BOX SCORE PITTSBURGH – The Saint Francis football team used a pair of big plays to account for 10 points, but it wasn't enough as the Duquesne Dukes defeated the Red Flash, 21-10, Saturday night at Rooney Field.

The Dukes (5-3, 3-1) forced a rare turnover by the Saint Francis offense, intercepting a Max Ward (Steelton, Pa./Middletown) pass on the opening drive to set up a Ryan Ho 1-yard touchdown run to cap a four play, 24-yard drive. Duquesne held a 7-0 lead with 11:44 to play in the opening quarter.

Duquesne added on to the lead later in the quarter. It appeared Ethan Dorsey had been stopped at the goal line, but a second effort gave the Dukes a 14-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter. Duquesne dominated the time of possession throughout the game, and it was evident on that drive. The Dorsey touchdown finished off a 16-play, 88-yard drive that took 8:40 off the clock. Duquesne held the ball for 38:41 to SFU's 21:19.

Duquesne had the ball again, but Lorenzo Jerome (Sunrise, Fla./J.P. Taravella) intercepted his fifth pass of the season and raced 60 yards for the score to cut the lead in half. The interception tied him with teammate DaQuan Minter (Johnstown, Pa./Greater Johnstown) for the team lead. Minter entered the game leading the nation in interceptions.

The Flash (3-5, 1-2) inched closer thanks to a big play by Bishop Neal (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) and Semo Sila (Honolulu, Hawaii /Farrington). After forcing Duquesne to punt, Neal and Sila came free and blocked Aaron Fleck's rugby-style punt to set the Flash up inside the Dukes' red zone. SFU couldn't punch it in, however, as it settled for a 20-yard Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) field goal. It was 14-10 Duquesne heading into the intermission. Neal finished the game with seven tackles, just one behind Jake DeMedal (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington)'s team-leading eight.

The game held steady through the third period, but Duquesne held the ball for 10:25 in the quarter to keep the Flash offense at bay. The Dukes finished an 11-play, 70-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dillon Buechel to Devin Rahming on third down to finish the scoring at 21-10.

The Red Flash offense just couldn't sustain a drive against a tough Duquesne defense. Saint Francis registered just seven first downs and went 1-for-11 on third downs. Ward tied his second-highest total for completions in a game with 11, completing three passes each to Dane Domonkos (Windber, Pa./Bishop McCort), Anthony Abeid (Youngstown, Ohio/Youngstown Christian) and Kyle Harbridge (Easton, Pa./Easton Area). Harbridge was held in check on the ground, rushing for just 41 yards on 15 carries.

The Red Flash will look to get back on track with another road test next Saturday at Bryant.