TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior quarterback Tucker Gleason threw for three touchdowns to lead Toledo to a 49-10 victory over Duquesne in the Rockets' home opener before 23,515 fans at the Glass Bowl on Thursday night.
 
Gleason, who completed 15-of-24 passes for 202 yards, threw all three of his scoring passes in the first half to give Toledo a 28-10 edge heading into the locker room. The Rockets made it 35-10 following a fumble recovery on the opening second-half kickoff and never looked back.
 
"I'm proud of our football team. These Week One games are hard to prepare for when you've had so much turnover in our roster like we've had," said Head Coach Jason Candle, who moved to 9-0 in home openers. "We challenged our guys all week long to make sure we were able to adjust and be sound in those adjustments during the course of the game. We took advantage of some turnovers in the second half to make it a one-sided game. There were a lot of positives to take into our game next week vs. UMass."
 
Senior wide receiver Jerjuan Newton led the receiving corps with five catches for 98 yards and one score. Junior Willie Shaw was the leading rusher with 50 yards and one TD.
 
Toledo's defense was strong, holding Duquesne to 282 total yards, including just 80 in the second half, and forcing three Dukes' turnovers. Sophomore safety Braden Awls paced the defense with a career-high nine tackles, a sack, an interception and a pass breakup.
 
First Quarter

• Toledo opened the scoring on its opening drive with a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was finished off by a nine-yard touchdown pass from Tucker Gleason to Junior Vandeross.
• The Rockets made it 14-0 later in the quarter on an eight-yard TD run by Jacquez Stuart.
• Duquesne cut the lead in half on a four-yard TD pass from Darius Perrantes to Noah Cante.
• Jerjuan Newton caught a Gleason pass over the middle, broke a tackle and then weaved his way into the endzone for a 54-yard touchdown to extend Toledo's lead to 21-7.

Second Quarter

• Duquesne made it 21-10 on a 22-yard field goal following a 13-play drive that ate up over seven minutes.
• Toledo took advantage of a Duquesne fumble, using a short field to score on a 14-yard toss from Gleason to tight end Anthony Torres to give the Rockets a 28-10 with 1:59 to play in the half.

Third Quarter

• Toledo recovered a fumble on the kickoff on the Duquesne 38-yard line to start the second half, using the short field to push its lead to 35-10 when Jacquez Stuart punched it in from one-yard out.
• The Rockets made it 42-10 on a 10-yard run by Willie Shaw.

Fourth Quarter

• Freshman Zy'marion Lang made it 49-10 on an 18-yard TD reception from John Alan Richter.

Up Next
      The Rockets host UMass on Saturday, Sept. 7.
 
Toledo Post-Game Notes

• Toledo is now 29-1 all-time vs. FCS opponents.
• The crowd of 23,515 was the largest in the Glass Bowl since 24,889 fans saw Toledo knock off BYU on Sept. 28, 2019.
• Junior QB Tucker Gleason completed 15-of-23 passes for 205 yards and tied his career high with three TD passes.
• Senior WR Jerjuan Newton caught five passes for 87 yards and one TD. He now has 22 career TD receptions, moving him into a tie for eighth-place on Toledo's all-time list with Michael Roberts (2013-16).
• Freshman placekicker Dylan Cunanan made his debut, hitting on 6-of-6 extra points. He also missed a 51-yard field-goal attempt.
• Redshirt freshman Bryson Hammer handled the punt returns, gaining 83 yards on three attempts, including a 41-yard return in the third quarter.
• Freshman Zy'marion Lang caught his first TD reception as a collegian while sophomore QB John Alan Richter had his first scoring toss on the same play.
• All told, six different Rockets found the end zone – Two rushing touchdowns from Jacquez Stuart, one rushing score from junior Willie Shaw III and receiving TDs from Lang, Newton, senior Anthony Torres and junior wide receiver Junior Vandeross III.
• Head Coach Jason Candle moves his all-time record to 66-35. He needs eight more wins to pass Gary Pinkel (73-37-3 from 1991-2000) as Toledo's all-time leader.
• Candle is now 9-0 in home openers.