Hunter Wanket's Impressive Second Half Leads Blue Devils to 31-24 Victory at Duquesne

Senior quarterback Hunter Wanket had a career day as the Blue Devils came from behind for the fourth straight game and defeated Duquesne 31-24 on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Wanket completed 15-of-20 passes for 233 yards and a career-high three touchdowns as the Blue Devils improve to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Northeast Conference play. He threw for 200 yards and three scores after halftime as Central came from 11 points down for the victory. CCSU is back in action on Saturday at Bryant beginning at 1 p.m.

"I've taken teams out here for the last four years and it is always a tough trip," head coach Jeff McInerney said following the victory. "We did a great job of throwing the football in the second half and we responded in all aspects of the game. Our offense fed our special teams which fed our defense."

The Blue Devils got on the board first as senior running back James Mallory rushed from 63-yards out on the third offensive play of the gave to give the visitors the quick 7-0 edge.

Duquesne answered with touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to lead 14-7 with 45 seconds to play before the end of the first quarter. The first scoring drive was aided by a couple of CCSU penalties, once on a fourth down play, and Matthew Glose caught a four-yard pass from Sean Patterson to tie the game.

The second scoring drive took just four plays and went 69 yards, taking just 1:37 off the clock, as Patterson hit Brooks Roorback on a 47-yard scoring play. Roorback caught the ball at the 20-yardline and appeared to be tackled around the 20, but it was ruled his knee never hit the ground and he ran into the end zone untouched for the Dukes' first lead of the game.

Central responded with a 13-play, 63-yard scoring drive capped by a 21-yard field goal by junior kicker Joe Izzo to cut the lead to 14-10. The field goal was the second of the season for Izzo.

On their next drive the Blue Devils had a touchdown run by Mallory called back because of a holding call down the field. They ended the drive turning it over on downs as they were stopped for the second time in the game on fourth down.

The Blue Devils appeared to be driving before the half but after a completion to Rob Fisher, he fumbled the ball at the Dukes' 20-yardline to end the scoring threat and send the game to halftime.

The second half opened with a quick scoring drive by the Dukes and they took a 21-10 lead with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter.

"We were down and knew we needed to make some big plays," McInerney said. "The play by Hunter and Josue helped fuel this team in the second half. Hunter had a great second half and used the whole field to move us into the end zone."

The Blue Devils answered with 21 unanswered points, on three second half scoring throws by Wanket, to take a 31-21 lead with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter. Wanket hit three different receivers with his scoring throws as the Blue Devils rallied for the fourth straight week when trailing at halftime to win the game.

Wanket hit Josue Paul on the second play of the first drive after the Blue Devils went down 10 points. The pass came from 64 yards out and capped the two-play scoring drive that covered 75 yards. Paul made an impressive grab on a great throw by Wanket for the first score of the half.

On the next offensive possession Wanket hit senior quarterback/wide receiver Aubrey Norris from 14 yards out, the first receiving touchdown of Norris's career, to give CCSU the lead for good, 24-21.

The third scoring strike, which came following a blocked punt by London Lomax deep in Duquesne territory, came on a fourth down play. Wanket hit senior Nick Colagiovanni from 20 yards out to put the Blue Devils ahead by 10.

Wanket finished the day completing 15-of-20 passes for 233 yards and the three scores. Mallory rushed 15 times for 121 yards and a touchdown. Paul ended the day with eight catches for 142 yards and the touchdown while Norris also caught three balls for 48 yards and a score.

He was 7-of-8 for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter alone. In the second half he was 10-of-12 for 200 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first time since October of 2005 that a Blue Devil quarterback has thrown for three touchdowns in a single game. He hit three different receivers for scores in the game.

"We moved the ball well and made the plays when we had to. We dug ourselves a hole with the penalties in the first half but again we came alive in the second half," McInerney said. "We are headed home with a W, and we are still undefeated in the league which is what we wanted coming out here this weekend."

The Blue Devils return to action next Saturday at Bryant beginning at 1 p.m. Fans can listen to the game live on CCSUBlueDevils.com beginning at 12:45 p.m.