DRAKE BULLDOGS (6-2, 3-0 PFL) at DAYTON FLYERS (7-1, 2-0 PFL)
12 p.m. Central Time, Saturday, Oct. 30 Welcome Stadium (11,000), Dayton, Ohio

GAME SIGNIFICANCE: Drake will close out its Pioneer Football League season traveling to Dayton, the the nation's top-ranked team in the NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major rankings, in a key North Division showdown.

A victory would give Drake the outright North Division title and a trip to Morehead State for the Nov. 20 PFL Championship.

A Dayton win would keep the Flyers' title hopes alive (along with San Diego's) going into its regular season finale at San Diego on Nov. 6.

Both teams are riding five-game winning streaks with the Bulldogs earning road victories at Jacksonville and Butler. Dayton, since suffering a 24-17 home loss to Yale, has reeled off five straight victories, including road wins at Austin Peay, Valparaiso and Robert Morris.

AMONG NCAA I-AA LEADERS: Drake ranks 19th in overall victories (519) among the 123 schools which play NCAA Division I-AA football. Only 22 schools have recorded 500 or more victories.

The game at Dayton will be the 1,009th game in school history with Drake owning a record of 519-460-29 for a winning percentage of .528.

THE DOG POUND: The Bulldogs' 37-10 victory against Valparaiso Saturday improved their record to 53-11-1 at Drake Stadium dating back to 1992. Drake has won 21 of its last 27 home games.

DRAKE MOVES IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: Drake is ranked No. 4 in all three national mid-major polls. Drake moved from No. 5 to No. 4 in the latest Sports Network Mid-Major Top 10 poll, while retaining its No. 4 spot in the Football Gazette and CollegeSportsReport.com 1-AA Mid-Major polls.

Dayton, Central Connnecticut and Monmouth (N.J.) are ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, in all three polls.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Dayton enters Saturday's game leading the NCAA I-AA ranks in total defense (211.38 yards per game) and scoring defense (10.25 avg.), while ranking second in pass defense (125.0 yards per game). Dayton's senior class has a 37-5 record (15-2 PFL) and are part of two league championships (2001, 2002).

Senior tackle Chris Dearth and senior safety Doug Jones were first-team All-PFL selections last year. Jones earned first-team Division I Mid-Major All-American honors last year after leading Dayton with 105 tackles, including 60 solo hits. Dearth had 51 tackles, including 22 solo hits, in 2003.

Senior quarterback Brandon Staley leads the PFL in passing efficiency with 143.79 points. Staley alternates with redshirt freshman Kevin Joyng who has passed for 301 yards and rushed for 253 yards. Junior Ryan Wrobleski has caught 37 passes for 669 yards including five touchdowns. Wrobleski caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Staley in a 49-10 romp past Butler last Saturday. Sophomore fullback Matt Marshall had touchdown runs of three and four yards for Dayton.

Senior Jason Resch leads the PFL in kick scoring (65 points), field goals (1.25) and field goal percentage (.667) and was named PFL special teams player of the week against Butler.


DOMINANCE: The Flyers' own a 44-6 record in the 11-year history of the PFL which is the best in the league.

In the 12 years I-AA non-scholarship has been an option, Dayton has the best winning percentage (.811, 103-24) of the 27 schools playing at that level.

Dayton has been ranked Nos. 1 or 2 in the Sports Network poll for 44 of a possible 50 weeks. it has been in existence.

THE COACHES: Rob Ash, a 1973 graduate of Cornell (Iowa), is in his 16th year as Drake coach and is the school's winningest football coach with a 106-57-2 record (64-17-1 home/42-40-1 road).

Under Ash, Drake has enjoyed 11 winning seasons, including nine years of at least seven wins. Ash, 52, has a 20-year overall collegiate coaching record of 157-93-5 (.620), ranking eighth among NCAA I-AA active football coaches in terms of victories. Ash posted a 51-36-3 mark at Juniata (Pa.) College from 1980-88.

Mike Kelly, a 1970 graduate of Manchester, is in his 23rd year as head coach at Dayton, owning a 221-44-1 record. Kelly's .833 winning percentage ranks third all-time among college coaches with 20 years or more as a head coach (#1 among active coaches).

Kelly was named the Football Gazette NCAA Division I-AA Non-Scholarship and Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year in 1996, 1997, and 2001; the PFL Coach of the Year in 2000 and the Football Gazette's Coach of the Year in 2002.

THE SERIES: Dayton owns an 18-2 record against Drake, including an 9-1 mark in Dayton. Drake's only victory at Dayton occurred in 1998 by a 28-21 verdict.

LAST YEAR: Dayton 31, Drake 15 (Nov. 1, 2003, Des Moines) Dayton took advantage of a season-high four turnovers by Drake to hand the Bulldogs their first home loss of the season.

Drake rolled up 397 yards total offense against the league's top-rated defense, but Dayton converted three Bulldog miscues into three touchdowns. Dayton wasted little time scoring on its opening two possessions of the game to mount a 14-0 lead.

Dayton's Chris Cowan intercepted a pass from Drake quarterback Connor Jostes, returning it 13 yards to the Bulldog 21 yardline. Four plays later Cliff Sachini rambled three yards for a touchdown with 12:02 left in the first quarter.

In the third period Dayton linebacker Brian Heizman recovered a fumble by Jostes at the Drake 48 yardline. Three plays later Brandon Staley scored on an eight yard run to give the Flyers a 24-13 lead with 4:09 remaining.

Drake threatened to cut into a 24-13 deficit midway through the fourth quarter but sophomore quarterback Bill Castonzo fumbled the snap from center at Dayton's one yardline on a second-down play.

Dayton iced the victory when Casey Klaus returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown with 51 seconds left.

Drake's Ryan Horvath showed his versatility against Dayton by hitting field goals of 34 and 32 yards in the first half. He also punted five times for a whopping 46.4 yard average, including a long of 51 yards.

PRESEASON PFL POLL: Drake was picked to finish third in the North Division of the Pioneer Football League preseason poll. Dayton and Morehead State were picked to win the North and South Division, respectively. It was Dayton's fourth consecutive preseason No. 1 since the league added the South Division in 2001. Morehead State takes the top spot for the third time in those four seasons.

Dayton received six of the nine possible first-place votes in the PFL North. San Diego and Drake received the remaining first-place votes and were picked second and third, respectively. Surprisingly, 2003 PFL Champion Valparaiso was picked fourth, but just three votes separated the Crusaders from second-place San Diego. Butler rounded out the five-team PFL North.

Four members Austin Peay, Davidson, Jacksonville, and Morehead State joined the league in 2001 with two divisions being formed, charter members forming the North Division and the newest members becoming the South Division.

TEAM LEADERS: After eight games, junior quarterback Connor Jostes (Iowa City High) has passed for 1,464 yards including 12 touchdown strikes. Freshman Scott Phaydavong (Des Moines East) paces the team in rushing with 951 yards in 150 carries (6.3 avg.), while freshman Michael Bialas (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) has gained 310 yards in 68 carries (4.6 avg.) with nine touchdowns. Matt Goodwin (Cambridge, Ill.) follows with 93 yards in 23 carries (4.0 avg.).

Thirteen players have caught passes for the Bulldogs, led by senior Jason Jones (Kansas City, Mo./Hickman Mills) who has 26 receptions for 338 yards including four touchdowns. Junior tight end James Mickley (Geneseo, Ill.) has 25 receptions for 369 yards (14.8 avg.), while sophomore Shea Moroni (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) has 20 receptions for 228 yards (11.4 avg.)

Senior outside linebacker Eric Papp (Cedar Lake, Ind.) and sophomore outside linebacker Nick Ross (Atlantic) lead the defense with 68 tackles. Papp has a team-high 42 solo hits and three interceptions. Sophomore free safety Ryan Frehse (Denison) and senior middle linebacker Brian Conway (Waukee) have 51 tackles apiece.

Senior safety Curtis Martindale (Ottumwa), Conway, Frehse, and Ross have two interceptions apiece.

Junior end Pat Forliti (Lakeville, Minn.) and junior tackle Nick Pilling (Denison) lead the team with 3.5 quarterback sacks apiece

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Four freshmen Michael Bialas (310), Clay Cleveland (27) Scott Phaydavong (951) and Poul Collins (66) have accounted for 84.2 percent (1,354) of Drake's total rushing yards (1,607) this fall.

Bialas rushed for a career-high 93 yards in 15 carries, including touchdown runs of 11 and 27 yards, while playing in just half of the Morehead State game Sept. 25.

MORE ON PHAYDAVONG: Scott Phaydavong needs just 49 yards in his remaining three games to become the first freshman in Drake history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

There have been eleven 1,000-yard single-season rushers in Drake history, including four at the nonscholarship level but none of the players were freshman.

FORCING TURNOVERS: Drake's defense already has collected 15 interceptions this season, seven more than its entire 2003 output of eight pass thefts. The Bulldogs have forced opponents into 22 turnovers this fall. Drake forced opponents into 18 turnovers for the entire 2003 campaign.

JOSTES KEYS VALPARIASO ROMP: Junior quarterback Connor Jostes threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as Drake coasted to its fifth straight victory with a 37-10 Pioneer Football League romp past Valparaiso Saturday.

Senior outside linebacker Eric Papp had two interceptions to set up two Drake scores. The Bulldogs pounded out 357 yards total offense, while limiting Valparaiso to 190 yards total offense.

Drake scored two touchdowns within a 1 minute 47 second span to open the game and never looked back. Jostes threw a six-yard touchdown strike to tight end Dan Marx (Maple Grove, Minn.) to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive with 11:45 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs increased the margin to 14-0 with 9:58 left in the first quarter on a 25-yard reverse run by Jason Jones.

Papp halted a Valparaiso scoring threat with an interception at the Drake six-yardline, returning it 46 yards to the Crusaders' 48. Six plays later, junior Tyler McGlade (Council Bluffs/St. Albert) kicked a 41-yard field goal to stake Drake to a 17-0 lead with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter Papp had a six-yard interception return to the Valparaiso 20 yardline which set up an 18-yard touchdown sprint by Jostes to give the Bulldogs a 23-0 cushion.

Jostes connected on a two-yard touchdown pass to Marx with 43 seconds left in the first half to push the lead to 30-0.

Freshman running back Michael Bialas rounded out Drake's scoring with a 28-yard touchdown gallop with 11 minutes left in the third quarter.

Drake freshman Scott Phaydavong, the leading rusher in the PFL, gained for a game-high 92 yards rushing in just 13 carries while playing just the first two quarters of the game.

Jostes completed 12 of 16 passes for 128 yards against a Valparaiso pass defense which was ranked sixth nationally allowing 135.4 yards per game. Marx and sophomore Shea Moroni caught three passes apiece for Drake.

Sophomore linebacker Nick Ross led Drake with eight tackles, including five solo hits.

Reserve linebacker James Adams (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) and Papp added seven tackles apiece.

BIG DAY FOR HORVATH: Drake junior Ryan Horvath (Overland Park, Kan.) set a Drake school nonscholarship record with a 72-yard punt in the third quarter against Valparaiso Saturday, bettering the previous mark of 71 yards by Matt Sneller against St. Norbert, Sept. 14, 1996. Horvath punted four times for a 50.2 yard average against Valparaiso.

'DOG TAGS: Drake has scored on 22 out of 28 possessions when it has reached inside the opponent's redzone (20-yardline). The Bulldogs converted all four opportunities in its opener at Southwest Missouri State as well as San Diego and all three opportunities at Jacksonville. Opponents have converted 17 of 22 redzone opportunities.

JUST FOR KICKS: The Bulldogs also display a solid kicking game with juniors Ryan Horvath and Tyler McGlade ranking second in the Pioneer Football League in punting and field goal kicking, respectively.

Horvath, a two-time first-team all-league selection, is averaging 39.2 yards, with a long of 72 yards and three punts inside the opponents' 20 yardline. He owns a 40.3 career punting yard average with 15 punts over 50 yards.

McGlade has made seven of 11 field goals. He hit a career-long 46-yard field goal against Wisconsin-Platteville Sept. 18.

Horvath punted six times for a whopping 44.2 yard average in the opener at Southwest Missouri State, including a long punt of 51 yards. He came back with a 41.3 yard average in three attempts against William Penn. Horvath also handled the placekicking chores midway through the 2003 season, converting eight of 13 kicks.

Horvath set Drake single-season nonscholarship records for punting yardage (2,555), while tying a mark for punts in a season (63) last year. McGlade set Drake single season nonscholarship records for extra points (43) and extra points attempts (45) as a freshman in 2002.

JONES EARNS PFL HONORS; Drake senior receiver Jason Jones was named co-recipient of the Pioneer Football League special teams player of the week after returning a kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown at Butler Oct. 16.
Jones returned the kickoff on the first play of the fourth quarter after Butler was forced to kick to Drake following a team safety. Jones also caught four passes for 71 yards.

It marked the second straight week a Drake player has earned Pioneer Football League player of the week honors. Drake freshman Scott Phaydavong shared PFL offensive player of the week honors Oct. 9 after rushing for a career-high 209yards along with two touchdowns in a 41-38 home victory past San Diego.

ROOKIE DUO STUN BUTLER: Freshman Michael Bialas rushed for three touchdowns as Drake reeled off 43 straight points en route to earning its fourth straight victory with a 43-6 Pioneer Football League romp past Butler Oct. 23.

Bialas had a pair of touchdown runs from two yards out to stake Drake to a 20-6 halftime lead. Bialas' first touchdown capped an eight-play, 47-yard scorng drive with 14:16 left in the second quarter to give Drake a 7-6 lead it would never relinquish.

Drake freshman Scott Phaydavong, the leading rusher in the PFL, enjoyed his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game with 119 yards. Phaydavong broke loose on a 44-yard touchdown jaunt down the right sideline with 8:11 left in the period to give Drake a 13-6 advantage.

Quarterback Connor Jostes threw an 11-yard scoring strike to Tyler Putnam (Oakland/Riverside) with 2:02 left in the third quarter giving Drake a 34-6 lead.

Drake sealed the victory when it recorded a team safety on the last play of the third quarter when long snapper Colin Chelovich snapped the football past punter Bob Farmer out of the endzone. Drake's Jason Jones then returned the ensuing kick 73 yards for a touchdown. Jones and junior tight end James Mickley each caught four passes for Drake.

DEFENSE DOMINATES BUTLER: Drake's defense forced three turnovers, while limiting Butler to just five yards rushing in 36 attempts. The Bulldogs also recorded five quarterback sacks totaling 29 yards in losses.

Reserve cornerback Riley Yemm (Fort Collins, Colo. ) returned an interception 56 yards down to the Butler four yardline to set up Drake's third touchdown of the game late in the second quarter. Two plays later Bialas scored his second touchdown.

Drake's defense thwarted a fourth down and three-yard gamble by Butler that fell short at the 38 yardline midway in the third quarter. Drake then capitalized by marching 62 yards in seven plays, capped by a three-yard scoring plunge by Bialas to increase the lead to 27-6.

Sophomore middle linebacker Brian Conway led Drake with 11 tackles, including seven solo hits. He had an eight yard quarterback sack and one tackle totaling five yards in losses. Linebacker Eric Papp added six tackles, including five solo hits, for the Bulldogs. Linebacker Nick Ross added seven tackles, including six solo hits. Tackle Brant Parriott (Newton) ecovered a fumble for Drake, while safety Curtis Martindale also had an interception.

PHAYDAVONG SHARES PFL HONOR AGAIN: Drake freshman Scott Phaydavong was named the co-recipient of the Pioneer Football League offensive player of the week after rushing for a career-high 209 yards, including two touchdowns, in a 41-38 victory past San Diego Oct. 9.

Phaydavong shared the honor with Davidson running back John Leverett who rushed for 259 yards with three touchdowns in a 29-26 loss to Jacksonville.

Phaydavong, who enjoyed his fourth 100-yard plus rushing game of the season, gained 107 yards on the ground in the first quarter alone, including a five-yard touchdown run with 3:13 left that gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead.

Phaydavong had a 43-yard scoring jaunt with 4:58 left in the first half that staked Drake to a 20-14 lead.

Earlier, he added a 49-yard run that helped set up Drake's first touchdown - a three-yard scoring plunge by freshman Michael Bialas with 13:02 left in the first quarter.

Phaydavong was named the PFL Player of the Week after rushing for 173 yards in 29 carries as Drake defeated Morehead State, 42-12, Sept. 25. His 64-yard, second-quarter touchdown extended Drakes lead to 21-12 from which they would never look back.

Drake junior quarterback Connor Jostes was named the PFL Co-Offensive Player of the Week after passing for 234 yards, including three touchdowns against Southwest Missouri State Aug. 26. Jostes shared the PFL honor with Austin Peay running back Chris Fletcher. Jostes threw touchdown passes of seven and 12 yards to All-American receiver Jason Jones that gave Drake a 20-10 lead in the third quarter. Jostes also rifled a 14-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Tyler Putnam that pulled Drake within 31-26 with 4:03 remaining.

DRAKE -SAN DIEGO GAME HOLDS TO FORM: Judging by past history, Drake's 41-38 victory against San Diego held true to form.

The teams combined for 761 yards total offense and it marked the third straight time in the series that the teams combined to score more than 70 points.

There were five lead changes in the game before Drake junior quarterback Connor Jostes rolled out to throw a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./St. Margarets) with 3:38 left in the game which accounted for the final margin.

San Diego's John Koker had a 44-yard field goal attempt go wide right with 20 seconds remaining that could have sent the game into overtime.

In a matchup between the top two running backs in the PFL, Drake's Scott Phaydavong out dueled San Diego's Evan Harney who entered the game leading the league in rushing with a 116.0 yards per game average. Phaydavong rushed for a career-high 209 yards, including two touchdowns. He gained 107 yards on the ground in the first quarter alone including a five-yard touchdown run with 3:13 left that gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead.

A one-yard touchdown plunge by freshman Michael Bialas pulled Drake with 28-26 with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
A two-yard option run by Jostes gave the Bulldogs a 32-28 lead with 1:35 left in the third quarter. Jostes then threw a two-point conversion pass to Marx to make it 34-28.Jostes passed for 200 yards with tight end James Mickley catching five passes for 98 yards.

PAPP LEADS DEFENSE: Linebacker Eric Papp led the Bulldogs a season-high 12 tackles against San Diego, including 11 solo hits, against San Diego. Sophomore linebacker Brian Conway and senior safety Curtis Martindale added nine tackles apiece.

DRAKE IN PFL OPENERS: Drake also improved its record to 9-3 in PFL openers, including a 4-2 record against San Diego (4-0 home/0-2 road).

DEFENSE PASSES JACKSONVILLE TEST: Drake's defense came up with two interceptions in the fourth quarter to thwart scoring drives as the Bulldogs snapped a nine-game road losing streak with a 20-7 victory at Jacksonville Oct. 2.

Drake sophomore free safety Ryan Frehse stopped a Jacksonville drive early in the fourth quarter with an interception at the Bulldog 46 yardline. The Bulldogs then sealed the victory when senior strong safety Curtis Martindale intercepted a Jacksonville pass at the Drake 20 yardline with 43 seconds left in the game.

Jacksonville, which entered the game leading the PFL in rushing, was held to 101 yards on the ground in just 32 carries 244 yards below its average per game. Frehse led Drake with seven tackles, including five solo stops while also breaking up one pass. Linebacker Nick Ross, senior linebacker Adam Lackey (Chesterfield, Mo.), junior cornerback Jace Denison (Thornburg) added six tackles apiece. Ross had two quarterback sacks for 15 yards in losses.

FAST START: The Bulldogs scored on their first possession of the game at Jacksonville when freshman Michael Bialas plunged into the endzone from two yards with 9:23 left in the first quarter to cap a 13-play, 80-yard drive.

Drake rolled up 383 yards total offense with quarterback Connor Jostes completing 16 of 25 passes for 246 yards passing.

Drake stretched its lead to 17-0 in the second quarter after forcing a Jacksonville turnover. With the Dolphins marching, Drake strongside linebacker James Adams (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) stripped the ball from running back James Brant at the Bulldogs' 25. Drake cornerback Jace Denison picked up the loose football, returning the fumble 32 yards to the Jacksonville 43.

Four plays later Connor Jostes spotted Jason Jones for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 7:35 left in the second quarter.

Junior Tyler McGlade (Council Bluffs/St. Albert) kicked field goals of 39 and 35 for the Bulldogs. Bialas and freshman Scott Phaydavong gained a game-high 70 yards apiece for Drake.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Drake's defense forced Morehead State into four turnovers, including three interceptions. Drake dominated the second half, limiting Morehead State to just 38 yards total offense in 18 plays along with just two first downs. After Drake linebacker Brian Conway intercepted a pass at the Morehead State 25 yardline midway in the fourth quarter, Drake needed just four plays to increase its margin to 42-12 when Connor Jostes tossed a nine-yard scoring strike to tight end James Mickley.

Weakside linebacker Nick Ross and Conway led Drake with six tackles apiece. Freshman Tyler Marley (Kansas City, Mo.) had an interception late in the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs.