Pioneers Win OT Thriller 34-27 over #25 Duquesne for NEC Championship

Sunday, April 11

2 pm

Sacred Heart

3-1 , 2-1

#25 Duquesne

4-1 , 4-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Sacred Heart

Duquesne

Pioneers Win OT Thriller 34-27 over #25 Duquesne for NEC Championship

4/11/2021 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

PITTSBURGH – Marquez McCray found Naseim Brantley for a 29-yard touchdown pass in overtime then the Sacred Heart defense forced a fumble on #25 Duquesne's possession to give the Pioneers a 34-27 overtime victory to capture the Northeast Conference championship on Sunday. SHU receives the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Records:
Duquesne: 4-1
Sacred Heart: 3-1

Top Performers:
Julius Chestnut (SHU): 173 rushing yards, 1 TD
Marquez McCray (SHU): 15-of-23 180 yards, 2 TDs
Chris Outterbridge (SHU): 9 tackles, 2 TFL

Up Next:
The Pioneers will wait until the April 18 selection show to learn their first-round FCS Tournament opponent.

Of Note:
It's the fifth conference championship for the Pioneers but their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2014. Sacred Heart and Duquesne shared the title in 2018, but the Dukes won the tiebreaker by winning the regular season matchup.

The Pioneers went up by two scores right before the end of the third quarter. Troy Holland hauled in a 34 yards McCracy pass to set up a six-yard Julius Chestnut touchdown.

Duquesne answered with two fourth-quarter scores but was stopped on their last drive of regulation to force overtime.

Following the SHU touchdown, the Dukes worked their way inside the five yard line. Duquesne quarterback Joe Mischler was stripped at the three yard line by Chris Outterbridge and Frank Alfano recovered the ball in the endzone to secure the victory.

SHU's first scoring drive was set up by a career-long 88-yard punt by Noah Gettman. After a defensive stand, the Pioneers got the back on their own 46-yard line.

The Pioneers converted two third downs, one a nine-yard pass from McCray to Rob DiNota and the other a 12-yard run by Chestnut to set up first in goal. On the end around, wide receiver Brantley hit Garrett Lynn for the six-yard touchdown.

Brantley played a big role in the second SHU score, hauling in a 25-yard pass to set up first and goal. The McCray to DiNota connection came through again, this time resulting in a touchdown to give SHU a 12-7 lead it took into the half.

Keeping Duquesne off the board towards the end of the half was an interception by Randy Brito at SHU four yard line.

The Dukes scored on their opening drive of the first half, but the Pioneers had an answer. Chestnut's 36-yard run got SHU inside the 10-yard line. Two players later Malik Grant plunged into the endzone from one yard out.

For the fourth game in a row Chestnut surpassed 150 yards rushing with 173 yards and the score. Brantley hauled in four catches for 74 yards.