RON MALY HAS BEEN WATCHING THE PARADE GO BY FOR A LONG TIME. THIS IS ONE OF HIS WEBSITES.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Drake's 'Defensive Line Has the Opportunity To Be Special'

Drake's White squad defeated the Blue, 7-3, in the Bulldogs’ annual Blue & White Game at Drake Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The game consisted of two complete rosters playing four 8-minute quarters of live action with special teams situations being simulated.


As expected, the veteran defenses for both teams stole the show with 15 total sacks on the afternoon against offensive lines that have faced injuries all spring and quarterbacks in non-contact jerseys. Brett Park (Olivette, Mo.), who missed most of 2012 with injury, paced the White squad with five tackles and two sacks. Brandon Coleman (Cary, Ill.) recorded two sacks as well for the White team.

“Our defensive line has the opportunity to be special,” coach Chris Creighton said. “I don’t know that we’re there right now, but in my five years here our defensive line has always provided leadership and I think we’re going to be looking to those guys to be leaders in our football program this year.”

The Blue team’s defense was led by cornerback Evan Erickson (Lafayette, Colo.) with four tackles and two tackles for loss while Bob Quilico, Jr. (Schaumburg, Ill.) and Brad Duwe (Dubuque) each had four tackles.

“I think our defense looked good today and our only turnover of the day came at the very end of the game,” Creighton said. “Defense and turnovers win games, so I was happy to see the ball not being turned over and great defense being played.”

Both offenses sputtered initially as they struggled to find their rhythm, but the White squad got in gear towards the end of the first quarter as Andy Rice (Stevens Point, Wis.) found Neko Graf (Racine, Wis.) down the sideline for a 45-yard diving touchdown grab. Cam Bohnnert (Edmond, Okla.) tacked on the extra point for the day’s only touchdown following a drive that covered 79 yards on nine plays.

Rice finished the day by completing 11 of his 19 attempts for 111 yards with no interceptions. Freshman tight end Eric Saubert (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) was his favorite target with four catches for 22 yards. Michael Hudson (Urbandale) also saw time under center for the White squad and completed one of his three passes for nine yards.

“At the quarterback position, we got better throughout the spring, all three of them did,” Creighton said of his three quarterbacks competing for the starting position.

The Blue team’s only score of the day came off a 30-yard Spencer Lee (Johnston) field goal that capped a 9-play, 66-yard drive. Nick Ens (Grand Rapids, Mich.) quarterbacked the Blue team and had 11 completions on 26 attempts for 175 yards with an interception.

J.T. Teague (Carrollton, Texas) caught four balls from Ens for 73 yards while Zach Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.) caught two passes for 68 yards. Senior tight end Kevin Marshall (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) also had six catches for 31 yards and rushed once for 18 yards and a first-down.

Ens engineered a late drive into White territory during the final minute of the contest with a the 7-3 deficit. However, with 35 seconds left, Seth Hedman (Tulsa, Okla.) picked Ens off on the 10-yard line and returned the ball 17-yards to seal the victory for the White squad.

During halftime, former Drake great and NFL Pro-Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff competed against Drake students in a field goal kicking competition to raise funds for Colleen’s Dream. The organization’s goal is to raise funds and awareness for ovarian cancer detection and treatment. It is named in honor of Cundiff’s mother-in-law who recently succumbed to ovarian cancer following a five-year battle with the disease.

With spring practices over, the Bulldogs will return to the weight room to continue offseason workouts in preparation for defending their back-to-back Pioneer Football League titles in the fall. The 2013 season begins on Aug. 29 against Grand View at Drake Stadium.



1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final
White
7
0
0
0
7
Blue
0
3
0
0
3

Scoring
1st Quarter
White – Neko Graf 45-yard pass from Andy Rice (Bohnert kick)

2nd Quarter
Blue – Spencer Lee 30-yard field goal
               
               
White Statistical Leaders

White Passing Stats
Andy Rice – 19 attempts, 11 completions, 111 yards, 0 INT, 1 TD
Michael Hudson – 3 attempts, 1 completion, 9 yards, 0 INT, 0 TD

White Rushing Stats
T. J. James – 6 carries, 1 yard
A.J. Washington – 3 carries, 2 yards

White Receiving Stats
Eric Saubert – 4 catches, 22 yards
Brett Seeger – 3 catches, 9 yards
Dan Hohenstein – 2 catches, 10 yards
Neko Graf – 1 catch, 45 yards, 1 TD
Stephen Covalt – 1 catch 24 yards

White Defensive Stats
Brett Park – 5 tackles, 1 sack
Colton Rodgers – 3 tackles, 1 sack
Rory Driscoll – 3 tackles
Dustin Davis – 3 tackles
Seth Hedman – 2 tackles, 1 INT
Brandon Coleman – 2 tackles, 2 sacks

Blue Statistical Leaders

Blue Passing Stats
Nick Ens – 26 attempts, 11 completions, 175 yards, 1 INT, 0 TD

Blue Rushing Stats
Brad Troyer – 13 carries, 15 yards
Kevin Marshall – 1 carry, 18 yards

Blue Receiving Stats
Kevin Marshall – 4 catches, 31 yards
J.T. Teague – 4 catches, 73 yards
Zach Zlabis – 2 catches, 68 yards
A.J. Washington – 1 catch, 9 yards
Alex Cecena – 1 catch, 6 yards

Blue Defensive Stats
Evan Erickson – 4 tackles, 2 TFL
Bob Quilico, Jr. – 4 tackles
Brad Duwe – 4 tackles
John Hugunin – 3 tackles, TFL, PBU
Mike Cardamone – 3 tackles, TFL
Neal Walters – 2 tackles, 2 sacks
Matt Acree – 2 tackles, 1 sack

[This story was written for Ron Maly by Ty Patton, Drake's assistant athletic director for communications].