DUQUESNE 33, COUDERSPORT 2

Dec. 2, 2005 - PIAA Class A Semifinals

The Dukes defense scored four touchdowns and the special teams added a fifth allowing Duquesne to cruise into the PIAA Championship Game with a 33-2 win over District 9 champion Coudersport.

Duquesne returned three Boomer Wetzel interceptions for touchdowns, recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and returned a punt for a score.

Coudersport turned the ball over a ridiculous 14 times including nine lost fumbles – on 13 total fumbles – and five interceptions.

The Falcons lost five of the fumbles in the first half and might have been suffering from bus lag. Because of a snow storm north of Clarion and accidents caused by the storm on Route 66, Coudersport arrived at Memorial Stadium just 15 minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. kickoff causing the game to be delayed 1:15 minutes.

Chris McCall got the scoring started for Duquesne returning a Wetzel interception 21 yards with 2:24 left in the first quarter giving the Dukes a 7-0 lead.

The Dukes special teams made it 14-0 with 36 seconds left in the quarter when Elijah Fields returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown.

That was how the score remained at the half thanks to two failed Duquesne scoring chances inside the 10. The Dukes fumbled the ball into the end zone on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line and failed to convert on fourth down from the Coudy 5.

Coudersport cut the lead to 14-2 with 7:48 left in the third quarter when Darrale Dunn fell on a fumble in the end zone for a safety.

Duquesne had a chance to go ahead 21-2 later in the quarter, but Layton Dunn fumbled at the goal line giving Coudy the ball back.

The Falcons, though, immediately fumbled the ball right back to Duquesne with Dunn recovering the loose ball in the end zone for a 20-2 lead

Two more interception returns for touchdowns capped the scoring for the Dukes, who will face three-time defending champion Southern Columbia at 1 p.m. Friday in the state championship game.

Dunn led the Dukes offense with 33 carries for 188 yards making him just the second player in Duquesne history to run for 2,000 yards in a season. He now has 2,116.

Coudersport stats were not immediately available. They will be posted when they become available.