A moral victory wasn’t enough Saturday for Valparaiso University. Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Seewald and the Crusaders wanted the real thing.
“To me, a loss is a loss,” Seewald said. “My job is to win games and we lost. Sure, we put up a lot of yards and points, but a loss is a loss.”
Trailing by 17 in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders came within one score of the nonscholarship program’s first win over a scholarship team. But the late rally fell short as VU lost 45-40 to Duquesne in the Crusaders’ home opener.
“There are a lot of positives to take from the game,” VU coach Dave Cecchini said. “But the bottom line is this is not a time for moral victories. Our players know we’re a better football team that looks forward to winning every game.”
The game appeared over with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, when VU was already trailing 45-28 and failed to convert on a fourth down near midfield.
But the Crusaders’ hopes were revived on the next play on an interception by freshman cornerback Dilan Scargle.
Three plays later, Seewald fired a touchdown pass to freshman receiver Donny Navarro with 8:07 remaining, making it a 45-34 after the extra point was blocked.
Duquesne drove 58 yards on its next possession and took 5:32 off the clock, but came away empty when its 34-yard field goal attempt was no good.
Parker Fox, a redshirt sophomore receiver from Winamac, then turned in the play of the game.
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“Parker bailed me out,” Seewald said of his underthrown pass.
Fox outdueled two Duquesne defenders for a jump ball near midfield, spun out of tackle attempts by the same two players and raced toward the end zone for an 80-yard TD.
“I was worried about the catch first,” Fox said of that play. “Then it was about doing what I could afterward. That’s something that we’ve been working on, those jump-ball situations and going up to get it.”
VU’s 2-point conversion attempt was no good, but the Crusaders were within one possession.
Duquesne recovered the ensuing onside kick, but was forced to punt. The Crusaders started their final drive at their own 33 with 1:09 remaining.
On third down, though, Navarro tripped over a Duquesne defender and Seewald’s pass was intercepted to end the Crusaders’ last chance.
Seewald completed 26 of 39 passes for 424 yards and four TDs. But it wasn’t enough to top Duquesne, which racked up 542 yards with its fast-paced offense.
“That’s on us as coaches for failing to get our defense ready for the pace that Duquesne played with,” Cecchini said. “But we came back without any quit and had some huge stops and a turnover in the fourth quarter.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.