The Colonels’ defense proved to be too much in Saturday’s 14-7 victory over the Duquesne Dukes in this season’s home opener.As soon as the Colonels took the field, their defense made plays by forcing and recovering a fumble on the first drive. The defense tallied eight sacks, three turnovers and a blocked field goal while holding the Dukes to only 5 of 20 on third down conversions and 0-2 in red-zone scoring chances.
Though the Colonels’ defense was strong, the only offensive scoring drive came from good field position after a four-yard punt from Duquesne’s punter Charlie Leventry.
The Colonels struck first on a 10-play 43-yard drive capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Trey Hopson. The score remained 7-0 until the fourth quarter.
With a stalled drive early in the fourth quarter, the Dukes looked to put points on the board by way of a 34-yard field goal attempt only to have it blocked by the Colonels’ defense.
Both teams were deadlocked in a defensive battle until the Colonels allowed an 83-yard pass to wide-receiver Dave Williams with 10:48 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game up at 7-7.
During the next possession, upback Earvin Moore took the direct snap from center and ran 63 yards down the far sideline into the end zone, putting the Colonels on top 14-7 with 8:25 left in the game.
This would be the final score as the Colonels’ defense buckled down and held Duquesne out of the end zone. A forced fumble and a turnover on downs in the Dukes’ final possession gave the Colonels their first victory of the year.
“We made that (fake punt) call, and the opposing team knew it was coming. They just didn’t know exactly where it was going. Earvin was able to get past the first line of defense, made a move and was able to score,” head coach Jay Thomas said.
Duquesne out-gained the Colonels in total yards 341 to 218, first downs 22 to eight and total time of possession 34:08 to 25:52. However, tough defense on third down allowed the Dukes only one drive that led to a touchdown.
Thomas said that after the shutout last week against Air Force, the Colonels kept the score on their minds all week and were sure they would find the drive to win.
“It’s been a hard week on all of us. You know your pride is hurt, and you are breaking records that you don’t want to break,” Thomas said. “These kids still had to go to class and face their classmates and professors. A lot of things that were said about them were negative. I’m happy for them to come back and get a victory. It really makes me proud for them.”
The Colonels will hit the road for their next game against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 19 in Ruston, followed by the Nicholls Homecoming game against former LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. in Guidry Stadium.
