By Andrew Holman | The Duquesne Duke
The first conference game of the year is always a crucial one to win, and the Dukes’ football squad delivered Saturday with a 27-10 win over Central Connecticut State University Saturday.
Led by Dillon Buechel, the powerful force that is the Red & Blue offense was marvelous in each area of the field.
The depth of this Dukes team is staggering. That “next man up” mentality seems to be in full effect this year and it is paying off for them. Players have continued to step up and make plays and going forward this is only going to help Duquesne throughout the long conference season.
Speaking of making plays, CCSU had a few drives that were deep into Duquesne territory that were stopped thanks to a pair of interceptions by defensive back Trenton Coles. Coles is just another receiving weapon for the Dukes, but one that plays on the defensive side of the ball.
The Blue Devils came in with a 1-3 record, were coming off a 57-14 defeat by New Hampshire and were projected to finish sixth out of seven teams in the conference, so this surely won’t be the toughest conference opponent Duquesne will face this year. But a win’s a win and it was an impressive outing to start the NEC Conference season.
If Duquesne can have a few more performances like this one, they could be a force to be reckoned with in the NEC. The team and individual statistics that the Dukes tallied in the box score were impressive, but the most important number is the one in the win column as Duquesne will start off with a 1-0 conference record. One win closer to their goal of winning the NEC and earning a playoff berth.
