Mischler slings ball for 385 yards and three touchdowns.
PITTSBURGH -- They say third time's the charm and it was proven to be true.
Duquesne University defeated Long Island University 35-17 in a Northeast Conference showdown at Rooney Field on Sunday afternoon.
For Duquesne (3-0, 3-0 NEC) it was an opportunity to repeat themselves as winners against Long Island (1-2, 1-2 NEC) ever since their 21-14 win back in Oct. 2019.
The Dukes won the coin toss and elected to receive. After a three-and-out, they punted the ball down to the Sharks 24-yard line. The Sharks, led by running back Jonathan DeBique, drove the ball down to the Dukes 4-yard line. After a penalty by LIU, they attempted a 29-yard field goal and missed.
After another Dukes three-and-out, they punted to the Sharks 46-yard line. Long Island would score by quarterback Conor Regan's 2-yard rushing touchdown with 2:02 to play in the first quarter.
On the next drive for Duquesne, a false start penalty was called to make it third-and-12. On the next play, threw a 75-yard touchdown to Cyrus Holder with 9 seconds left in the first. After an extra point made by Brian Bruzdewicz, the game was tied 7-7.
At the start of the second quarter, the Sharks drove the ball down to the Dukes 24-yard line. After a 3-yard loss by Conor Regan on third-and-two, the Sharks attempted a fourth down conversion from the Dukes 27-yard line, but the pass was incomplete to Tosin Oyekanmi.
On the Dukes next offensive drive, quarterback Joe Mischler intended a pass to Cyrus Holder and was intercepted by Tariq Snead at the Long Island 36-yard line. Holder was penalized on the play for a face mask infraction which moved the ball to the Duquesne 49-yard line.
After another Dukes defensive stop on fourth down, Joe Mischler connected with Cyrus Holder once again for a 60-yard touchdown with 4:33 to play in the second quarter to give the Dukes their first lead of the day 14-7.
Another Dukes defensive three-and-out gave them the ball once again and Mischler completed all five of his pass attempts on the drive including a 15-yard touchdown to Abdul Janneh with 26 seconds left in the half to make the score 21-7.
At the start of the 2nd half, the Dukes kicked off to the Sharks and Davon Wells returned the ball for 29 yards to the Sharks 36. The Sharks scored a touchdown on a Conor Regan throw to Derick Eugene on a 12-yard pass to put them within one score.
The Dukes first offensive drive in the second half provided big offense on a 29-yard pass to Joey Isabella down to the Sharks 4 and a Garrett Owens 4-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 28-14.
With 3:13 left in the third quarter, Garrett Owens ran for 10 yards, but fumbled the ball on the Long Island 38 and was recovered and taken to the Duquesne 49 by Ricco Aaron Jr. On the next drive for Long Island, a 25-yard field goal by Justin Hertlein cut the score to 28-17 in favor of Duquesne with two seconds left in the third quarter.
To start the fourth quarter, the Dukes drove the ball down to the Sharks 16. After a Billy Lucas 5-yard loss and an illegal substitution penalty, the Dukes attempted a 44-yard field goal from Brian Bruzdewicz and missed it wide left.
After Long Island got the ball back, Conor Regan threw an interception to Leandro Debrito at the Duquesne 13. On the first play of the next drive, Mischler connected with Holder on a 31-yard play. A Garrett Owens 1-yard touchdown and a Bruzdewicz extra point put Duquesne up 35-17.
Duquesne closes out their Northeast Conference play next weekend at Bryant (2-1, 2-1 NEC) next Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Long Island hosts their last Northeast Conference game next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. against Merrimack College (0-2, 0-2 NEC).
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