PITTSBURGH, Pa. (AP) — Darius Perrantes threw four touchdown passes, John Erby caught three of them, and Duquesne defeated Robert Morris 31-6 on Saturday in a showdown for first place in the Northeast Conference.

The Dukes (7-2, 5-0) took over sole possession of first place and dropped Robert Morris (6-4, 4-1) into a second-place tie with Central Connecticut. Duquesne has a seven-game winning streak.

Perrantes threw TD passes of 13, 45 and 18 yards to Erby in the first half and the Dukes took a 21-0 lead into the locker room. Perrantes added a 44-yard scoring pass to Joey Isabella in the fourth quarter.

The Colonials entered the game with shutouts in their past two outings, but were in danger of being shutout themselves before Delvecchio Powell II scored on a 10-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Perrantes completed 14 of 26 passes for 231 yards, Erby caught six for 126 yards and JaMario Clements had 105 yards rushing.

Anthony Chiccitt was 10 of 22 passing for 122 yards for the Colonials. He threw one interception.

The longtime NEC rivals last met in 2019 before Robert Morris exited the conference only to return this year.

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