Tristan Huyett | staff writer |

Led by two defensive touchdowns, Duquesne football tallied its fourth straight win in a 38-7 rout at Saint Francis on Saturday and moved to 4-2 overall, 2-0 in Northeast Conference play.

The scoring started for the Dukes when an errant pass from SFU’s Adrian Mejia found its way to linebacker Ty Howard, who took the ball the other way for a 40-yard touchdown.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Howard said. “It was like slow motion…I was running and [was thinking] ‘I’m really about to score,’ it was fun, I just loved it.”

The defense added another touchdown late in the game, when Malichi Lowery punched the ball away from an SFU receiver and took the fumble 40 yards to the house.

“They were dialed in,” said Duquesne Head Coach Jerry Schmitt. “Playing with confidence, too.”

The touchdowns were only part of what was a dominating defensive display for the Dukes, who sacked Mejia four times, and only allowed 172 yards of offense.

“I thought they played really well,” Schmitt said, “fundamentally sound, and got to the football all day long.”

It was a blitz-heavy attack for the defense, something Howard said was part of the game plan.

“That’s pretty much what our defense is,” Howard said. “That’s the motto of our defense, we like to just blitz and send the heat and play aggressive. We have an amazing D-line, a lot of sacks, they definitely helped us out.”

It was a weak start for the offense, as they punted on four of its first five possessions, mustering only a field goal in between.

“I thought it was really slow,” Schmitt said. “Saint Francis is the No. 1 defense in the Northeast Conference, so we knew it would be a challenge.”

Following a circus catch by Jermaine Johnson, the offense was able to get on the board when JaMario Clements punched in a touchdown on the next play. Clements finished with 87 yards on the ground on a game-high 21 carries.

“That was a hard-fought game,” Clements said. “[It was] probably not my biggest game with long runs, but [I was] just grinding it out for the team, taking over 20 carries, and just coming in and doing what I have to do.”

The offense added two scores in a second half that Schmitt called “efficient,” with quarterback Darius Perrantes finding Steven Mahar and Joey Isabella for touchdowns.

“The whole offense was grinding it out,” Schmitt said, “[SFU] is a really good defense, so for us to grind that out there and play more efficient in the second half [is good].”

For Isabella, it marked his third straight game with a touchdown and brought his season total to four. He finished with six catches for 94 yards and added another 14 on the ground.

“In the first half, I wasn’t too happy with myself,” Isabella said. “[In the second half] the offense kind of turned around, [Perrantes] was a good influence in the locker room talking to us and helping me get out of my bubble.”

“He’s a guy that when we’re struggling a little bit, he gets you out of it,” Schmitt said.

After his six-touchdown masterclass against LIU last week, it was a more pedestrian effort for Perrantes, who finished 15-for-30 for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

“He was a little bit off and we weren’t running it great,” Schmitt said, “but they rebounded.”

For the Dukes, it marked their second consecutive win over Saint Francis and fifth-straight NEC road win dating back to last year, accomplishments Schmitt was not taking lightly.

“It’s always hard to come and play here against them,” Schmitt said, “I know how good a program they are, it’s always a battle.

“To come here, on the road, any NEC road win is good…I’m really happy.”

The Dukes look to move their winning streak to five next week, as they travel to conference rival Stonehill.