Alayna Alexander | staff writer

The Duquesne football team got shut out by the Air Force Academy Saturday, losing 34-0 in its season opener at Falcon Field in Colorado Springs. Duquesne struggled to move the ball against the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent, failing to advance past midfield throughout the contest.

Air Force is known for its heavy-running offense, and this game was no different — the Falcons putting up 431 rushing yards while the Dukes only had 54. Running backs Rocco Conti and Kemper Hodges led the Falcons in rushing yards with 77 and 72, respectively. Air Force scored all four of its touchdowns on the ground.
 

Air Force managed to have 18 different players run the ball for at least 3 yards, with six of them rushing for more than 30 yards each.

Head Coach Jerry Schmitt said he was aware of the offense Air Force runs, but that his guys were still ill-prepared for the conditioned FBS players.

“I knew this game would be a challenge for us; I knew what kind of offense they run,” Schmitt said. “They’re an FBS team; they develop a lot of guys from when they come in as freshmen, and I knew they had a lot of really good football players.”

He said that while mistakes were made, he believes his defense did a good job of delaying the Falcons’ drives.

“I thought they battled; there were a couple of things they could have done better to get off the field,” Schmitt said. “But I thought they battled and made Air Force work extremely hard for their drives.”

Running back Ness Davis was the lead rusher for the Dukes, posting 35 yards in 11 attempts.

Schmitt understands that his team is still new and prone to mistakes, which he believes is one of the reasons for them posting low numbers.

“It’s kind of what I expected from what I saw in practice,” Schmitt said. “I think these young guys have some talent, but they are still making some technical mistakes.”

The Dukes had a total of 53 passing yards between Quarterbacks Carson Camp and Logan Kushner, with Falcons quarterback Liam Szarka passing for 19 yards. Wide receiver Antwon Thomas had three receptions for 27 yards, and wide receiver Ryan Petras also brought in three receptions for 16 yards.

Duquesne’s defense put up a fight against the Falcons offense, with linebacker Zach Chambers recording nine total tackles, four of them being solo. Defensive back Jeff Banks and D-lineman Nico Pate put up seven tackles each.

Duquesne had a few players who were unable to finish the game, but Schmitt is hopeful that they will make a quick recovery and be at 100% before next weekend.

“We have a few kids who couldn’t finish the game, but it looks like they were on the sideline; they had ice on,” Schmitt said. “We’ll get the report, and hopefully those guys will heal up quickly.”

Saturday’s game marked the first time Duquesne has played Air Force, and even though the outcome of the game is not what Schmitt wanted, he was thankful his guys got the experience.

“It’s an honor for us to be here and compete at this institution,” Schmitt said. “These guys are defending our country; they are highly intelligent and highly disciplined.”

The Falcons’ offense was putting in the work on third and fourth down, going 9-for-15 on third-down conversions and 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions. They were also 5-for-5 in the red zone. Duquesne was not as controlled on third down, only going 3-for-11.

Air Force’s success did not come without a few mistakes of their own. The Falcons were penalized eight times for a total of 60 yards. Duquesne recorded four penalties for 20 yards.

Of the 60-minute contest, Air Force had possession for just under 41 minutes. Air Force kicker Carter Cremascoli managed to hit two field goals, one from 21 yards and the other from 52, both in the second quarter.

Despite the loss, Schmitt is grateful to the Falcons’ team and management for welcoming them onto their field and for the ability for the Dukes to play on an FBS stage.

“It was a great experience out here; they treated us great — it’s a great atmosphere,” Schmitt said.

The Dukes hit the road to play Youngstown State this weekend in Youngstown, Ohio. Kickoff is at 12 p.m. Saturday.

Alayna Alexander can be reached at alexandera5@duq.edu