PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Long Island University football team took Duquesne University to the game's final possession, but the Sharks came up just short in their upset bid of the Dukes, falling by a 21-14 final at Arthur J. Rooney Field on Saturday, Oct. 5.
The building blocks continued to pile up for LIU which tallied a season-high 344 yards of total offense on the day. Junior quarterback
Clay Beathard completed 15-of-24 attempts for 221 yards and two touchdowns against a Duquesne secondary that ranked ninth in the FCS in pass defense (164 yds/gm) entering the game.
Redshirt-sophomore
Jonathan DeBique had a breakout game in the backfield, tallying 97 rushing yards on 13 attempts, while also hauling in his first career touchdown reception on a 14-yard pass from Beathard. Sophomore
Steven Chambers caught a team-best four passes, including a 14-yard touchdown reception during the fourth quarter. Redshirt-sophomore
Tosin Oyekanmi added 54 receiving yards on two receptions, while senior
Jake Bofshever collected three receptions for 49 yards.
On the defensive end, freshman
Desean Spencer led the Sharks with 13 total tackles, while junior
Jerome Brooks III added 10 tackles for his third-consecutive game in double figures. Senior
Abel Joseph posted 2.5 tackles for loss, and junior
Joe Amalfitano recovered a fumble for the Sharks' only takeaway of the day.
Duquesne opened the scoring on a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Mark Allen midway through the opening quarter and added two field goals during the second quarter to take a 13-0 lead into the half. The tides would turn quickly in favor of LIU during the third quarter, however.
On the second possession of the third quarter, the Sharks marched 75 yards on six plays, leading the Beathard-to-DeBique touchdown connection, pulling LIU within six points. The Dukes went three-and-out on the ensuing possession but the Sharks could not convert on the momentum and punted back to the Dukes with one minute remaining in the third quarter.
Duquesne showed its offensive prowess on the following drive, traveling 80 yards in 10 plays, scoring another touchdown on an A.J. Hines touchdown plunge from one yard out. The Dukes converted their two-point attempt and pulled ahead by a two-touchdown margin (21-7) with 11:16 to play. The Sharks responded with the longest drive of the game, a 14-play journey that ended with a fourth-down touchdown pass to Chambers, making it a one-score game with four minutes remaining.
On a 3rd-and-2 play with three minutes remaining, Hines broke off an eight-yard rush to pick up a first down. The Shark defense held tough once again, bringing up a 3rd-and-2 once again with two minutes to play. The All-American Hines converted the first down once again, helping the Dukes hold off the Sharks' comeback attempt.
LIU will be featured in the Northeast Conference Game of the Week for the second time in three weeks next weekend. The Sharks' matchup at Bryant University will be aired on ESPN3 with kickoff from Beirne Stadium slated for 1:00 p.m.
