Flash Points:

• Saint Francis football meets Duquesne on Friday night at 7 p.m. on Homecoming Weekend.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and can be seen on WatchESPN/ESPN App.
• Duquesne is 4-2 this year, with a 1-0 mark in the NEC.
• Duquesne leads the NEC, averaging 31.2 points, 448.3 total yards and 284 passing yards.
• Four-year starting quarterback Dillon Buechel leads the NEC with 1,704 passing yards.

Duquesne | DeGol Field | 7 p.m. | ESPN3/WatchESPN/ESPN App | Homecoming
 
Duquesne Two-Deep
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis football team welcomes Duquesne to DeGol Field on Friday night on Homecoming weekend.  It is also a re-match of last year's NEC Title Game, with both teams in position to be part of the NEC Title race again this year.  The Red Flash and Dukes are set for a 7 p.m. kickoff, with the game broadcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN, with Dave Popkin on Play-by-Play, Kevin Gilbride on Color and Greg Mescall on the sidelines.
 
The Red Flash is 2-0 in conference play, while the Dukes are 1-0 after a win over Robert Morris last week.
 
Head Coach Jerry Schmitt earned his 100th career win with the Dukes' win vs. RMU.  In 17 years, Schmitt has a 100-74 record, including a 72-53 mark in 12 seasons at Duquesne.  The Duquesne coaching staff features former Saint Francis quarterback Anthony Doria (2003-06) as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach and former SFU Head Coach Dave Opfar (2002-09) as Defensive Coordinator.
 
Duquesne has a 4-2 record this year after its 31-24 win against Robert Morris.  The Dukes totaled 491 yards, including 258 passing and 233 rushing yards.  Quarterback Dillon Buechel completed 22-of-33 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns.  Running back A.J. Hines rushed for 182 yards on 27 carries and added five catches for 64 yards, while P.J. Fulmore added 15 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown.  Wayne Capers led the Duquesne receivers with six catches for 91 yards, while Chavas Rawlins, Blair Roberts and Kellon Taylor each caught a touchdown.
 
The Dukes held RMU to just six first downs and 155 total yards, including 122 passing and 33 rushing.  Duquesne had an interception and two sacks on the night.  Linebacker Carter Henderson led the team with seven tackles, including three solo and one for loss, while Christian Kuntz had five stops, with 2.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks and two QB hurries.  Defensive End Andy Struttman had five tackles, with two for loss.  Cornerback Anthony Dougherty returned an interception 25 yards.
 
Duquesne's offense leads the NEC in scoring (31.2 points/game), total yards (448.3 yards/game) and passing yards (284.0 yards/game).  The Dukes are 31st in the FCS in scoring and 16th in both total offense and passing offense.  Duquesne averages 164.3 rushing yards per game, ranking third in the conference.
 
Buechel, a six-foot-four senior, is in his fourth year as the starting quarterback for the Dukes.  He is a member of the CFPA FCS National Player of the Year Trophy Watch List.   Buechel is enjoying a strong senior season, with a 57.5 completion percentage, 1,704 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.  He ranks 12th in the FCS in passing yards and passing touchdowns and 10th in passing yards per game. 
 
Hines, a 5-foot-11, 220-pound freshman, has enjoyed a strong rookie year, in which he leads the NEC with 689 rushing yards on 124 carries (5.6 yards/carry) and is tied for the conference-lead with five touchdowns.  He also has 10 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown.  Hines has won five NEC Rookie of the Week awards.  Five-foot-seven, 195-pound sophomore P.J. Fulmore and 5-foot-10, 201-pound sophomore Riley Redman also see time in the backfield.  Fulmore has 153 yards and a touchdown on 44 carries and seven catches for 55 yards, while Redman has 160 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries and two catches for nine yards.
 
The Dukes' top target on the outside is redshirt senior Wayne Capers, Jr.  The six-foot-one, 211-pound transfer from Arizona leads the NEC with 102.8 receiving yards per game, just 0.1 yards ahead of SFU's Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison).  Capers, Jr. is 13th in the FCS with 617 yards on 33 catches.  He averages 18.7 yards per catch and has six touchdown receptions.  Blair Roberts, a graduate transfer from Old Dominion, has 20 catches for 311 yards and two scores.  Nehari Crawford, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, has 19 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns, while six-foot-three redshirt junior Chavas Rawlins has 120 yards and a touchdown on 12 receptions.  Senior Tight End Kevin Enright has four catches for 17 yards on the year.
 
The Duquesne offensive line features a senior and four juniors, combining for 108 career starts.  Senior right tackle Larson Graham has started all 41 games in his career.  Junior right guard Ben Huss has made 28 career starts, while junior center Mike Mondzelewski has made 26 career starts.  Junior left guard Matt Fitzpatrick and junior left tackle Alex Conley are each in their first year as full-time starters with seven and six career starts, respectively.
 
The Dukes use a 3-4 defensive scheme.  They are allowing 29.8 points and 328.5 yards per game, ranking fifth and third in the NEC, respectively.  The Dukes give up just 184.5 passing yards per game, leading the league, and 144.0 rushing yards, ranking fifth in the conference.  Duquesne has forced 11 turnovers this year, including seven fumble recoveries, and nine sacks.
 
On the defensive line, junior end Andy Struttmann leads the unit with 21 tackles, including 11 solo.  Struttmann also has four tackles for loss and a sack.  Senior end Jake Radziukinas has made 21 stops, with 13 solo and half a tackle for loss as well as a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Sophomore defensive tackle Zack Blystone has eight tackles, with five solo and one for loss. 
 
Senior outside linebacker Christian Kuntz, a Preseason All-America by Athlon Sports, College Sports Madness, Football Gameplan and STATS FCS, has lived up to expectations with an FCS-leading 15.5 tackles for loss.  He has 37 tackles, with 26 solo, seven sacks and two forced fumbles.  Kuntz is fifth in the FCS, averaging 1.17 sacks per game.  Junior Carter Henderson, a transfer from Penn State, leads the team with 50 tackles, including 33 solo and five for loss.  Henderson also has two fumble recoveries and an interception.  Junior inside linebacker Nathan Stone is second on the team with 42 tackles, including 23 solo and four for loss as well as two forced fumbles.  Fellow inside linebacker Gary Wooten, a senior who also transferred from Penn State, has 15 tackles, nine solo, and a forced fumble.  Sophomore Troy Gethers also sees playing time, with 10 tackles and two forced fumbles.
 
Junior strong safety Abner Roberts leads the Dukes secondary with 30 tackles, including 21 solo, and five pass breakups.  Sophomore free safety Brandon Stanback has 18 stops, with eight solo, and three pass breakups.  Sophomores Jonathant Istache and Daquan Worley start at the cornerback spots.  Worley, a Penn State transfer, has 16 tackles, with 13 solo, four pass breakups and an interception.  Istache has nine tackles, including one for loss.  Sophomore Anthony Dougherty and junior Malik Shegog also see time in the secondary, with each recording an interception this year.
 
Senior kicker Austin Crimmins, an Ebensburg native and Central Cambria High School alum, is currently tied for the NEC Career Record and the career lead among current FCS players with 54 career field goals.  He has made 10-of-13 attempts this season, including a long of 45.  Crimmins also handles the punting duties, averaging 39.2 yards per kick.  Crawford is the primary kick and punt returner.  He is averaging 24.5 yards per kick return.
 
Saint Francis trails the all-time series, 35-7, including last year's 30-20 loss at Duquesne.  Quarterback Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) threw for touchdown passes and rushed for another score.  The Red Flash's last win in the series came in 2014, with a 26-16 win at home.