Duquesne | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field | Noon | NEC Title | ESPN3
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis football team visits Duquesne this Saturday for a Noon kickoff on ESPN3.  The winner will clinch the Northeast Conference title and earn the automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.  Get to know the Dukes in this week's scouting report.
 
Head coach Jerry Schmitt, in his 11th year at the helm, leads the Dukes.  Schmitt is 67-50 at Duquesne and 95-71 overall in 16 years as a head coach.  The Dukes are 7-3 this season, including 4-1 in the NEC. 
 
Duquesne is coming off of a bye week, but defeated Sacred Heart, 41-14, in its last game.  The Dukes' offense gained 449 total yards, including 320 passing.  Quarterback Dillon Buechel completed 22-of-37 attempts, including two touchdowns and no interceptions.  Receiver Chris King hauled in nine catches for 111 yards and an 18-yard score, while Wayne Capers added six receptions for 144 yards. Running back Rafiq Douglas gained 82 yards on 17 carries, including a 13-yard touchdown.
 
Defensively, Duquesne allowed 337 total yards, with 236 coming through the air.  However, the Dukes forced two turnovers, including a nine-yard pick-six by linebacker Christian Kuntz.  The redshirt junior led the defense with nine tackles, including 3.5 for loss and a sack, while safety Abner Roberts contributed eight stops, with half a tackle for loss.  The Dukes defense totaled 12 tackles for loss and four sacks on the day.
 
Duquesne's offense ranks second in the NEC in scoring, averaging 28.9 points per game.  The Dukes average 402.7 total yards to lead the league, including the league's top rushing offense, averaging 179.4 yards per game.  Duquesne also ranks third in the conference in passing offense, averaging 223.3 yards per game.  
 
Buechel, a six-foot-four, 196-pound redshirt junior, is in his third year as the starting quarterback for the Dukes.  Buechel has completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 2,167 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. 
 
Sophomore Rafiq Douglas, a six-foot, 203-pound running back, averages 5.1 yards per carry, with a total of 812 yards and eight touchdowns.  Douglas also has nine catches out of the backfield for 56 yards.  Senior Klartel Claridy, five-foot-nine, 208 pounds, has 391 yards and three scores, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt.  Freshman P.J. Fulmore, five-foot-seven, 197 pounds, has 375 yards, including 5.4 yards per carry.
 
Senior receiver Chris King, a 2014 First Team All-NEC selection, leads the receiving corps.  The six-foot-one, 200-pound senior has caught 62 passes for 820 yards and seven touchdowns, ranking second in the NEC in receptions per game and third in receiving yards per game. Wayne Capers, a six-foot-one, 205-pound transfer from Arizona, has hauled in 40 receptions for 619 yards and five scores.  Six-foot-one, 175-pound junior Reggie McKnight has 19 catches for 265 yards and two scores.  Tight end Kevin Enright has 13 catches for 120 yards.
 
The Dukes' offensive line includes two seniors, a junior and two sophomores.
 
Duquesne boasts one of the top defenses in the NEC, using a 3-4 scheme.  The Dukes have the top scoring defense in the conference, allowing only 15.9 points per game.  They also rank third in total defense, giving up 325.9 yards per game.  Duquesne allows 128.3 rushing yards and 197.6 passing yards per game, ranking second and third in the league, respectively.  The Dukes have 70 tackles for loss, including 29 sacks on the year, and have forced 19 turnovers, including 11 interceptions.
 
Senior nose tackle Zach Zidian anchors the line.  He leads the unit with 51 tackles, including 28 solo, 7.5 for loss and two sacks.  Defensive end Dane O'Driscoll has 24 tackles, with 12 solo, four for loss and three sacks.  He also returned a fumble 59 yards for a touchdown against Kentucky Christian.  At the opposite end spot is senior Luis Quintana with 22 tackles, 12 solo, 1.5 for loss and a sack. 
 
Junior Christian Kuntz is among the top defensive players in the NEC.  The outside linebacker leads the league with 20.5 tackles for loss, six more than anyone else in the conference.  He also has 6.5 sacks to rank third in the league and NEC-best four interceptions.  Kuntz has a total of 59 tackles on the year.  On the other side, sophomore Nathan Stone has 47 tackles, including 10 for loss and seven sacks as well as a forced fumble.  Inside linebacker Sam Martello leads the team with 70 tackles, including 34 solo, four for loss and a sack.  Martello has one interception.  Armstead Williams, a Purdue transfer, also lines up on the inside, with 40 tackles, including four sacks.  Sophomore Carter Henderson, a Penn State transfer, also sees playing time, with 30 tackles, including three for loss and two sacks.
 
In the secondary, sophomore safety Abner Roberts leads the unit with 57 tackles, including 39 solo and half a tackle for loss.  Roberts has an interception, a forced fumble and three pass breakups.  At the other safety spot, freshman Troy Gethers has 49 tackles, with 31 solo and two for loss, as well as an interception and three forced fumbles.  Junior cornerback Trenton Coles, a Pitt transfer, has 19 tackles, with two for loss and a sack, as well as two picks and four pass breakups.  The other corner, sophomore Malik Shegog, has 32 tackles, with 22 solo and five pass breakups.
 
Kicker Austin Crimmins has converted 13-of-17 attempts, with a long of 45 yards.  Crimmins also handles the punting duties, averaging 37.2 yards per kick, placing six inside the 20.  Freshman Nehari Crawford averages 28.9 yards per return, including a 100-yard touchdown return against Alderson Broaddus.  King, averaging 23 yards per return, also helps with kick returns.  Junior Bobby Gustine handles the punt return duties, averaging 6.2 yards per return.
 
Saint Francis trails the all-time series 34-7, but earned a 26-16 win last year at home.  The Dukes held a 10-9 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Red Flash scored 17 straight points before a late Duquesne touchdown.  Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) hit four field goals, while Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) scored on an 18-yard run and DaQuan Minter (Johnstown, Pa./Greater Johnstown) had a 28-yard pick-six.  Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) ran for 138 yards on 29 carries.