Sacred Heart wins NEC title, playoff spot

With Sacred Heart staring at fourth and 14 from the 29 in overtime, a championship in this unprecedented Northeast Conference football season seemed a long way away.

Two huge plays later, the Pioneers are headed to the FCS playoffs with a 34-27 win at top-seeded Duquesne’s Rooney Stadium.

Naseim Brantley caught a touchdown pass with perfect touch from Marquez McCray on that fourthdown play to take the lead

in overtime.

Omar Fraser forced a fumble with Duquesne driving for a potential tying touchdown, and Sacred Heart (3-1) earned a playoff spot for the first time in six and a half years.

The NCAA will reveal the FCS playoff bracket in a week, on April 18 at 11:30 a.m. The Pioneers will be there for the first time since earning back-to-back spots in 2013 and 2014.

They last earned a piece of the conference title in 2018. This was the first time the conference played a playoff game, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing a shortened season into the spring.

In overtime, McCray lofted a pass over preseason all-conference defensive back Spencer DeMedal to Brantley, who carried it into the end zone for a lead.

The point-after hadn’t been a given Saturday, with one miss and one faulty exchange forcing the holder to run for it in the first half. But everything worked right in overtime for Noah Gettman to put the Pioneers up seven.

But the Dukes (4-1), who’d come back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter, plowed their way toward another potential tying score in overtime. They converted on fourth down to start the drive, then again on third-and-short to get to the 3.

Fraser knocked the ball away from quarterback Joe Mischler as he carried toward the goal line. Frank Alfano was credited with the recovery in the end zone. The Pioneers were champions.

Brantley caught four passes for 74 yards. He also threw the Pioneers’ first touchdown pass to Garrett Lynn after taking a handoff from McCray.

Those couple of missed PATs for the Pioneers and one for the Dukes left Duquesne ahead 13-12 early in the third quarter. Malik Grant and Julius Chestnut (173 yards on 25 carries) scored touchdowns in the third to give the Pioneers a two-score lead.

Duquesne came back with two scoring drives in the fourth. The first was prolonged by a converted fake punt. The second was a surgical five-play, 98-yard assault capped by a 35-yard touchdown pass from Mischler to Joey Isabella.

Attendance was limited to 400 guests of the students and coaches because of COVID-19 protocols.