Mischler, Holder combine to help Duquesne beat Long Island

Joe Mischler threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns and Duquesne beat Long Island, 35-17, on Sunday.

Mischler’s first touchdown came on a 75-yard pass to Cyrus Holder, who beat one-on-one coverage to tie the score 7-7 at the end of the first quarter. It was the longest scoring play for the Dukes since Nehari’s Crawford’s 80-yd TD reception from Daniel Parr against Dayton on Sept. 15, 2018.

Mischler and Holder connected again, this time on a 60-yard catch-and-run with 4 minutes, 33 seconds left before halftime to give the Dukes a 14-7 advantage they’d never relinquish.

Cyrus Holder hauls in touchdown No. ✌️ on the day on a 60-yd. reception from Mischler!

Dukes 14, LIU 7#GoDukes • #NECFootball pic.twitter.com/abB4fQFYUC

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) March 21, 2021

Duquesne’s defense forced Long Island to punt on its following drive, and Mischler proceeded to lead Duquesne (3-0, 3-0 Northeast Conference) on an 8-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard scoring pass to Abdul Janneh with 26 seconds before halftime.

Holder finished with a career-high 211 receiving yards receiving on seven receptions. He topped his previous career-high 132 yards set when he was at St. Francis (Pa.) in a game against Albany in 2018. It was his fourth career game topping 100 receiving yards.

Joey Isabella with the over-the-shoulder grab in the red zone ?

33-yd pass from Mischler#GoDukes • #NECFootball pic.twitter.com/ePz62Fjv3V

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) March 21, 2021

Mischler completed 21 of 27 pass attempts, and Garrett Owens ran for 104 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.

Conor Reagan threw for a touchdown and ran for another for Long Island (1-2, 1-2), and Jonathan DeBique rushed for 123 yards on 20 carries.