Monthly Archives: September 2009

Duke Football

Duke rides Wright and Renfree to victory – Duke 35 Army 19

A.P.
A.P.

There was no shortage of second half heroics in Duke's 35-19 win over Army as the Blue Devils evened their record to 1-1 on the season.  An elder in Leon Wright and a cub in Sean Renfree scored two touchdowns apiece all of which came in a 28 point second half.

Renfree had one of those freshman debuts kids dream about.  On his first collegiate snap from center, Renfree went to a wide open Brett Huffman for a 14 yard score which put Duke up on their opponent for the first time this season 14-10.  It was the shot in the arm that Duke needed in that a lot of bounce returned to their legs.

The young freshman wasn't finished.  After an Army field goal cutting the lead to 14-13 and on Duke's twelfth possession of the game, Renfree found Donovan Varner in the corner of the end zone in a play that covered 31 yards.  Just like that, Duke was up 21-13 and just like that the kid wearing number19 in royal blue looked like HOF'er Johnny Unitas, uniform and production.

This of course brought about smiles  from the Duke sidelines including a sigh of relief.  The sigh was for good reason for Army came out of the gate and outplayed the Devils as the Duke offense looked disjointed.  If the Army game plan was to go after Thaddeus Lewis then they succeeded for they pressured him more often than not on his throws.

There was simply a lot of bad "mojo" for Duke in the first half including the proverbial missed field goal a four year or more Achilles heal for the program.  But Duke dodged a late bullet when Army missed a field goal as time ran out in the first half and Duke was fortunate to go to the locker room down 10-7.

That may have been the start for a momentum surge from the Devils, but when Renfree replaced Lewis and tossed a TD, it was clear to see that the tide had turned.

To seal the win, Duke senior Leon Wright intercepted two passes scoring on each one.  Amazingly, those two scores came on consecutive plays within less than a minute of one another.  Duke was also helped byVince  Ogohabasse, Ayanga Okpokowuruk and Vinnie Rey, all of whom made some huge plays.

It was quite simply a day where everything went right for one team in each half, but Duke half was by far the most impressive.  Despite being out gained in the offensive stats Duke found some kids to make some big plays today and you could see the chemistry coming together where both senior leadership and freshman talent played a big role.

Sidebar - No word yet on the condition of talented freshman wideout Conner Vernon.  Army scored a late TD on Dukes second and third team defensive players.  Duke will play their second consecutive and last game on turf this season when they travel to Kansas next week.  Check back for more football all day tomorrow ending with a talk with Cut.

Duke Football

Snyderwine takes over place kicking duties

duke-blue-devilsDURHAM, N.C. -- Head coach David Cutcliffe announced on Thursday that junior walk-on Will Snyderwine will handle Duke's placekicking chores on Saturday when the Blue Devils face Army.  Kickoff at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y., is set for 12 noon and the game will be televised live by CBS College Sports.

"He had a tremendous week this week both placekicking and with kickoffs, and he had a tremendous day today," Cutcliffe said Thursday after practice. "He's earned that opportunity.

"We'll see what he does with it."

Last week, Snyderwine kicked off for the Blue Devils and was scheduled to attempt any field goals over 40 yards.  Cutcliffe turned to the Potomac, Md., native for the PAT on Duke's second touchdown of the evening.  Returning starter Nick Maggio successfully booted his lone PAT attempt against Richmond, but missed two field goal attempts.

Duke Basketball

Kyle Singler named pre-season 1st Team All American

Kyle Singler had a busy summer - BDN Photo
Kyle Singler had a busy summer - BDN Photo

DURHAM, N.C. - Junior Kyle Singler was chosen as a preseason first team All-America selection by FoxSports.com on Wednesday.

Singler joins senior Luke Harangody of Notre Dame, freshman Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech, freshman John Wall of Kentucky and sophomore Willie Warren of Oklahoma on the first team.

For his career Singler has tallied 1,060 points, 482 rebounds, 137 assists, 63 blocked shots and 93 steals. He is one of only six players in school history to score over 1,000 points during their sophomore season. He became the 59th player at Duke with over 1,000 career points and 70th player to score over 500 points in one season last year.

In 2008-09, Singler averaged 16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while leading Duke to a 30-7 record, ACC Tournament Championship and NCAA Sweet 16. He reached double figures in scoring 34 times with 20 or more points in 11 contests. He also had nine double-doubles on the year.

Duke will begin the 2009-10 regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 at home against UNC Greensboro.

Duke Football

Game Notes – Duke at Army, 12:00 Saturday, TV – CBS College Sports

vince oDuke (0-1) vs. Army (1-0)
September 12, 2009
12 noon

Site: West Point, N.Y.
Stadium: Michie Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 40,000
Television: CBS College Sports - Dave Ryan (Play-by-Play); Jason Sehorn (Color)
Radio: Blue Devils ISP Sports Network
Internet: GoDuke.com; theACC.com
Tickets: 1-877-375-DUKE

First Road Game
Duke (0-1) will go on the road for the first time in 2009, heading to West Point, N.Y., to play Army (1-0) on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 noon. The game will be televised by CBS College Sports with Dave Ryan providing the play-by-play and Jason Sehorn handling the color commentary. The Blue Devils are coming off a 24-16 loss at home to Richmond while Army went on the road and defeated Eastern Michigan, 27-14.

Last Time Out
The Blue Devils opened the 2009 season with a 24-16 loss to the FCS defending national champions, Richmond. Duke trailed 14-2 before Thaddeus Lewis threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Williams in the second quarter. It was the first of two TD passes for Lewis as he finished the day completing 34-of-55 pass attempts for 350 yards. Williams recorded seven receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown while Austin Kelly caught a 21-yard touchdown pass and had seven catches for 80 yards. The defense allowed just 282 total yards and was led by senior Vincent Rey, who had 14 tackles.

Large Attendance
Duke recorded its largest home attendance since 2001 in the season opener. The Blue Devils drew a crowd of 33,311 against Richmond. It was the highest total since 35,206 fans watched Duke face N.C. State in Wallace Wade Stadium on Nov. 3, 2001.

Duke-Army Series
The Blue Devils have a slight edge in the all-time series with Army, 10-9-1. The last time the two schools met was in 1997 when Duke claimed a 20-17 win. The Blue Devils have won six of the last seven meetings dating back to 1989 and are 10-3-1 since 1964. Army won the first six games in the series from 1944-1959.

Overall: Duke, 10-9-1
First Meeting: Army, 27-7 in 1944
Last Meeting: Duke, 20-17 in 1997
Largest Duke Margin of Victory: 36 (43-7) in 1994
Largest Army Margin of Victory: 35 (48-13) in 1945
Duke’s Last Win in West Point: 1995 (23-21)
Army’s Last Win in West Point: 1996 (35-17)
Current Streak: Duke, W1

Inside the Numbers ...

  • 0 - The Blue Devils did not turn the ball over against Richmond. Last season the N.C. State game was the only contest Duke’s offense did not record a single turnover.
  • 6 - Senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is six touchdowns shy of matching Ben Bennett’s school record of 55 career touchdown passes. Lewis has thrown 49 career TD passes with 10 or more in his first three seasons as the starting QB and is the active leader in the ACC.
  • 7 - Duke played seven true freshmen in the season opener against Richmond. Three saw playing time on offense or defense while four players saw action on special teams.
  • 11.0 - Duke’s kickoff return yardage defense ranks third in the nation, allowing only 11.0 yards per kickoff return. On the Blue Devils’ two kickoffs before a fourth quarter onside kick, they allowed just 20 return yards, stopping Richmond inside the 20-yard line both times.
  • 14 - Vincent Rey recorded 14 tackles in the first game of the year. His 14 tackles were tops in the ACC for the first week and rank him tied for fifth nationally.
  • 16 - A total of 16 players made their collegiate debut for the Blue Devils in the season opener. Besides the seven true freshmen, there were seven redshirt freshmen, one sophomore and one junior to play in their first games.
  • 20 - Duke tallied four plays of 20 or more yards in the first game of the season. The Blue Devils’ longest play of the day was a 54-yard touchdown pass from Lewis to Johnny Williams.
  • 30 - With one tackle for loss against Richmond, Vince Oghobaase moved into a tie for 10th all-time at Duke with 30 career tackles for loss.
  • 37 - Oghobaase has started a team-high 37 consecutive games, including all 12 games in each of the past three seasons and the first game this year. His 37 straight starts rank as the eighth most in the NCAA FBS.
  • 50 - Lewis is one touchdown pass shy of becoming the second player in Duke history and 14th ACC player to throw 50 career touchdown passes. His current total of 49 ranks second all-time at Duke, six shy of Bennett’s school record.
  • 55 - Lewis broke his own school record for most pass attempts without an interception in a single game. He attempted 55 passes, breaking his record of 52 passes without an interception against N.C. State in 2008.
  • 115 – Williams tallied 115 receiving yards and one touchdown on seven catches in the opener. It marked the second time in his career he has gone over 100 receiving yards in a single game.
  • 246 - Senior linebacker Vincent Rey has compiled 246 career tackles to rank second among active players in the ACC. He has tallied at least 100 tackles in each of the last two seasons with a team-high 111 in 2007 and 109 last season. Rey is one of only four active players in the NCAA FBS to have 100 tackles in each of the past two seasons.
  • 300 - Lewis threw for 350 yards against Richmond for his fifth career 300-yard passing performance. The 350 yards were the second most in his career and rank as the fifth most in the NCAA after week one.
  • 369 - Duke recorded 369 yards of total offense against Richmond and rank third in the ACC in total offense following the first week. The 350 passing yards are a league best.
  • 7,000 - Lewis went over 7,000 career passing yards with his 350-yard performance against Richmond. He becomes just the fourth quarterback in Duke history and the 20th player in ACC history with over 7,000 career passing yards.