Duquesne overwhelms Rio Grande 53-0 in dominant home opener

The Duquesne Dukes (1-3) broke into the win column in emphatic fashion Saturday, overwhelming the Rio Grande RedStorm 53-0 at Rooney Field in Pittsburgh in their final nonconference game of the season.

The Dukes scored on five of their first six possessions, rolled up 500 yards of offense and held the RedStorm to just 43 as they extended their home-opening winning streak to 19 games.

Camp sets the tone

Carson Camp directed the early onslaught, completing 16 of 21 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns, matching his career high for scoring passes.

He opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Ness Davis midway through the first quarter before finding Khiryn Boyd from 22 yards out for a 14-0 advantage.

The Dukes kept pouring it on in the second quarter. Shawn Solomon Jr. scored on a nine-yard run, Myles Walker added an eight-yard touchdown and Camp connected with Zae-Mear Correll for a 36-yard score that sent Duquesne into halftime leading 34-0.

Davis recorded his first career receiving touchdown, while Boyd and Correll each caught their first career touchdown passes.

Defense smothers RedStorm

There was no respite for the RedStorm when they had the ball.

The Duquesne defense surrendered only seven first downs, 15 rushing yards and 28 through the air. Rio Grande quarterbacks Braden Schreck and Austin Buescher combined to complete 10 of 25 passes and were sacked four times.

Zion Patillo delivered the defensive performance of the afternoon. He finished with five tackles, a career-high four tackles for loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery.

Patillo also produced one of the game’s defining sequences in the third quarter. After recording sacks on consecutive plays, he brought down the ball carrier in the end zone on the next snap for a safety that stretched the lead to 43-0.

Luke Miller added an interception and returned it 47 yards to the Rio Grande nine-yard line in the second quarter.

Ground game joins the rout

The Dukes were equally dominant on the ground, rushing for 251 yards on 45 carries.

Cameron Oliver led the way with career highs of 13 carries and 97 yards, capping his afternoon with a 17-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Dazhaun Hopkins added a two-yard scoring run, while Solomon and Walker also found the end zone.

Seven different Duquesne players accounted for the team’s seven touchdowns.

The defense finished with 13 tackles for loss and four sacks, with eight players recording at least one tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

Dukes head into bye on a high

The 53-point margin was Duquesne’s largest in a home opener during Jerry Schmitt’s 22 seasons as head coach. The Dukes improved to 21-1 in home openers under Schmitt and 36-4 in nonconference games at Rooney Field.

It was also their seventh consecutive season with at least one shutout.

After navigating a demanding opening stretch, Duquesne now gets a bye before turning its attention to Northeast Conference play. The Dukes return to Rooney Field on October 10 to face LIU in their NEC opener on Homecoming & Family Weekend.