receiving yards for the second time this season - he had 113 yards against LIU on Oct. 23.
• Mitchell finished the game 15-of-27 and added 22 yards on eight runs.
• The Central defense recorded an interception for the fifth straight game.
• CCSU, which entered the game leading the nation in time of possession (35:01), held the ball for 29:55 - nearly identical to Duquesne's 30:05.
• Senior Nasir Smith led the CCSU running attack with 72 yards on 15 carries.
• Sophomore Chizi Umunakwe had CCSU's only sack of the day, to go along with five tackles.

UP NEXT
Central concludes the 2021 season at home against Saint Francis U.