Loretto, Pa. - The Saint Francis football team (2-5, 0-2 NEC) held a 20-13 lead entering the fourth quarter but surrendered two fourth quarter touchdowns to fall to Duquesne (5-3, 0-2) 27-20 on Homecoming Weekend.

Saint Francis set the tone on the game's opening possession. Senior linebacker Ben Bruni (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) hit Duquesne wide receiver Kellon Taylor over the middle and jarred the ball loose. Fellow senior Sean Orsini (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) fell on the ball at the Dukes 19 yard line setting up an Eric Bofenkamp (Warren, Ohio/John F. Kennedy) field goal from 33 yards.

Duquesne drove into SFU territory on the following drive but the Saint Francis defense forced an incompletion on 4th and 11 from the SFU 33 to give the ball back to the offense.

The fast start continued for Saint Francis as the offense marched 67 yards in 10 plays to take a 10-0 lead. An offsides penalty on 4th and 1 from midfield allowed the drive to continue and resulted in a 12 yard touchdown strike from senior Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) to junior Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy).

The teams traded punts for the remainder of the quarter until Fenimore was intercepted with 26 seconds left in the quarter by Duquesne safety Harvey Clayton Jr. He returned the interception to the Saint Francis 17. 

The Saint Francis defense held firm again to force a three and out, resulting in a 33 yard field goal from Mitch Maczura to make the score 10-3 with 14:38 to play in the second quarter.

The SFU offense sputtered in its next two drives but was bailed out by the defense. A 27 yard punt return by senior Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College) set up the Red Flash at midfield with 6:49 remaining in the second quarter.

First down completions from Fenimore to Ra'Shaun Henry (Copperas Cove, Texas/Copperas Cove) and Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) moved the ball deep into Duquesne territory. The drive stalled after a sack of Fenimore but Bofenkamp split the uprights from 42 yards out to push SFU's lead to 13-3. 

Duquesne responded with a long drive to close the first half. The Dukes would set up a first and goal from the three yard line but were stuffed on consecutive runs. Senior defensive back Jermaine Ponder (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) broke up a third down fade to the corner of the end zone and Duquesne was forced to settle for a chip shot field goal as SFU went into the half with a 13-6 lead.

SFU's first two possessions of the second half resulted in three-and-outs. Duquesne capitalized on a tired Saint Francis defense with a 6-play, 68 yard scoring drive that ended with an A.J. Hinds 26 yard touchdown reception from a well-executed screen play.

The Saint Francis offense got into gear on the next drive. Sophomore Joel Denley (Beaumont, Texas/West Brook) kept the drive alive with a critical third down catch and conversion and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the ball over midfield. Facing a 3rd and 25 from its own 44 yardline, Fenimore connected with Holder over the middle. The junior caught the ball in stride and turned on the afterburners to race 56 yards for his second score of the game as SFU regained the lead, 20-13, with 2:24 left in the third quarter.

Saint Francis held a one touchdown lead entering the fourth quarter but it was short-lived as the Dukes scored on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard corner route on 3rd and 11.

Duquesne threatened to take its first lead on the next drive. Consecutive big plays from Orsini, the first a tackle-for-a-loss and the second a sack, set up a third and long. Duquesne's bid to pick up the first down was broken up by senior Hakeem Kinard (York, Pa./York Catholic). He deflected the ball into the air and it was corralled by Ponder for the interception.

Saint Francis was unable to capitalize on the momentum and punted three plays later. Duquesne started the following drive on its own 10 yard line and went 90 yards in five plays. A 37-yard scamper from Hines closed out the scoring drive and put Duquesne ahead 27-20 with 6:55 to play.

Saint Francis drove to the Duquesne 25 yard line on the next drive thanks to an 11 yard run by Denley and a 21 yard connection between Fenimore and Lewis. The drive sputtered and a 4th and 11 pass intended for Zach Campbell (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) was broken up at the goal line.

Saint Francis had an opportunity to get the ball back on a third and five with 2:30 remaining but Duquesne quarterback Daniel Parr kept the drive alive with a 19-yard scramble.

The Red Flash burned its remaining timeouts and got the ball back on its 10 yard line with 38 seconds to play. Fenimore hit Holder over the middle to get out to the 36. A checkdown to Denley moved the ball to the 42. Redshirt freshman Jason Brown (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) came in for the final heave and was able to find Henry but his forward progress was stopped on Duquesne's 20 as time expired.

Fenimore finished 18-for-36 with 205 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. Freshman Chris Cropper (Wilmington, Del./St. Frances Academy) was SFU's top rusher with 37 yards on nine carries.

Holder was the offensive standout with seven catches, 113 yards and the two touchdowns. 

Kinard led the defense with nine stops and two tackles for a loss. Bruni added eight tackles in the loss.

Duquesne's A.J. Hines finished the game with 28 carries for 165 yards and a rushing touchdown. He also caught three passes for 91 yards and another score to finish with 256 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.

Saint Francis fell to 2-5 on the season and 0-2 in the NEC. All five SFU losses have been by one score. The Red Flash are back in action next Saturday, Oct. 27, at Robert Morris at noon.