Duke rallies Sacred Heart, Pioneers hold on to beat CCSU

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NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Kevin Duke threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns as Sacred Heart rallied in the last half and then survived a late Central Connecticut State field goal attempt for a 28-25 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 17-7 at the break, Sacred Heart (4-3, 2-0 Northeast Conference) which had dropped three games in a row, scored three straight touchdowns to go up 28-17 early in the final quarter. The Blue Devils answered when Jacob Dolegala hit Arthur Gilmore on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 5:26 remaining. The same two hooked up for the 2-point conversion to close within a field goal.

The CCSU defense forced a punt and Dolegala engineered a 14-play, 56-yard drive to Sacred Heart's 27 where Francis Cole sailed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide left in the final seconds.

Jordan Meachum ran for 107 yards for Sacred Heart. The Pioneers had two receivers break the century mark as Andrew O'Neill pulled in 10 passes for 170 yards with two touchdowns and Kezio Snelling caught just three passes for 103 yards.

CCSU (4-4, 2-1), which had been picked to win the conference again this season, had won eight straight league games.