Allen's punt-return TD leads Duquesne past Wagner 28-24

Oct 26, 2019, 11:07 pm

PITTSBURGH -- Mark Allen returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown 24 seconds into the fourth quarter and Duquesne held on for a 28-24 victory over Wagner on Saturday.

After a scoreless first quarter, Wagner built a 14-0 lead halfway through the second when Christian Alexander-Stevens capped back-to-back drives with scoring runs of 16 and 9 yards, respectively.

Duquesne (5-2, 3-0 Northeast Conference) responded with two touchdowns in the final 1:55 of the quarter. Daniel Parr capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with a 16-yard TD toss to Davie Henderson on third-and-13. The Dukes' Jake Dixon forced Myron Morris to fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Connor Barrett recovered at Wagner's 24-yard line. Duquesne used 10 plays to score with A.J. Hines running it in from 1-yard.

Duquesne opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 77-yard drive that ended with Allen's 2-yard TD run for a 21-14 lead. Allen followed with his punt return for a two-score lead.

Alexander-Stevens' third rushing TD pulled the Seahawks (1-7, 1-2) within 28-21 with 12:40 remaining. Eric Silvester's 32-yard field goal reduced the deficit to four with 7:47 left. Mason Williams ended it when he picked off Alexander-Stevens with 1:41 left.

Hines finished with 113 yards on 26 carries for Duquesne, which amassed 218 yards on the ground but just 72 through the air.

Alexander-Stevens ran for 61 yards on 11 carries and completed 14 of 28 passes for 191 yards and the costly pick.