The homecoming triumph avenged the Bulldogs’ only Pioneer Football League loss from a year ago, and improved Drake's record to 3-0 in the Pioneer Football League and 4-2 overall.
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| Old Main at Drake |
The Toreros, who shared the PFL title with Drake last season, dropped to 2-3 on the year and 1-1 in PFL play.
“It’s early in the Pioneer Football League season,
but all of them are big in this league,” Drake coach Chris
Creighton said. “They shared the title with us and are picked to win the league, so our guys wanted to play well today and
I think that they did.”
Drake put up 378 yards of total offense, but had
great field position throughout the day, thanks to the defensive effort.
Senior quarterback
Mike Piatkowski (Wheaton, Ill.) accounted for four touchdowns, three passing and one on the ground and was 21-of-31 through
the air for 250 yards.
Seniors Nick Rosa (Owasso, Okla.) and Kevin Marshall
(Glen Elynn, Ill.) each had a big game as receivers. Rosa led the game
with 112 yards on six catches and two touchdowns, all in the first half.
Marshall snagged five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown, his first
of the season.
The Drake defense forced a season-high six
turnovers on the afternoon, never giving San Diego an opportunity to get
into rhythm on offense.
“They were No. 1 in the league in fewest turnovers
coming in,” Creighton said. “We knew we that we
were going to have to change that and that any really good team is going
to struggle with that many turnovers.”
Junior Travis Merritt (Johnston) had the team’s first interception on the first play of the Toreros' second drive. Senior
Mike Ratelle (Edina, Minn.), and sophomores Brad Duwe (Dubuque) and
John Bloss (Wheaton, Ill.) each also had a pick.
Duwe and Merritt each forced fumbles as well that were recovered by sophomore
John Hugunin (Oswego, Ill.) and junior Matt Acree (Shawnee, Kan.).
Junior T.J. James (Des Moines) led the
Bulldogs in rushing with 11 carries for 83 yards and a
score. His 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was Drake’s final
touchdown of the afternoon.
The Toreros’ offensive attack looked very
formidable throughout most of the afternoon. Quarterback Mason Mills
threw for 216 yards on 24-of-37 passing and halfback Kenn James ran for
98 yards. The 13th-best passing offense in the FCS was
continually disrupted by high pressure at the line and the Bulldog
secondary.
San Diego had an impressive first drive of the
game, converting two third downs and a fourth down. The drive eventually
stalled after a Mills incompletion in Drake territory. Ernie Collins
had the distance on his 51-yard field goal attempt
with a strong wind at his back but the kick sailed wide right.
Piatkowski quickly got the Drake offense going. After tossing three consecutive first down passes to Marshall, senior
Joey Orlando (Park Ridge, Ill.), and Rosa the reigning PFL
Offensive Player of the Year hit Marshall again for a 5-yard score. It
was Marshall’s first touchdown of the season and Piatkowski’s ninth to
put the Bulldogs up 7-0.
On the ensuing San Diego drive, Mills misread
Drake’s coverage and was intercepted by Merritt. The Bulldogs took over,
but stalled at the USD 28-yard line. Electing to go for it on 4th and
five, Rosa burned his defender with a hesitation
move and Piatkowski hit him in stride to give Drake a 14-0 lead.
Penalties and sacks on both ends kept the offenses
at bay for much of the second quarter. Midway through the quarter the
Toreros started a drive at their own 20-yard line. After impressive
first down runs by Kenn James, Mills connected
with Sam Hoekstra for 43 yards to the Bulldog 2-yard line. Mills then
lofted a nice fade pass to Brandon White on the next play to bring his
team back within seven, 14-7.
The Toreros’ next drive saw them move the ball from
their own 34-yard line to the Bulldog 21-yard line on nine plays.
Facing a second down and seven yards to gain, safety Ratelle jumped a
route to grab an interception at his own 10-yard
line and return it to the Drake 42-yard line.
With 42 seconds left in the half Drake struck
quickly. Piatkowski hit Rosa on two quick out passes before going over
the top to hit the streaking Rosa for a 40-yard touchdown strike,
putting the halftime score at 21-7.
Rosa had six catches in the first half for 112
yards and two touchdowns. Piatkowski was 14-of-20 for 179 yards and
three touchdowns on the half.
The Toreros began with the ball after the break but
didn’t keep it for long. On the first play from scrimmage the Drake
defensive line forced Mills out of the pocket. He attempted to hit a
receiver on the run, but instead threw the ball
into the hands of Bulldog cornerback Duwe.
After a penalty set them back, Piatkowski hit James
on a pass, then an option pitch. With third and goal at the 8-yard
line, Drake again ran an option, this time Piatkowski keeping the ball
and bowling over a Torero defender for this third
rushing touchdown of the year.
After a Spencer Lee (Johnston) kickoff,
the Bulldogs defense struck again. The special teams unit was barely
off the field when Merritt popped the USD returner to jar the ball
loose and Matt Acree claimed possession.
Sophomore quarterback Andy Rice (Stevens
Point, Wis.) came into the game in brief relief of Piatkowski and
completed his first two passes before the drive stalled at the 4
yard-line. Freshman
Cam Bohnert (Edmond, Okla.) knocked in his first career field goal from 20 yards to give Drake a 31-7 lead.
San Diego put together impressive drives the entire
second half, only to have them stalled by penalties or turnovers. On
the first drive of the fourth quarter the Toreros got the ball inside
the Bulldogs 10-yard line before a penalty on
fourth down forced them to settle for a field goal. It would be the
last points they would score.
Drake put together one last drive, starting at its 16 and marching down the field, with the help of a pass
interference call. James had 47 yards on the drive, finishing the
scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run on a draw play, making
the final score 38-10.
The Bulldogs defense forced San Diego into two more
turnovers on the game. The first came as Hugunin forced a fumble by Joe
Ferguson. Mills and the Toreros were again threatening in Drake
territory when John Bloss jumped a route and gave
the Bulldog’s their fourth interception on the day. Bloss had an
impressive return to the San Diego two, but it was called back because
of a holding penalty.
The Bulldogs continue PFL play next weekend at Valparaiso. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
Team Statistics
Attendance--3,154.
| San Diego | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Drake | 14 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| SCORING SUMMARY | USD -DU | |||
| 1st | 04:10 | DU | Marshall, Kevin 5 yd pass from Piatkowski,Mik (Bohnert, Cam kick) | |
| 8 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:50 | 0 - 7 | |||
| 02:54 | DU | Rosa, Nick 23 yd pass from Piatkowski,Mik (Bohnert, Cam kick) | ||
| 4 plays, 28 yards, TOP 1:00 | 0 - 14 | |||
| 2nd | 08:11 | USD | White, Brandon 2 yd pass from Mills, Mason (Collins, Ernie kick) | |
| 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:09 | 7 - 14 | |||
| 00:33 | DU | Rosa, Nick 40 yd pass from Piatkowski,Mik (Bohnert, Cam kick) | ||
| 3 plays, 57 yards, TOP 0:15 | 7 - 21 | |||
| 3rd | 09:22 | DU | Piatkowski,Mik 8 yd run (Bohnert, Cam kick) | |
| 8 plays, 30 yards, TOP 3:05 | 7 - 28 | |||
| 06:37 | DU | Bohnert, Cam 20 yd field goal | ||
| 7 plays, 28 yards, TOP 2:27 | 7 - 31 | |||
| 4th | 11:20 | USD | Collins, Ernie 28 yd field goal | |
| 7 plays, 51 yards, TOP 2:04 | 10 - 31 | |||
| 08:01 | DU | James,T.J. 18 yd run (Bohnert, Cam kick) | ||
| 7 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:13 | 10 - 38 | |||
|
Kickoff time: 12:30 pm • End of Game: 3:17 pm • Total elapsed time: 2:47 Referee: Curt Johnson • Umpire: Steve Flanagan • Linesman: Tim Kelly • Line judge: Kris Van Meter • Back judge: Rick Fahnestock • Field judge: Rick Holmes • Side judge: Arthur Lucky • Temperature: 41 • Wind: NW 15 • Weather: Cloudy |
| San Diego | Drake | |
| FIRST DOWNS | 20 | 22 |
| Rushing | 9 | 6 |
| Passing | 11 | 12 |
| Penalty | 0 | 4 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 138 | 106 |
| Rushing Attempts | 32 | 28 |
| Average Per Rush | 4.3 | 3.8 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 0 | 2 |
| Yards Gained Rushing | 140 | 122 |
| Yards Lost Rushing | 2 | 16 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 228 | 272 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 25-38-4 | 23-37-0 |
| Average Per Attempt | 6.0 | 7.4 |
| Average Per Completion | 9.1 | 11.8 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 1 | 3 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | 366 | 378 |
| Total offense plays | 70 | 65 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 5.2 | 5.8 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 2-2 | 1-0 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards | 8-80 | 8-65 |
| PUNTS-YARDS | 1-42 | 5-159 |
| Average Yards Per Punt | 42.0 | 31.8 |
| Net Yards Per Punt | 36.0 | 23.6 |
| Inside 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 50+ Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 1 |
| Fair catch | 0 | 0 |
| KICKOFFS-YARDS | 3-192 | 7-379 |
| Average Yards Per Kickoff | 64.0 | 54.1 |
| Net Yards Per Kickoff | 40.3 | 34.6 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD | 3-21-0 | 1-6-0 |
| Average Per Return | 7.0 | 6.0 |
| Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD | 7-137-0 | 3-71-0 |
| Average Per Return | 19.6 | 23.7 |
| Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 4-60-0 |
| Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Miscellaneous Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Possession Time | 32:24 | 27:36 |
| 1st Quarter | 7:48 | 7:12 |
| 2nd Quarter | 9:50 | 5:10 |
| 3rd Quarter | 7:50 | 7:10 |
| 4th Quarter | 6:56 | 8:04 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 10 of 14 | 5 of 14 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 1 of 1 | 1 of 1 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 2-3 | 4-4 |
| Touchdowns | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Field goals | 1-3 | 1-4 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 1-7 | 0-0 |
| PAT Kicks | 1-1 | 5-5 |
| Field Goals | 1-3 | 1-1 |
Individual Statistics
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| FUMBLES: San Diego-Ferguson, Joe 1-1; James, Kenn 1-1. Drake-James,T.J. 1-0. |
[This story was written for Ron Maly by Ty Patton, Drake's assistant athletic director for communications].
