Springfield, Mo. -- Southwest Missouri State scored 21 unanswered points to spoil an upset bid by Drake en route to a 31-26 victory in the season opener for both teams Thursday night.

The Bulldogs, a nonscholarship program, gave the fully funded NCAA I-AA Bears all they could handle mounting a 20-10 lead.

But tailback Cody Pratt, who rushed for a career-high 217 yards rushing, led the Bears' comeback with a pair of four-yard touchdown runs that gave Southwest Missouri State a 24-20 lead it would never relinquish.

"It was great effort by our team but it is still a loss and we're disappointed, "said Drake football coach Rob Ash. "We came here to win. We weren't surprised to be ahead early. We have a veteran and experienced team."

Drake junior quarterback Connor Jostes (Iowa City High) passed for 234 yards including three touchdowns.

"Connor (quarterback Jostes) did a great job," Ash added. "He is a battler and was one of the reasons we were in the game. He made great decisions and threw with accuracy. He will be a positive factor for us throughout the entire season."

All-American receiver Jason Jones (Kansas City, Mo./Hickman-Mills) caught a game-high eight passes including scoring receptions of seven and 12 yards from Jostes. It marked the fifth time in his career that Jones had caught at least two touchdowns in a game.

"He was the one player that Southwest Missouri State knew about and they paid more attention to him as the game went along," added Ash. "They finally started double-teaming him and Connor (Jostes) was able to find other receivers.

Jostes also rifled a 14-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Tyler Putnam (Oakland/Riverside) that pulled Drake within 31-26 with 4:03 remaining. After Drake's defense stopped Southwest Missouri State, Jostes marched the Bulldogs down to the Bears' 30 yardline before having a fourth-down pass intercepted with 52 seconds remaining in the game.

Opportunistic Drake took advantage of three turnovers forced by its defense to enjoy a 13-10 halftime lead.

Sophomore weakside linebacker Nick Ross (Atlantic) led Drake with 13 tackles. Sophomore safety Ryan Frehse (Denison) had 12 tackles, while senior linebacker Eric Papp (Cedar Lake, Ind.) added 10.

"Our defense did an exceptional job against a team which had superior size and speed," Ash added. "They played hard and reacted well."

Papp, making his first start at linebacker after starting the last two years at cornerback, recovered a fumble by Pratt on the Bears' second offensive play of the game.

The Bulldogs marched 43 yards in seven plays to grab a 7-0 lead following a seven-yard pass from Jostes to Jones with 9:49 left in the first quarter. Jostes completed all five passes, accounting for 40 yards, in the scoring drive.

Jostes keyed Drake's second scoring drive which resulted in a career-long 39 yard field goal by junior Tyler McGlade (Council Bluffs/St. Albert) that pushed the lead to 10-3 with 10:29 left. The junior came up with third-down runs of three and 10 yards that netted first downs to keep the drive alive.

Drake had to settle for a second field goal by McGlade after safety Curtis Martindale (Ottumwa) returned a fumble 32 yards to the Bears' two yardline. Drake was unable to score a touchdown with Jostes throwing two incomplete passes, while DeCarlos Love (Minneapolis, Minn.) was stopped for no gain on a run. McGlade increased Drake's margin to 13-3 connecting on a 19-yard field goal with 9:03 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs were able to hold on to a 13-10 lead at halftime after thwarting a Bears' drive to close out the half when Ross intercepted a pass at the Drake four yardline.

Love led Drake with 32 yards rushing in 14 carries.



Drake 7 6 7 6- 26
SMS 3 7 7 14 -- 31

Drake - Jason Jones 7 pass from Connor Jostes (Tyler McGlade kick)
SMS -- Jon Scifres 23 field goal
Drake - McGlade 39 field goal
Drake - McGlade 19 field goal
SMS - Matt Buckholz 5 pass from A.J. Porter (Scifres kick
Drake - Jones 12 pass from Jostes (McGlade kick)
SMS - Cody Pratt 4 run (Scifres kick)
SMS - Pratt 4 run (Scifres kick)
SMS - Steinbrone 12 pass from Porter (Scifres kick)
Drake - Tyler Putnam 14 pass from Jostes (pass failed)