PITTSBURGH – The Saint Francis football team scored the first 14 points of the game, but Duquesne fought back as the Red Flash dropped a 30-20 result to end the regular season.  The Red Flash ends the season with a 7-4 overall record, including 4-2 in the NEC.  The Dukes improved to 8-3 and 5-1 in the conference and will move on to the FCS Playoffs.
 
Saint Francis ends the season with seven wins and its first winning record since 1992.  SFU also reached four wins for the first time in conference play since 2012.
 
The Red Flash finished the day with 324 total yards, including 207 passing and 117 rushing.  The Dukes gained 461 total yards, with 281 passing and 180 rushing.
 
Senior running back Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) gained 102 yards on 18 carries to pass the 1,000-yard mark for the season.  Dickson ends his final season in a Red Flash uniform with 1,003 yards on the year and 3,172 for his career. 
 
Junior quarterback Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) completed 12-of-21 passes for 207 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.  Daniel Adams (Washington, D.C./Northwestern) caught four passes for 109 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown catch, to top 100 yards for the first time in his career.  Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) added five receptions for 63 yards, including a 14-yard score in the opening quarter.  Anthony Abeid (Youngstown, Ohio/Youngstown Christian) had two catches for 15 yards.
 
Smith finished the year with the second-most receiving yards in a season in school history, finishing at 920 yards and eight touchdowns.
 
Defensively, junior Solomon Leaeno (Kapolei, Hawaii/James Campbell) led the team with nine tackles, including seven solo, three for loss and two sacks.  Max Ma'afala-Maiava (Pearl City, Hawaii/Aiea ) added eight stops, while Semo Sila (Honolulu, Hawaii /Farrington) had seven.  Erik Walker (Clairton, Pa. /Clairton) recorded a sack, while Wesley Nagaseu (Waipahu, Hawaii/Waipahu) and Sean Orsini (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) each had half a tackle for loss.  Senior DaQuan Minter (Johnstown, Pa./Greater Johnstown) recorded his second interception of the season and Luke Weiss (Verona, N.J. /Verona) recovered a fumble.
 
After forcing Duquesne to punt on its first drive, the Red Flash only needed three plays to score its first touchdown of the game with 11:14 left in the first quarter.  Drayer connected with Adams on a deep ball over the middle for a 24-yard score.  Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) had carries of 24 and six yards out of the wildcat.
 
Later in the quarter, Duquesne drove the ball down to the SFU 20, but the senior, Minter, picked off quarterback Dillon Buechel and returned it 25 yards to the DUQ 47.
 
Two plays later, Smith caught a screen pass and took it 14 yards into the end zone.  The previous play, Drayer hit Smith for a 33-yard gain.  Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley)'s extra point gave Saint Francis a 14-0 advantage with 3:12 left in the opening frame.
 
However, the Dukes responded just a minute into the second quarter, scoring on a two-yard run by Rafiq Douglas.
 
The Red Flash responded with a drive down to the five-yard line, but Drayer's second down pass was intercepted in the end zone.  Dickson had four carries on the drive for 23 yards, while Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) had a 23-yard reception. 
 
Duquesne added a 25-yard field goal by Austin Crimmins with 1:54 to go in the half.  After a three-and-out by SFU, the Dukes scored on a 62-yard pass from Buechel to Wayne Capers to give Duquesne a 16-14 lead at the break.
 
Douglas added two more touchdown runs, scoring on a three-yard run in the third quarter and a six-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.  The Dukes led 30-14 with 10:53 to go in the game.
 
The Red Flash bounced back as Drayer scored on a one-yard sneak to bring SFU within 10, trailing 30-20 with 10:02 left.  Abeid returned a short kick 27 yards to the SFU 39 and a facemask penalty gave the Red Flash the ball at the DUQ 46 to start the drive.  On the first play, Drayer connected with Adams for a 53-yard gain.  After being stopped on a first down run attempt, Drayer found his way into the end zone on second down.
 
Saint Francis had two more possessions, but Drayer was intercepted on both.
 
With 3:45 to go in the quarter, the Red Flash forced a fumble, which Weiss recovered to keep SFU alive, but Drayer was intercepted over the middle by Xavier Nelson.