Morgantown, W.Va. West Virginia withstood a nearly two-hour weather delay and its own early mistakes to beat Duquesne 56-17 Saturday night. The game was delayed nearly two hours early in the second quarter because of storms and lightning in the area. Due to the delay, there was no halftime. Only a fraction of the announced crowd of 50,037 stuck around for the second half.
When play resumed, West Virginia still has some coverage problems in its secondary to figure out. The Offense too, sputtered in the first quarter. Prior to the stoppage the game was close. Duquesne (1-1) took advantage after West Virginia’s Jacolby Spells let a bouncing punt touched him. The Dukes recovered at the West Virginia 46, and four plays later Darius Perrantes threw a 38-yard scoring pass to DJ Powell.
“I wasn’t pleased with how we started,” WVU coach Neal Brown said. “We’ve got to be better in the secondary.”
Powell also was wide open but fell on another long pass that was incomplete in the second quarter. On the next play, Powell made a 34-yard catch to the West Virginia 27, setting up a field goal just before the weather delay with West Virginia leading 14-10.
The Dukes’ Perrantes finished 14 of 31 for 220 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. West Virginia quarterback finished 10 for 18 for 240 yards and 4 TDS.
WVU wide-receiver Hudson Clements finished with five receptions for 177 yards, all in the first half and was put on scholarship immediately after the game.
UP NEXT:
Duquesne plays at Coastal Carolina next Saturday.
West Virginia hosts Pittsburgh next Saturday.
