BOX SCORE PITTSBURGH – The Saint Francis University football team fell on the road Saturday to Duquesne in a tight game, 24-21, at Arthur Rooney Field.
 
Keion Wade (East Orange, N.J./East Orange) rushed for 82 yards and three scores but it was not enough for the Red Flash (2-3, 1-1) as the Dukes (4-1, 2-0) connected on a 20-yard field goal with 32 seconds to pick up the win. John Kelly (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) rushed for 103 yards on the ground and threw for another 94 as SFU fell to 1-1 in Northeast Conference action. The game boiled down to each team's final offensive possession and the Dukes forced SFU to punt and then came away with a field goal. SFU had the ball last but with less than a minute on the clock and no timeouts, Kelly, trying to make a play, threw just his third interception of the season and Duquesne came away with the win.
 
“Our guys played very hard today and we did several things well but we just came up short,” head football coach Chris Villarrial said. “But now we have to put this one behind us and start getting ready for a big match up at home with Robert Morris.”  
 
The game started poorly for SFU as they Duke used a short kickoff to put the ball in the hands of Timmy Myers (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria), who fumbled giving Duquesne excellent field possession. The Flash defense picked up the special teams holding the Dukes to a three and out and it got better for SFU when Charlie Leventry missed his field goal attempt. After trading possessions, the Dukes went 74-yards on 13 plays for the game's first score. Larry McCoy capped the drive with a four-yard run up the middle to give Duquesne the early 7-0 lead. Both defenses stood tall for a majority of the second quarter but the Flash broke through late. Saint Francis used a punishing 13-play 75 yard drive capped by a two-yard touchdown by Wade to even the game at seven.
 
It looked like SFU and Duquesne would be tied heading to the half, but a long pass play for the Dukes put them in scoring position just before the half. Leventry connected on a 37-yard field goal to give Duquesne a 10-7 lead at the intermission.
 
Duquesne started the second half with the ball but after moving into Red Flash territory McCoy fumbled and SFU took advantage of the mistake. The Red Flash used another hard nose drive filled with tough run to go 83-yards on 12 plays for a score. The dive was finished off by a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle by Wade. The Flash kept the drive alive with a key Duquesne personal foul and with the score SFU took a 14-10 advantage. Duquesne responded with a long drive of its own going 74-yard on nine plays but SFU's defense held  late in the drive and forced the Dukes to kick a field goal to make it a 14-13 game.
 
The Flash added another score early in the fourth quarter when Wade tallied his third touchdown of the game on a two-yard dive with 12:44 remaining. The Dukes responded with a 13-play 72 scoring drive capped by a McCoy scoring run to cut the Flash lead to two. Duquesne went for two and got it with an excellent fake to the right side by quarterback Sean Patterson who then turned threw back left to Kyle Shuman for the score. The conversion knotted the game at 21 with 6:54 remaining. The Flash got the ball and, after earning a pair of first downs, were forced to punt. The Dukes then drove 72 yard on 13-plays and picked up a huge third down catch by Sean Brad, that put Duquesne in scoring position. The Flash kept the Dukes out of the end zone but Leventry's field goal with 32 seconds left gave SFU little time to work. Kelly rushed for a big first down but on third and long the senior quarterback was intercepted to dash any SFU hopes of a comeback.
 
Jake DeMedal (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington) played strong for the SFU defense with 11 total tackles including 10 solos and a tackle for loss. Ryan Revtai (Oakdale, Pa./West Allegheny), who was not at 100-percent, showed a great deal of heart making eight tackles. Ter'Shaudney Phillips (Deland, Fla./Deland) made six total tackles for the Flash and did have an interception but it was called back on a penalty.       
 
The Red Flash returns home Oct. 6 to take on in-state conference rival Robert Morris, in a contest set for a noon kickoff.