Duquesne, Hines power past Towson

Duquesne and running back A.J. Hines continued on their outstanding roll Saturday to eliminate Towson 31-10 in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

Hines totaled 246 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns to fuel Duquesne, which scored the final 31 points in a game played in a driving rainstorm at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland. The Dukes (9-3), the automatic qualifier out of the Northeast Conference, advanced to a second-round matchup at No. 5 seed South Dakota State (8-2) next Saturday.

The 5-foot-11, 225-pound junior, the 2016 STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award winner as the FCS freshman of the year, has gone over 200 yards from scrimmage five times during Duquesne's six-game winning streak.

His 71-yard touchdown on a screen pass in the third quarter gave the Dukes their first lead, 17-10. He later scored on a 3-yard run and finished with 175 yards on 28 carries.

The weather hindered Towson quarterback Tom Flacco, the CAA offensive player of the year, who completed 10 of 33 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. Shane Simpson and Kobe Young rushed for 96 and 92 yards, respectively.

Duquesne stopped Simpson on fourth down just shy of its goal line to keep Towson from extending a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. Mitch MacZura kicked a 32-yard field goal to end the half before the Dukes dominated after intermission, including TD runs by Daquan Worley and quarterback Daniel Parr.